Hawaii vs Washington Wrap-Ups

Hawaii Papers:

Great game wrap-up from The Advertiser.

The stirring ending was an altogether fitting exclamation point to a season of comebacks and improbable turnarounds for the Warriors, who won two overtime games and squeezed out a couple more thrillers. And it involved many of the same characters. Jason Rivers, the Warriors' "big-game" receiver, did it yet again, pulling in 14 passes for 167 yards and four touchdowns, earning a thunderous ovation during the ritual postgame Senior Walk along with the man who authored them, Brennan.

Here's a wrap-up from Stephen Tsai.

Sweet dreams indeed do come true.

For the Hawai'i football team, they are created with a four-wide offense with seemingly unlimited possibilities, steeled by a defense that refuses to fold, and united by players who are related by spirit.

That article also has links to a bunch of videos and photo galleries from the game.

The Star-Bulletin has an excellent photo slideshow set to the ha'a, cheerleaders cheering, and fans screaming. Really cool.

Dave Reardon with another great line in his wrap-up.

There's just one thing to say after last night.

Happy New Year, Hawaii Warriors!

And from the star of the game:

"It's the same quote we've been saying all year," said Jason Rivers, who tied his career high with four touchdown catches. "We believe, we believe.

"For us that didn't matter. First thing that came to mind when it was 21-0 was we've been in this position before. We've been behind in bad weather, we've had to overcome all kinds of adversity."

In Nick Abramo's game wrap-up, a quote from Ty Willingham.

"He was just good," Willingham said. "That last one (Rivers' fourth TD), we tried to stay on top of him, but he just got by us."

However, Michael Tsai writes that Willingham did not like the refs.

Willingham was particularly frustrated with a number of calls and reversals that favored UH.

The Warriors successfully challenged three calls: One that resulted in a touchdown for UH, and two that negated potential first downs for the Huskies.

"To play a game like they played and to have some things surrounding that kind of shape the football game, that (makes me) angry, because things shouldn't be like that," Willingham said.

"You can't play against two teams," said Huskies free safety Nate Williams. "We can't play against Hawai'i and the referees."

Finally, in the fourth, with the score tied 28-28, Locker appeared to connect with Quintin Daniels for a first down in Hawai'i territory, but officials determined that Locker had passed the line of scrimmage and the Huskies were again forced to punt.

"I couldn't see it but it was probably fitting for all the calls we had tonight," Willingham said.

Maybe he should watch the video and get back to us. While some of the refs were bad, and calls went against both teams, the video booth made the correct calls on anything they reviewed. But I understand, it was a close and frustrating loss for them in a long and frustrating season. Still, watch the video.

Brian McInnis highlights the great performance by the defense after a crazy first quarter and injuries to key players.

Because of first-quarter injuries to starting safeties Patek (high ankle sprain) and Thomas (hip pointer) McMackin entrusted Mouton with an unfamiliar position, and Erik Robinson with a job he had never fully experienced in crunch time.

"Everyone has to know what everyone does, in case we have to fill in or whatever," Mouton said. "We know we can get the job done no matter who's out there."

Robinson was in on seven solo tackles and Mouton added six. Linebacker Solomon Elimimian had a team-high 12.

Jason Kaneshiro has a game summary and short game capsules of each game played this season.

Dayton Morinaga has a bunch of notes from the game, including this quote from Hercules Satele:

"We left everything out there," Satele said. "Most teams would have given up. We were down 21 points to Washington. But this team, we never give up. We never stop fighting."

Morinaga also highlights Jason Rivers' big night.

Stacy Kaneshiro highlights Colt Brennan's big night and has this great quote from Ryan Grice-Mullins.

"Mostly, I felt good to do it for these seniors," said Grice-Mullins. "We had a very emotional night last night at the hotel. The seniors said their last speech and everything. Guys shed tears because of the love on this team.

"It felt good just to get this win, first of all for the seniors, second of all for the team and third of all for this island. All I can say is it's beautiful."

Ferd Lewis has a column praising Colt Brennan.

Paul Arnett highlights Colt's performance and has quotes from Herman Frazier and Karl Benson about going to a BCS bowl.

"What a great comeback," Benson said. "You know, I said this was a team of destiny a month ago. I saw the San Jose State game and the Nevada game, and to see this game, what a great finish for a great team.

"It validates our league in such a big way. Unfortunately, we've got to turn our attention to one more game and hope they can do it again. This is a team that has proved they can do it. We're going to another BCS game."

Dan Nakaso gets reaction from the fans.

"What an awesome way to end the season," said stunned fan Tony Goo. "It's just unreal, just unreal, fantastic. This is the best."

Robert Shikina has an article about the fans trying to rush the field at the end of the game.

In the Star-Bulletin's Sports Notebook, Colt Brennan lobbies for his choice of BCS bowl.

Hawaii may be going to the Sugar Bowl to face Georgia, but senior quarterback Colt Brennan's preference would be to play Southern California in the Rose Bowl.

"I began my career against USC and I'd love to end it against them," Brennan said, moments after Hawaii secured a 35-28 victory over Washington last night at Aloha Stadium. "I've got nothing but respect for SC. I'm a big fan of their program. I sure want to play them.

"We want to stay on the West Coast. I know Hawaii fans would fill that place. Of course, we'll go anywhere they send us.

And the Advertiser reminds you about the BCS party today in Stan Sheriff Center.


Washington Papers:

Here's a wrap-up from John Boyle of HeraldNet.

Here's a wrap-up of the game and the season for the Huskies, from Don Ruiz of The News Tribune.

Here are observations of the game from Nathan Ware of The Dawgblog.

Here's a wrap-up as well as a game notebook from Molly Yanity of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Here's a summary of the game from Scott Eklund of Dawgman.com.

Here's a wrap-up from Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, which includes this fun quote:

That play was one of four reviews that all went against UW on a night when Husky coaches were left livid over the officiating, often thought to favor the home team here.

"We knew that was coming,'' said UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano. "We all knew that was coming.''

Just to reiterate, they should watch the video before making accusations like that. Unbelievable.

Condotta also has some notes about the Huskies' offensive gameplan, the flight delays getting here, etc.

And what a classy guy.

UW's Roy Lewis wasn't that impressed by Hawaii. Asked where they would finish in the Pac-10 he said "probably last. To really be honest. They're a good team for the conference that they are in, but the Pac-10, I think there are just too many heavy hitters. Once teams get their number and have the right plays called, that system, like all systems, can be broken. You can find glitches in the system. They run their system very well, don't get me wrong, but there are some glitches that can be put out there.''

Enjoy the trip home, my friend!

And just to end it on a more positive, less sour grapes note -- here's a nice quote from an objective observer.

Finally, I have to address Hawaii. The Warriors showed a ton of heart last night, rallying from 21 points down to beat Washington. They deserve a BCS bid after going 12-0.