Warriors notes: UH to open in Sydney

UH to open in Sydney

Nick Rolovich will make his debut as Hawaii’s head coach in Australia when the Rainbow Warriors face California in the Sydney College Football Cup on Aug. 27.

The matchup to be played at the 83,500-seat ANZ Stadium was announced on Saturday and will mark UH’s earliest start to a season as a Division I program. The schools were given an exemption to start the season a week early and the game will be UH’s first on foreign soil.

“I’ve never left the country, nor do I own a passport, so I’m actually very excited about it,” junior offensive tackle RJ Hollis said. “I’m ready for the offseason to start just so we can get going on this and get out there and hopefully I can take a picture with a kangaroo or something.

“Just to know you’re going to have something to look forward to as a life memory more so than football is always a great thing.”

The trip will open another arduous early-season schedule for the Rainbow Warriors. They play at Michigan on Sept. 3, face Tennessee Martin in their home opener on Sept. 10, and go back on the road to Arizona on Sept. 17.

Harris goes over 1,000

Paul Harris became the ninth UH running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season on his fifth carry of Saturday’s game.

Harris entered the night with 966 yards and carried the ball on all six plays of a 50-yard scoring drive after UH recovered a muffed punt in the first quarter. He broke the 1,000-yard mark on a 13-yard burst and scored two plays later on a 12-yard run.

Harris is the first back to join the 1,000-yard club since Alex Green ran for 1,199 in 2010.

“I’m just doing what I can for the team. The line did a great job, so did the outside receivers, so I just read their blocks and just did what I could,” Harris said.

Harris also tied a school record in the second quarter when he went over 100 yards for the fourth consecutive game. Gary Allen was officially the last to accomplish the feat in 1979. Travis Sims ran for over 100 yards in his final four games in 1992, including the Holiday Bowl. But postseason stats did not count toward his season total back then.

Harris left the game with an injury in the third quarter and finished the night with 166 yards to close his junior season with 1,132, the fourth-highest total in school history.

“Hopefully the new coach likes me and wherever he wants to use me that’s what I’m going to do,” Harris said.

Clarke’s start streak hits 50

Ben Clarke closed his UH career with his 50th career start.

Clarke started at center in his collegiate debut in UH’s 2012 opener at USC, also Norm Chow’s first game as head coach. He spent his first two years at center and the last two at left tackle and didn’t miss a start along the way.

“It’s sad, man. I enjoyed it though,” Clarke said before joining the team for a final haka. “It’s crazy. I can’t believe it’s already over. I can’t believe it’s 50. I loved every minute of it.”

With Clarke completing his career on Saturday, sophomore right guard Dejon Allen will go into next season with the team’s longest starting streak at 24 games.

Novoa kicks in relief

UH senior Aaron Novoa made his first appearance in his final game and handled punting and place-kicking duties in place of Rigo Sanchez, who did not attend the game due to a family issue.

Novoa averaged 37.6 yards on five punts and made all four of his extra points.

“This is my dream school. I’ve always wanted to come here and it was always one of my biggest goals to play,” Novoa said. “My dad kept telling me to stay positive and be ready to go. I wanted to give up, but he helped me through it and I was ready, so I’m thankful to my dad.”

Linebacker Jahlani Tavai, a standout rugby player in California, also drilled a 61-yard punt in the second quarter and had a 47-yarder in the third quarter.

Sanchez closed his junior season averaging 45.1 yards on 74 punts, the third-highest average since 1967, trailing Alex Dunnachie (46.2 in 2012) and Chad Shrout (46.1, 1997). He also finished 8-for-11 on field-goal attempts and 23-for-24 on extra points.

Senior night streak survives

The Rainbow Warriors extended their winning streak on senior nights to four by snapping their nine-game skid.

The run began in 2012 against South Alabama. UH closed the home schedule with a win over Army the following year and defeated UNLV on a last-second touchdown last season. ULM closed to 28-26 on a botched snap that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown, but a pass on the 2-point conversion fell incomplete. The UH offense then put together an eight-play drive to run out the final 3:03.

“It was tough. … It’s been a long time to finish with the offense on the field,” UH interim head coach Chris Naeole said after Ikaika Woolsey took a knee to end the game.

“It means a lot. We haven’t lost on senior (night) for a while here and we just need to do better the rest of the games. Maybe we should play senior night every other game here at home.”