Chun makes debut as Hawaii kicker

Saint Louis graduate Kenton Chun, a senior formerly of Southern Oregon University, was perfect in his debut as UH kicker.

He banged in a 38-yard field goal off the right upright to get UH on the board in the first quarter, and connected on all four extra-point attempts.

"I can’t say I wasn’t nervous at the beginning," Chun said. "(The bank shot), I don’t think I could replicate that if I tried. But after that I settled in, it reminded me back when I played (for the Crusaders). I had a great time today."

Redshirt freshman Tyler Hadden, UH’s other kicker, knocked in a 22-yarder for the final points of the game to complete the flawless kicking night.

Tau gets inthe game — finally

Sixteen times Sione Tau put on a Colorado uniform and took the field with his Buffaloes teammates.

Sixteen times, he watched all 60 minutes tick off the clock without playing.

All of that is in the past. Finally, on his 17th try, the 2007 Damien graduate saw game action on special teams in Saturday night’s 34-17 loss to Hawaii.

Tau, a fifth-year senior, was one of 16 Buffaloes playing for the first time.

Eleven of the 16 were freshmen, including Punahou alumnus K.T. Tu‘umalo, who also played on special teams.

Defensive end Juda Parker (Saint Louis) and offensive linemen Paulay Asiata (Saint Louis) and Kaiwi Crabb (Punahou) dressed, but did not play.

One more former Hawaii high school star also "dressed" for CU. Saint Louis alum Brian Cabral, an assistant coach, wore a lavalava and slippers, which he does for one game each season.

All but Tau have joined the Colorado program within the past two years.

Tau’s been a backup at offensive tackle since his freshman year, but was suspended a season for violating team rules. He spent all of 2010 behind All-American Nate Solder, who didn’t miss a snap.

Edwards breaks through in debut

When Mike Edwards got his hands on the ball for the first time in his UH career, the sophomore transfer delivered a momentum-turning moment.

After Colorado cut into UH’s 17-point halftime lead with a touchdown to open the third quarter, Edwards took the ensuing kickoff at the UH 4, hit a seam and bolted into Colorado territory with a 48-yard return.

"I kind of anticipated it the whole way, I thought it was going to go further than that, but I just wanted to make a play for the team right away," Edwards said.

The return jump-started a UH possession that extended the lead to 24-7. UH’s longest return last year was 40 yards.

"It was pretty much the way we practice it," Edwards said. "(Dick) Tomey is a real good special teams coach. He just preaches to us to work hard and everybody executed."

Edwards started at cornerback in his UH debut, his first Division I action since playing as a true freshman at Tennessee.

"I was very excited about the win, very excited about the play, but I just wanted to be able to work hard and get better," Edwards said. "I feel like I could have done a little bit more tonight. It’s just about getting this win, and like Coach said it’s a 48-hour rule."

Moniz displays shifty feet

With his 121 yards rushing on 14 carries, Bryant Moniz became the first Hawaii quarterback to carry the ball for 100 or more yards in a game since UH installed the run-and-shoot offense in 1999.

"It’s the first time I rushed for 100 yards, at any level," said Moniz, who ran for three TDs and has a net 340 yards rushing in his UH career.

Michael Carter holds the program record for most yards rushing by a quarterback in a game. He had 214 in 33 carries in a 1991 game against Wyoming, when Hawaii ran the ground-oriented spread option.

It was the most rushing yards by a UH quarterback since Glenn Freitas rushed for 122 and four touchdowns vs. UTEP in 1995. The three rushing touchdowns were the most by a UH quarterback since Colt Brennan did it against UNLV in 2007.

Roller-coaster night for new O-line

With five new starters making up the offensive line, Moniz was sacked five times, twice on back-to-back plays bridging the first and second quarters that short-circuited a promising drive.

The fourth resulted in a fumble late in the third quarter for UH’s first turnover of the season, which Colorado converted into a field goal.

But the line protected Moniz enough for him to complete 20 of 33 passes and run for 121 yards.

"We ran into enough of them we were able to slow them down a little bit. There were some things that confused us a little bit," UH offensive line coach Gordy Shaw said. "We turned a couple of guys loose and they got to Mo.

"We can learn from this and get better. We’ve got a long way to go."

Senior Andrew Faaumu made his first career start at right guard and split time with Chauncy Winchester-Makainai, who later left the game with an injury.

Lefferts’ entrance surprises family

Air Force Technical Sergeant Chad Lefferts made quite an entrance at halftime.

Masquerading as a member of the UH band in the halftime show, Lefferts emerged at midfield and was introduced to the crowd by the host of the Lifetime network show "Coming Home," which features military service members who make a surprise return from overseas.

Lefferts, who was in South Korea for the past year, jogged up the Aloha Stadium steps, high-fiving fans as he went. He found his wife and children in the crowd and hugged them as cameras rolled. He got warm applause.