Always chasing

LIHU‘E — Every time the Warriors closed the gap, the Trojans made a big play to re-establish some cushion.

So it went during the University of Hawai‘i’s season opener against USC, a 49-36 shootout loss at Aloha Stadium in which neither team seemed all too concerned with tackling.

Late in the second quarter, Hawai‘i cut the deficit to seven, followed by a USC touchdown drive that took less than two minutes.

UH had it to an 11-point game twice in the third quarter, but an 89-yard punt return and an 87-second scoring drive kept the Trojans just out of reach on each occasion.

UH cut it to 11 again with just over six minutes left in the game, but USC running back Marc Tyler took the first play of the ensuing driving 44 yards for a touchdown.

 Hawai‘i quarterback Bryant Moniz left the game late in the third quarter after taking a shot to the head on a tackle by USC linebacker Michael Morgan after a 13-yard rush to the Trojan 5-yard line.

UH head coach Greg McMackin was visibly upset with referees on the field, indicating that a penalty should have been called on the play.

Moniz stayed down for a few minutes, then went to the sideline under his own power before heading to the locker room. He went 18 for 36 for 269 yards and one touchdown before leaving the game, adding 38 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Backup Brent Rausch came into the game under center for the Warriors, going 3 for 4 for 49 yards.

Shane Austin then came in during the fourth quarter and made a big impact, going 6 for 9 for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

USC sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley played almost a perfect game, throwing for 257 yards and five touchdowns, completing 18 of his 23 passes.

His main weapon was wideout Ronald Johnson, who hauled in seven balls, three for touchdowns. Johnson also took back the punt return midway through the third quarter to put the Trojans up 34-16.

The running game was the early driving force for USC, which was able to maintain drives and use its overpowering offensive line against Hawai‘i’s undersized front seven.

Tyler had 17 carries for 154 yards and the one score.

As a team, USC ran for 247 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt.

The Warriors hung with the Trojans throughout the contest, but had difficulty finishing drives, especially in the first half. Their first two scoring drives ended in Scott Enos field goals coming from 24 and 40 yards, respectively.

Just before halftime, the Warriors had to settle again for three points after they thought seven would be going on the board. A pass from Moniz to Greg Salas took the star wide receiver right to the goal line as he stretched the ball towards paydirt.

The sideline official signaled Salas down just shy of the end zone, though the play was reviewed by the head referee. During his explanation on the field, the ref put his arms in the air, seemingly indicating a touchdown.

In reality, he was displaying the distance the runner had come up short, though due to a faulty microphone, fans and Warriors began cheering the supposed score.

From the 1-yard line, Moniz threw two incomplete passes and Enos was brought out for a converted 18-yard field goal, making it a 27-16 USC lead at halftime.

USC scored the game’s first touchdown, a 46-yard pass from Barkley to David Ausberry, though the Trojans failed on the two-point conversion to go up 6-0.

They made it 14-3 on a one-yard TD grab by Johnson with 1:38 to play in the opening frame.

Rhett Ellison caught a six-yard touchdown to put USC up 20-3 early in the second.

The Warriors had three receivers go over the 100-yard mark.

Kealoha Pilares had a huge game, catching five passes for 176 yards and three scores.

Salas hauled in eight for 125 yards and Royce Pollard had seven catches for 106 yards.

Warriors running back Alex Green had 64 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

UH outgained USC, 588-525.

The Warriors (0-1) will now head to the east coast and take on Army on Sept. 11.