MOSCOW, Idaho — With a one-two combination of controlled passing and swarming defense, the University of Hawai'i football team last night silenced Idaho, 24-0, and a towel-waving Kibbie Dome crowd.

In producing their first shutout since 1999, June Jones' first season as head coach, the Warriors won their Western Athletic Conference opener and earned their first road victory since November 2003. The Vandals fell to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in the WAC.

"This was like our birthday," said quarterback Colt Brennan, who completed 34 of 44 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns. "Before the game, we said, 'It starts from today.' We came here with a purpose, and I thought we played with one. We got the job done, and, hey, we're in first place, right?"

In the 16,000-seat Kibbie Dome — where there is no wind and the thermostat is always at 70 degrees — the Warriors' defense provided the chaotic conditions. Mixing and matching zone coverages with blitzes from all points, the Warriors frightened Idaho quarterback Steven Wichman into 8-of-25 passing for 112 yards. He was sacked three times and hurried nearly every time he retreated to pass.

After inducing three punts in the first two games, the Warriors forced the Vandals to punt 10 times.

Of the Vandals' 12 possessions, two expired in UH territory, none in the second half.

"It was all about control," UH weakside linebacker Kila Kamakawiwo'ole said. "We wanted to establish control, and I think we did."

The Warriors also dominated with a defense in which four players — nose tackle Keala Watson, strong-side linebacker Solomon Elimimian, cornerback Keao Monteilh and free safety Landon Kafentzis — were making their first NCAA starts. Asked if he was worried about the inexperienced lineup, defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said, "Fear and nervousness are things God didn't give you. That's something you manufacture yourself. I've never had time to be afraid of anything."

Instead, Glanville spent the past two weeks — UH had a bye last Saturday — to concoct ways to harass Wichman, who had completed more than 60 percent of his passes since being named the starting quarterback two weeks ago, and negating the Vandals' inside running game. The UH strategy was this: Use the nose tackles to move the line of scrimmage, opening the way for the blitzing linebackers and safeties.

Unfortunately for the Vandals, they were playing with a makeshift offensive line, shuffled because of injuries. A freshman, Adam Korby, started at center.

Despite playing with a cast protecting his surgically repaired left wrist, Watson was able to draw double teams. "I tried to create a pile in there," Watson said, "and hopefully free up one of the backers to make a play."

From the sideline, Glanville flashed the blitz signals.

"It was exciting to get the call," said strong-side linebacker Tanuvasa Moe, who made a team-high eight tackles and broke up two passes. "When your turn comes, you'd better take advantage of it, because it can go to the next guy if you don't do the job."

UH also brought added pressure, often aligning Moe or Kamakawiwo'ole on the defensive line, where each would go into a three-point stance. Other times, the two outside linebackers would drop back into coverage. Moe broke up a pass — and knocked out the Vandals' best receiver — when he floored D.J. Smith in the second quarter. Smith suffered a concussion, and did not play in the second half.

"That's terrible," Moe said. "I don't like to hear when people get hurt. But we're playing football, and injuries happen. I feel really bad for him, and I hope he gets better."

TALE OF THE TAPE

The UH defenders received extra motivation during the pre-game meeting in the Red Lion Hotel in Lewiston, Idaho. Glanville showed a highlight videotape of the 20 defensive plays in which the Warriors did not make a mistake against Michigan State.

"I told them, 'Why not do 20 of these in a row today?' " Glanville recalled. "It was the players deciding to do it without mental errors. I prayed to Jesus Christ to try to let them play mentally like they practiced. If I had any help at all, it was asking God not to win (or) not to play good, but let the players play like I knew they could play mentally."

UH cornerback Kenny Patton, who played despite a sprained right shoulder, said: "He talked about grizzlies and wolfpacks. He said the wolfpack is more important."

Kamakawiwo'ole added: "The concept of that is the wolfpack usually swarms its enemies. As a defense, we needed to swarm the ballcarrier. We needed to get everyone on the ballcarrier. Our goal was 11 on 1."

With the inside congested, the Vandals tried to run to the perimeter or the gap between the tight end and tackle. But even trick plays, such as the fly in which an in-motion back takes the handoff in full stride, could not elude the Warriors' defensive reach.

And in long-yardage situations, Wichman was left to scramble. "It was nothing with the (new) lineup," Wichman said. "It wasn't the protection. We didn't execute the way we wanted to. We put ourselves in a position where it was easy for them to blitz us. Second and long. Third and long. Those are blitzing downs, and they blitzed."

Vandals, too, tried to force the action by repeatedly blitzing underneath the umbrella of two safeties in deep coverage. But Brennan's scrambles and quick passes to the flats kept the Vandals off balance.

"They were doing some weird stuff, and they were doing the opposite of what they usually do with their (pass) coverages," Brennan said. "But our guys started to feel it and read it, and we were fine."

For instance, on UH's first scoring drive, the two right-side receivers ran layered post routes. When the safety moved up, Brennan fired 11 yards to Ross Dickerson in the end zone.

"Coach (Jones) drew it up for us all week," Brennan said. "He said, 'This is how it would be,' and it was. It was awesome."

Later, two Idaho linebackers dropped into pass coverage. Brennan stepped into the pass pocket — suckering the Vandals into thinking he would run — then lasered a pass to a wide-open Davone Bess in the end zone.

And so it went, on both sides for the Warriors.

"We deserve no credit as coaches," Glanville said. "We didn't have anything to do with it. I promise you it was all the players. We were just watching."

RECENT UH SHUTOUTS

Sept. 24, 2005—at Idaho, 24-0

Sept. 25, 1999—at SMU, 20-0

Nov. 12, 1994—Southeast Missouri, 34-0

Sept. 25, 1993—UTEP, 52-0

Sept. 5, 1987—Cal State Fullerton, 44-0

Oct. 15, 1983—at UNLV, 23-0

Sept. 11, 1982—Montana, 40-0

Sept. 13, 1980—Abilene Christian, 41-0

ROAD SHUTOUTS BY UH COACHES SINCE JOINING WAC IN 1979

2—June Jones (at Idaho, 9/24/05; at SMU, 9/25/99)

1—Dick Tomey (at UNLV, 10/15/83)

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.