Who says there’s no run in the run-and-shoot? University of Hawaii running back Alex Green begs to differ after he rushed for 172 yards and four touchdowns in the Warriors’ decisive 45-7 win over Utah State in today’s Western Athletic Conference football game.

Part of a homecoming weekend for the Aggies, the Warriors played spoiler at Merlin Olsen Stadium in Logan, Utah, to win their fifth consecutive game to run their season mark to 6-2 and league record to 4-0. Utah State, which only lost by seven points to Oklahoma the opening weekend of the season, is 2-5 overall and 0-3 in conference.

Green was part of Hawaii’s success from the outset.

After the Warriors held the Aggies on their opening offensive series, they put together a methodical 12-play, 91-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Green. Place-kicker Scott Enos added the PAT to make it 7-0 with 4:40 left in the opening period.

Hawaii overcame a 15-yard penalty and converted one third down to keep the drive alive with a 12-yard completion from UH quarterback Bryant Moniz to Greg Salas. Green carried the ball six times for 38 yards to help give Hawaii the early lead.

After two three and outs, the Aggies put together a nice drive that ended with a 35-yard touchdown run by quarterback Diondre Borel. Peter Caldwell added the PAT to make it 7-7 early in the second quarter.

Hawaii countered with another solid offensive series, converting four third downs along the way. Those key plays in this 58-yard drive set up Green’s 17-yard touchdown run. Enos added the PAT to make it 14-7 with 9:27 left in the half.

Later in the second quarter, Moniz completed a 56-yard pass to Rodney Bradley that gave the Warriors a first and goal at the 2, but a Moniz interception killed that excellent scoring opportunity as the half ended with Hawaii leading by seven. Moniz threw two big picks in the first half.

The Warriors struck quickly in the third quarter with two touchdowns in a 52-second span that were set up by Utah State turnovers. The first occurred at the 9:22 mark of the third quarter. After the defense held Utah State to a three and out, punter Caldwell fumbled the snap. It was returned 6 yards for a touchdown by David Graves as Enos added the PAT to give Hawaii a 21-7 advantage.

And the Warriors weren’t done yet.

An interception by Corey Paredes of a Borel pass on the ensuing Utah State series gave the Warriors a first and 10 at the Aggies 36. Green scored his third touchdown on the first play of the UH series to make it 28-7 Hawaii with 8:30 left in the third.

The defense held again as Hawaii drove inside the Utah State 10 before it bogged down, forcing the Warriors to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Enos with 2:14 left in the third quarter.

The Hawaii defense produced another turnover late in the third on Paredes’ second pick. The Warriors turned that into a touchdown as Moniz completed the five-play drive with an 18-yard strike to Salas to put the game out of reach.

But Green wasn’t done yet. The defense forced another Utah State punt, giving Hawaii the ball at its own 20. Three plays later, Green broke off a 60-yard jaunt to score for the fourth time in the game.

Moniz completed 25 of 41 for 389 yards and one touchdown. Salas led all receivers with nine catches for 158 yards and a score. Green’s 172 rushing yards were the most since Calvin Melvin managed the same total vs. Brigham Young in 1993 and no one has rushed for four touchdowns in a game for UH since Glenn Freitas turned that trick against Nevada-Las Vegas in 1995.