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| | Sunday, September 12 | |||||
| HONOLULU -- In the raucous Hawaii locker room, Tony Tuioti
soaked in the scene, one not seen for nearly two seasons.
To do it, Hawaii had to get a pair of school-record performances from quarterback Dan Robinson (452 yards passing) and Dwight Carter (220 yards in receptions). Never mind that the streak came to a halt against a Division I-AA team. It's a 'W' and the Rainbows aren't about to let anyone forget it. "It's so sweet," Andy Phillips, another fifth-year player, added. "We were in a drought. A long, long drought." Tuioti wasn't done either. "We went through the fire. To come back shows the character of the team," he said."This means a lot. When I saw the guys after the game ended -- big guys tearing up -- it was a feeling I can't describe. We went to war and survived." A nearly hoarse coach June Jones, who was brought in to revive the program, said, "It wasn't the prettiest game, but we got the win and that's what counts. "Now, the guys won't have to worry so much about the big goose egg." Early on, it looked like another long night, and an extension of the streak.A fumble on the opening kickoff resulted in a 38-yard flea-flicker score from Anthony Duich to Phil Taylor 19 seconds into the game. An 18-yard field goal by Chad Larner on the Panthers' next possession made it 10-0 before the fans barely settled into their seats. But the Rainbows, behind the arm of Robinson, rallied over the next two quarters to pull out the victory. Robinson connected twice with Attrice Brooks, for 80 and 14 yards, 12 yards to Carter, and 6 yards to Craig Stutzman to account for the TDs. For all his success, Robinson credited the offensive line. "I don't think I set that record. The offensive line did. They should put their names in the record book," Robinson said. "Without them, I wouldn't have been able to do anything." After being sacked seven times in a 62-7 loss to Southern Cal, Robinson wasn't dropped once. Eric Hannum added a 22-yard field goal for Hawaii.The Rainbows defense also rose to the occasion by stuffing two deep Eastern Illinois drives late in the fourth quarter. The Panthers drove to the Hawaii 2 and later the 21, but could only muster a 19-yard field goal by Chad Larner. Hawaii linebacker Robert Kemfort made the key play on the second drive, stopping Wayne Brown short on a fourth-and-1 situation at the Rainbows' 21. "It's all heart," Jeff Ulbrich said. "We might not have stopped them all night, but we showed a lot of chracter in stopping them when it counted." | ALSO SEE Hawaii handles Eastern Illinois 31-27
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