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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, December 3, 2006

Beavers played UH's game

 •  Warriors fall short in regular-season finale

By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i football team — known for quick scores and plenty of points — did something it normally doesn't do — dominated the time of possession.

The big plays came from Oregon State last night in a 35-32 victory over Hawai'i at Aloha Stadium, ending the Warriors' nine-game winning streak.

The Warriors had possession of the ball for 38 minutes, 16 seconds, and ran 79 plays for 504 yards and 31 first downs. Oregon State's time of possession was 21:44 and it ran 43 plays for 316 yards and 17 first downs.

"They just made us earn everything we had," Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan said. "We didn't punt once tonight so it wasn't like they stopped us. We just didn't score enough points when we had the ball in their red zone."

The Warriors missed field goals on their first two possessions, and Brennan was intercepted twice by safety Sabby Piscitelli in the second half.

The Beavers scored on a 100-yard kickoff return by Gerard Lawson, which made it 14-7 OSU with 11:10 left before halftime.

"I knew once I got past the (OSU) 20 I knew it was over," said Lawson, who added it was his first kickoff return for a touchdown.

Oregon State quarterback Matt Moore appreciated the score, but it kept the Beavers' offense on the sideline.

"With Gerard's kickoff return, you love it, but at the same time I wish the offense could get to play. We're happy though."

Piscitelli's first interception was in the OSU end zone, and on the next play Moore hooked up with Sammie Stroughter on an 80-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-21 OSU with 5:08 left in the third quarter.

"I thought it was over-thrown to tell you the truth," Moore said. "Sammie did a great job catching up to it. It was a double move and he did his part by getting rid of (the defender) and I tried to look off the safety and let it go."

Piscitelli's second interception at the UH 44 ended the Warriors' first possession of the fourth quarter.

"The first one I was just sitting back in the zone and it was a little low and I made the play," he said. "The second one I was one-on-one and I saw the ball at the last second and I made the play."

Piscitelli said he looked forward to facing the Warriors, who entered last night leading the nation in total offense at 553.8 yards per game and 48.6 points per game.

"I love it. People say, are you nervous? ... I live for that," he said.

The Warriors had three drives that lasted 10 or more plays, but scored a touchdown on only one of them. Hawai'i had eight plays of more than 20 yards.

Oregon State's defense had six sacks, including three by defensive end Dorian Smith.

Hawai'i had a chance to pull it out, but its drive stalled at the Beavers' 26 with 2:11 remaining.

"We couldn't keep up with them the way we wanted to and unfortunately we couldn't get the victory," Brennan said.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.