Believe it or not, when the Hawai'i defense breaks the huddle, the players speak of love.

"As long as we have love for each other, we believe," UH linebacker Timo Paepule said. "We stuck to it, man."

Paepule and Blaze Soares did not start, but each got in his share of big plays in UH's 39-27 Western Athletic Conference title-clinching win against Boise State last night at Aloha Stadium.

"Before we break any huddle, we say 'We love each other,' " Paepule said. " 'I love you, I love you back.' When they (the Broncos) were driving, we had love for each other. We believe."

He was referring to the Broncos' opening drive that consumed seven minutes, 29 seconds that started from the BSU 13, but ended at UH's 30 when Jacob Patek intercepted a Taylor Tharp pass at the UH 9 and returned it to the UH 25. Patek also had two tackles for lost yardage of the team's nine.

The leader in tackles for lost yardage was Soares. Despite playing with an assortment of aches and pain, the 6-foot-1, 239-pound sophomore linebacker still registered the second-highest number of total tackles on the team with seven, three of them for losses.

"Football, you have to play through pain," he said. "Not only me. Michael Lafaele, Karl Noa. Everybody's battling through pain. A little shoulder injury, my shin. That ain't going to stop me."

Neither could Boise State's blockers.

His biggest hit came in the third quarter following Colt Brennan's second interception of the game that gave the Broncos possession at the UH 22. On second-and-8, from the 20, freshman running back Jeremy Avery took a handoff, only to be crunched by Soares behind the line of scrimmage for a three-yard loss. Tharp rushed for four yards on the next play and the Broncos had to settle for a 37-yard field goal by Kyle Brotzman that pulled them ahead of the Warriors, 27-26, with 6:52 left in the third quarter.

Who knows what would have happened to the momentum had Boise State went away with a touchdown. Still within striking range, UH's offense responded with a touchdown to pull back ahead 32-27.

"Every time I hit somebody, my shoulder goes out," Soares said. "But you know what? You gotta have heart."

On the Broncos' ensuing series, the Broncos faced a third-and-6 from their 37. Soares blitzed and sacked Tharp for a four-yard loss, forcing the Broncos to punt. The Warriors' offense scored again to give UH that needed cushion, 39-27, entering the fourth quarter.

"We blitzed about 50 percent in the second half," UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said. "We figured we needed to get pressure on (Tharp). Blaze is a great blitzer."

Paepule dropped BSU running back Ian Johnson for a one-yard loss about midway through the fourth quarter in a drive that stalled at UH's 24 when John Fonoti sacked Tharp and forced a fumble for a 12-yard loss. Paepule was among the team leaders in tackles with four.

"The team played with heart, from the first snap to the last," Paepule said. "We believed. This is exciting."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.