Hawaii Football: Warriors Back on Track Going into WAC Play at Louisiana Tech

Honolulu, HI—In a season with such lofty expectations, losing to UC Davis would have been cataclysmic for the Hawaii football team.

However, Saturday night, when its only option was to win, Hawaii came out fighting and delivered a resounding performance worthy of its preseason recognition as the favorites in the Western Athletic Conference.

Now, heading into the first game of WAC play this Saturday at Louisiana Tech (1 p.m. HST), the Warriors are just where they want to be—back on track and feeling good about it.

"I feel good for them," offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich said after Hawaii's 56-14 win over UC Davis. "They've had a rough road these last two weeks. They fought til the end in Washington, and then nobody played well in UNLV. And they've had a bad taste in their mouth for a couple weeks...For them to be resilient, come out and not lose focus on the season, they deserve to have this, this kind of win."

It's the kind of win that can cure all ills for a struggling football team. And the Warriors have had their fair share of maladies: from new starting receivers trying to get up to game speed, to an injury-riddled offensive line trying to protect its quarterback, to a defense that gave up too many big plays and had a difficult time recognizing its responsibilities.

You name it, and Hawaii suffered from it at one point or another this young season.

That all changed on Saturday night, and in addition to its new-found fortitude, Hawaii was able to play the majority of its players after building a 49-0 halftime lead. Head coach Greg McMackin estimated that 85 of his 95 players got into the game, the importance of which cannot be understated heading into conference play, when depth is paramount for every winning team.

"It's good to get a win," defensive coordinator Dave Aranda said. "It's good for guys to play, and express themselves, and to play Warrior style. I wish we would have started the second half that way, [but] it was good to see the twos come in, we were able to sub in. The first play [with the subs in] we gave up a big pass, but we made some tackles for losses and got the [interception] to get out of it. And I think with Beau Yap, on his first ever play got a sack fumble...that was good to see. I was fired up for it.

"I think that was a big issue last year. Last year we bring in our back-ups and we'd automatically give up 21 points, whoever it was. So it was always kind of a learning experience last year, where this year, I was proud to see guys respond...And to see guys battle, and get off the field."

Linebacker Corey Paredes registered the first big play of the game on the second snap from scrimmage, forcing a fumble that got Aranda's defense off the field for the first time and established Hawaii's physical prowess over the lower-tiered, FCS UC Davis.

"I just seen the guy holding the ball out and [I] just tried to punch it as hard as I could," Paredes said. "Luckily I connected, it was a right hook. I boxed a little when I was young at Kaneohe District Park...Not the best fighter, but I could pack a punch. Turnovers are definitely a game-momentum swinger. When we get turnovers it gives the offense confidence to make plays, go get touchdowns. So, stuff like Beau Yap's forced fumble, and Dee Maggitt's [interception].

"That kind of stuff gives the offense confidence and momentum to score."

In the first three games this season Hawaii had scored 34, 32 and 20 points, in one win and two losses. However, even with decent point production, the offense never clicked on all cylinders like in years past, including last season.

That too changed Saturday night as quarterback Bryant Moniz tied an NCAA record with seven touchdown passes in the first half, earning himself WAC Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.

However, it was Royce Pollard who finally got on track against UC Davis. Coming into the season with high expectations, Pollard had yet to score a touchdown or stretch the field with any big plays. Saturday night he delivered a sublime performance, catching nine passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns.

"It feels real good," Pollard said. "I have high personal expectations and this whole week I tried a lot on working hard. Because there was times when I sat out practice with an injury or something like that. But this week I really wanted to focus on pushing through it, because I know back in my whole entire life I've always been someone to just work hard regardless of injuries.

"So I went back to that and it was a blessing to have that [performance against UC Davis]. And really, it was in my mind, I just wanted to get the 'W' for the schedule. I was going to do whatever it takes to win, and God blessed me and it came my way. So it's just an honor, a privilege."

Louisiana Tech has long been a difficult place to play a road game, and the last time Hawaii visited it left with a 27-6 loss in 2009. This year, La. Tech (1-3) has lost three games by a combined nine points, including Saturday's 26-20 loss at Mississippi State, a tough Southeastern Conference opponent.

Hawaii leads the all-time series 7-2 but is 2-2 in games played at La. Tech.

The win over UC Davis "gives us confidence going into WAC play," Paredes said. "Knowing that we can make the plays if we just focus, get our minds right, and make plays. Definitely it gives us a confidence builder going into La. Tech."

Pollard added: "It does a lot for us mentally, it gives us that example that we needed. It gave us the game that showed us that we're very capable of doing it, and if we execute, play smart, play together and play hard it should happen, the way it did."