BOISE STATE | NOV. 23

At last.

A chase that spanned decades came to a chicken-skin end Friday night when the Hawai'i football team claimed its first outright Western Athletic Conference championship.

It ended in a mosh pit of celebration after the Warriors conquered arch-rival Boise State, 39-27, before a national television audience and a sellout Aloha Stadium crowd that screamed "B-C-S!" into the full-moon night.

It ended with the Warriors gathering in a group prayer in the locker room, then, in unison, yelling: "WAC champs!"

"I'm happy," said UH head coach June Jones, who earned the first outright championship of his coaching career. "I'm happy for the state of Hawai'i, and I'm happy for my team. These players are very committed, and they did a hell of a job all year."

UH left slotback Davone Bess, wearing a green "WAC Champs" hat, struggled with his emotions, saying: "I'm almost speechless. We busted our butt all summer and fall. We've been through adversity. We've been through ups and downs. This is the outcome. We're thankful."

Both teams entered with 7-0 WAC records, but it was the Broncos who stepped onto the FieldTurf wearing the crown.

The Broncos' showcase displays the past five WAC trophies. They had won 46 of 47 WAC games during that span, and six in a row against the Warriors.

"We believed," UH quarterback Colt Brennan insisted. "That was our motto."

It was strengthened during a chapel service yesterday morning when the pastor gave a sermon on David and Goliath.

"All of the armies were scared of Goliath," UH defensive tackle Michael Lafaele said. "This young boy came out and called him out in the name of God. The pastor painted that picture for us. If you believe, giants will fall. Giants do fall. That was the message in chapel."

Brennan said: "It couldn't have been a better analogy for the day. It was exactly what we needed to hear to go out and take down this giant."

But football giants do not fall easily, and the feisty Broncos — aided by two blocks of UH point-after kicks — seized a 27-26 lead on Kyle Brotzman's 36-yard field goal with 6:52 remaining in the third quarter.

But the Warriors quickly responded, driving 70 yards in 10 plays to go ahead, 32-27, on a 7-yard pass from Brennan to Jason Rivers at the skinniest area of the end zone.

Later, the Warriors made it 39-27 when C.J. Hawthorne made an over-the-shoulder-pads catch of a perfectly thrown Brennan pass for a 38-yard touchdown play.

"I knew Colt was coming to me," Hawthorne said. "He told me that in the huddle. I just needed to get open. It was just a great throw."

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