Having University of Hawa'i sophomore Kealoha Pilares do double duty as a running back and slotback makes him twice as dangerous for the Warriors.

"He makes plays, that's why we need him on the field," Warriors offensive coordinator Ron Lee said.

Pilares gained a combined 106 yards on the ground and through the air, and scored a touchdown in the Warriors' 24-14 win over Louisiana Tech last night at Aloha Stadium.

"We need to keep him on the field," Lee said. "And we don't want him in the backfield all the time. We want him to get the ball down the field so he can run. And we also want to give the other backs some time. Leon (Wright-Jackson), Daniel (Libre) and David (Farmer) are all good backs, but it's hard to get them in if Kealoha stays in. So we try to move him around."

Pilares had nine carries for 54 yards and five catches for 52 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Inoke Funaki in the second quarter to put the Warriors up 14-7.

"I just thank the line and receivers for staying on their blocks," Pilares said. "I think that's why I scored; because they stayed on their blocks. They allowed me to maneuver my way through the blocks and look through the open holes."

Pilares takes pride in his own blocking skills; comparing it to making a catch.

"I like blocking at slot," Pilares said. "Whatever I can do; it frees up Daniel or Leon to run, so just helping the team out there is what I'm trying to do."

He credited running backs coach Alex Gerke for pushing him during practice.

"He just stresses that you are never the best you can be," Pilares said. "When he watches film, he grades it hard. It's hard to get a good grade when you're one of his guys and I just thank him for that. He stresses all the little things."

The offense as a whole has matured week after week, finding different ways to score.

"It's not pretty, but we're getting better," Lee said. "We're just trying to do what we can to get on the scoreboard. It's a struggle, they are still fairly young in the sense that they haven't played much. But they are getting better." PPV viewers can have credit/donation made

Oceanic Time Warner Cable pay-per-view customers who missed a portion of the UH-Fresno State game are being offered an account credit or the chance to donate their refund to the UH Athletics Scholarship Fund.

Customers are being offered a quarter of the price for the Oct. 4 Fresno State game after much of the first quarter wasn't shown. Oceanic cited technical difficulty with the satellite transmission to Hawai'i by the production crew in Fresno.

A letter will be sent to customers explaining how to credit their Oceanic account or apply the credit to the donation. The letter, which includes a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope, must be returned to Oceanic by Nov. 18.

"We really appreciate Oceanic being so responsive to this situation and providing a credit to the UH fans affected by this technical problem," UH athletic director Jim Donovan said in a release. "They are expending significant financial and administrative resources in order to demonstrate their responsibility and commitment to their customers and UH fans."

UH HOMECOMING CELEBRATED AT HALFTIME

For last night's homecoming game, the University of Hawai'i marching band faced mauka instead of makai. Band members dressed up in costumes for the halftime ceremony. Willie K. sang the National Anthem and Hawai'i Pono'i, and performed during the halftime ceremony.

Colin Chock, Don "Spud" Botelho and Jimmy Asato were honored before the game for helping to restart the UH football program in 1962. The Jim Bolte Foundation presented a check for $2.195 million in a charitable trust to the Na Koa Football Club at halftime.

NOTES

The Warriors are 34-24-1 all-time on Homecoming Night since 1949. ... UH won its last seven homecoming games and nine of its past 10. ... UH won 18 of its last 19 WAC games dating to 2005. ... UH is 6-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, including 4-0 at Aloha Stadium.