Hawaii Football: Magician Silences Crowd in Warriors Comeback Win over Idaho

The greatest magical feat that Kenton Chun ever pulled out of his proverbial hat came on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.

With the University of Hawaii football team trailing the host Idaho Vandals by one point with less than a minute remaining and 10,461 attendees screaming in unison, the aspiring magician from Saint Louis School in Honolulu strolled onto the biggest stage of his life and calmly kicked a 35-yard field goal to hypnotize every last one of them.

When Chun's epochal kick sailed through the uprights, the Kibbie Dome crowd fell silent.

Hawaii's players went berserk.

Thirty-two seconds and a failed 53-yard Vandals field goal try later, the Warriors escaped the Great Northwest with its Western Athletic Conference title hopes still intact thanks in no small part to the 5'6" wizard who tried out for Hawaii's football team twice before making the squad in 2011.

"It was unreal," Chun told Hawaii Athletics after cinching the 16-14 victory. "I probably got a concussion from all the congratulations."

In a game that saw Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz and its run-and-shoot offense negated by costly turnovers, which led to all 14 Idaho points, three field goals proved crucial for the defending WAC co-champions, who usually add up touchdowns with relative ease.

Along with Tyler Hadden, who is responsible for kickoffs and field goal attempts longer than 40 yards, Hawaii's place-kickers accounted for 10 points in the game with one PAT—no insignificant task considering Hawaii's numerous PAT mishaps this season—and field goals from 27, 47 and 35 yards.

Coming into the game, Hawaii had had one player score at least two touchdowns in each of its seven games this season, and the team's 36.9 points-per-game average was ranked first in the WAC.

Against the Vandals (1-7 overall and 0-4 in the WAC), the Warriors' (5-3, 3-1) lone touchdown came on a two-yard pass from Moniz to Billy Ray Stutzmann early in the second quarter.

Idaho's staunch defense, meanwhile, forced five Hawaii fumbles and recovered two of them. They also sacked Moniz six times and recorded 12 tackles for a loss, which totaled 54 yards and dropped Hawaii's net rushing to a measly 15 yards for the game.

One of Idaho's fumble recoveries was returned 70 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter, giving the Vandals their second lead of the day, 14-13.

On Hawaii's first possession of the game, Moniz threw his fifth interception of the season and gave Idaho a short 41-yard field, which they quickly traversed for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Warriors responded in the second quarter with Moniz's scoring pass to Stutzmann and one field goal each by Chun and Hadden to take a 13-7 lead into the half.

Moniz finished the game having completed 32-of-53 passes for 338 yards for his fifth 300-yard game this season, and the 20th of his career. Royce Pollard tied his career high with 10 receptions for the Warriors and eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this season with 151 yards.

Linebacker Aaron Brown made the defensive play of the game for Hawaii with an interception late in the fourth quarter. Idaho was deep in Warriors territory looking to increase their one-point lead and seal the victory.

Brown's interception, his first of the season, gave Moniz and Hawaii's offense the chance to drive into field-goal range and set the stage for Chun's decisive kick.

"It was a little nerve-wracking seeing the offense drive down," Chun said.

"Once it got into my range, I knew I was either kicking an extra-point or I was kicking a field goal. So when it came down to fourth down, I just went out there and trusted everybody because they all executed flawlessly: the line, the snap, the hold.

"I was just able to get a foot on it and thank god it went through...The energy on our team just really erupted and I was just happy to be a part of it all."

Abracadabra.

Up Next For Hawaii

The Warriors travel home to challenge the Utah State Aggies (2-5, 0-2) next Saturday in another Western Athletic Conference tilt at Aloha Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. HST.