HAWAII BOWL NOTEBOOK

Tulsa’s Johnson sets NCAA mark

With 326 all-purpose yards against Hawaii, Tulsa’s Damaris Johnson set an NCAA record with 7,796 in his career.

Most impressively, he still has a year of eligibility remaining.

Johnson, who earned MVP honors in the Hawaii Bowl, finished 2 rushing yards short of gaining at least 100 yards running, receiving and on kick returns in the same game.

He totaled 98 yards rushing on five carries, caught four balls for 101 yards and piled up 127 in the return game, with two touchdowns.

At one point, he had racked up so many yards he was seen throwing up on the sidelines.

"It seems like he breaks records every week," quarterback G.J. Kinne said. "The exciting thing is I know we’ve got another year, another summer and another offseason together."

Ostrowski steps in

With Hawaii slotback Kealoha Pilares suffering a knee injury in the first quarter, sophomore Miah Ostrowski saw his most significant playing time to date.

Pilares was first replaced by Dustin Blount, but he also left the game with an injury in the first half and Ostrowski saw most of the snaps for the remainder of the game.

Ostrowski, a leading candidate for a starting job with Pilares and Greg Salas ending their careers yesterday, caught two passes for 72 yards, 54 coming on a third-quarter reception to the Tulsa 1 to set up a touchdown.

"I was ready, I could have done a few things better on my route running to open somebody up," Ostrowski said. "It’s a bowl game and everybody has to step up."

Ostrowski said he had a sprained rotator cuff but planned to call UH basketball coach Gib Arnold last night on when he’ll join the Rainbow Warriors. He had practiced with the basketball team for about a week after the end of the football team’s regular season.

Austin gets a look

Junior quarterback Shane Austin saw his most extensive playing time since the season opener against USC when starter Bryant Moniz was sidelined with an abdominal injury in the first quarter.

Austin completed six of nine throws for 68 yards. On his second series, Austin led the Warriors to their first touchdown, scoring on a 1-yard keeper to cap a 10-play march.

But on UH’s next possession, a pass from Austin floated to Tulsa’s John Flanders, who hurdled Austin on his way to the end zone for a 54-yard return for a score.

Bowl turnover bug persists

In its last three bowl appearances, Hawaii has committed 14 turnovers while taking away three.

UH committed six turnovers (four interceptions and two fumbles) in a blowout loss to Georgia in the 2008 Sugar Bowl. Less than 12 months later, UH gave the ball away twice in a loss to Notre Dame in the Hawaii Bowl.

The Warriors ranked second in the nation in turnover margin in the regular season and were first in takeaways with 36.

The tables turned yesterday when Hawaii quarterbacks threw five interceptions and the Warriors lost a fumble in the first half. The UH defense finished with 38 takeaways this season after forcing two Tulsa fumbles.

Enos remains perfect

Kicker Scott Enos completed an outstanding senior season by knocking in all five of his extra-point attempts, extending his UH-record career mark on PATs to 105-for-105.

Last night he also claimed the single-season record for PATs made with 71, breaking Dan Kelly‘s mark by one, and extended his record for total points in a season to 122.

"I gotta give a lot of credit to my offense and defense both for giving me the opportunity to do what I did," said Enos, who was 17-for-21 on field goals this season. "It was tough losing the last game, but you know what, I’m so proud of these guys, I feel special relationships with all these guys. I’ll never forget it. It’s great."