HAWAII WILL BE HOME FOR HOLIDAYS

(Dec. 1): It wasn't the prettiest of games. But in a season that started in such ugly fashion, Hawaii's 24-10 win over visiting Washington State was attractive enough.

For one thing, the victory clinched a berth for UH in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl. For another, it enabled Hawaii to finish in a three-way tie for second place with Nevada and LaTech in the WAC standings.

Not bad for a team that lost all of its key offensive players and its head coach, was picked to finish fifth in the WAC and faced four teams that were or are ranked in the Top 25.

In the process, Boise State claimed yet another WAC title – finishing its perfect regular season by erupting for 48 points in the second half in a 61-10 rout of Fresno State. Nevada beat LaTech 35-31 to create the logjam for the runner-up spot.

As a result, Hawaii's date this week with No.13 Cincinnati will serve as an appetizing regular-season finale instead of must-win game against the recently-crowned Big East champ.

Leading Hawaii against Wazzou was Greg Alexander, a JC transfer who started the season-opener against Florida, lost the job, won it back and is now firmly entrenched as the team's QB for the immediate present and the future.

Alexander threw for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns in addition to rushing for a team-high 43 yards on 14 carries. Defensively, Hawaii held the Cougars to 196 yards as the linebacking tandem of Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard each
registered 10 tackles.

LUNAS OUSTED: Although their school is located literally right down the road from Aloha Stadium, the Radford Rams spent the first two weeks of the state football tournament doing some serious island-hopping.

Thanks largely to a sensational first-half performance by Shawn Putman-Curry, the Rams – following trips to Kauai and Maui -- will be making the shortest of
bus rides for Friday's Division-II championship game against defending champion Iolani, which advanced with a 24-8 win over Campbell.

And, as a result, Lahainaluna – last year's runner-up – will be staying home following a 33-27 loss to the Rams.

Putman-Curry is a 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior with excellent size, speed and hands. And he put all of those on display Friday night at War Memorial Stadium.

He put in a full night's work in the first half alone, making eight catches for 126 yards and accounting for all three of his team's touchdowns – two on receptions and another on a run – for a 21-7 lead at intermission.

Lahainaluna scored a pair of late TDs on passes by Jake Manning to make things interesting down the stretch. But an onside kick was recovered by – who else? – Putman-Curry and the Lunas closed out their season with a 7-3 record.

In the D-I final, it will be defending champ Leilehua versus top-ranked Punahou. Leilehua, which eliminated Baldwin last week, rallied to beat Kahuku 17-10 in overtime. Punahou barely held on for a 34-28 win over Farrington.

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