Hawaii escapes with 31-28 win over Army

By Fred Guzman

An emotional roller-coaster. That’s what fans of the University of Hawaii and the US Military Academy underwent along the banks on Saturday before UH escaped with a wild 31-28 victory.

After jumping out to a 21-0 lead after 18 minutes, it appeared as the visitors from far-off Hawaii were headed for an easy win. Things then turned ugly for UH as Army rallied for 28 straight points and the lead midway through the third quarter.

But this see-saw battle was far from over. After Hawaii tied the score, Army had a 37-yard field goal attempt blocked and then appeared headed for another shot at another field goal try when disaster struck.

UH forced a fumble by backup quarterback Max Jenkins on a hit by Kamalu Umu that was recovered by Mana Silva at the Hawaii 28.

With just 24 seconds remaining and no timeouts at his disposal, Bryant Moniz completed a pair of passes to Royce Pollard for a combined 59 yards and UH got a break when Army was assessed a personal foul.

That set the stage for Scott Enos to covert a 31-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the game.

Moniz completed 25 of 36 attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns on scoring strikes of 26 yards to Pollard, 11 yards to Rodney Bradley and 48 yards to Kealoha Pilares.

The victory helped Hawaii even its record at 1-1. UH will remain on the mainland, setting up shop in Las Vegas for most of the week in preparation for Saturday’s game at Colorado.

MORE UH: Enos is perfect on four field goal attempts this year after struggling with consistency last season. But he retained the starting job with a solid training camp. … Beginning in the second quarter, Army changed its offensive and defensive schemes. Because UH’s 4-4 defense was effective, Army stopped running the triple-option. On defense, Army switched from a five-man front to a 4-2-5 scheme to create more of a pass rush. The adjustment worked as Army sacked Moniz three times. … After UH tied it on Alex Green’s 30-yard run, Army had two chances to regain the lead. The first was foiled when UH freshman John Hardy-Tuliau blocked Alex Carlton’s try from 37 yards. A possession later, Army advanced to the UH 28 before Kamalu Umu forced a fumble that was recovered by Mana Silva. After a lengthy video review, UH was awarded possession with 24 seconds remaining and with no timeouts. …

A tough break for UH starting strong safety Spencer Smith. He’s expected to miss between six and eight games after suffering a fractured right forearm. He’s expected to undergo surgery this week. Smith is a fifth-year senior who has started the past two years. … Greg Salas had 7 catches for 63, Kealoha Pilares 6 for 104 for 1 TD, Pollard 5 for 94 and 1 TD, and Rodney Bradley 5 for 63 and 1 TD. … Corey Paredes had a team-leading 14 tackles, with fellow LB George Daily-Lyles added 12.