After leaving Aloha Stadium last Saturday, Kody Afusia relived his final play on the field repeatedly over the next couple of days.
Even without the replays, the image of Ikaika Woolsey’s last-second touchdown pass to Marcus Kemp will probably remain clear in the Hawaii center’s mind for quite a while.
"It’s something that was pretty amazing and something I’ll remember for a long time," Afusia said.
"I saw the ball in the air, it seemed like it was 20 minutes. I saw him catch it. I saw him come down. I waited for (the official) to throw his hands up. He threw his hands up and I just went wild."
Right tackle Sean Shigematsu had his back to the throw, fending off a defensive lineman to give Woolsey the extra split-second of protection he needed to fire the game winner.
"You see those on TV and to be part of it was something really special," Shigematsu said. "We had the play drawn up, we believe in the guys and everything fell into place."
The Rainbow Warriors need quite a bit more to fall into place, but the improbable ending to last week’s senior night win over UNLV preserved the possibility, however faint, of the senior offensive linemen extending their careers beyond Saturday’s regular-season finale at Fresno State.
"It’s a challenge because we’re going to Fresno," Afusia said. "It’s always fun playing there. What we have to do is really stick together, execute our plays and we’ll be fine."
The Rainbow Warriors need a win Saturday along with losses by San Diego State and Nevada to claim the West Division’s spot in the Mountain West Conference championship game. Whatever the outcome, Afusia and Shigematsu can take with them a memorable effort in their farewells to Aloha Stadium.
The senior members of the offensive line’s starting five found gratification in UH’s 348 rushing yards led by Joey Iosefa’s 219, the sixth-highest, single-game total in school history. They helped clear the way for Iosefa to average 6.3 yards per carry while Diocemy Saint Juste picked up 52 of his 81 yards on a touchdown run and Pereese Joas covered 33 yards on two carries.
Just as the line powers the running game, the production energizes those doing the blocking.
"All those big plays help out the O-line because we see those plays and we’re like we’re not even tired," Afusia said. "As an offensive line we keep kicking."
