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Just two plays into Saturday’s game the University of Nevada-Las Vegas football team had fair warning it could be one Halawa long night.
Longer even, it might seem, than the 3 hours and 30 minutes it would take to put to bed the sixth and final chapter in their winless season with a 38-21 loss to the University of Hawaii.
This harbinger of doom was delivered in short order by linebacker Darius Muasau, who halted running back Charles “Chuck Wagon” Williams for a 2-yard gain and then tossed another Rebel runner, Courtney Reese, for a 2-yard loss on consecutive plays to start the game.
It would be the first of six times the Rebels were forced to punt and the 6-foot, 1-inch, 230-pound sophomore would be a factor in several of them.
Even for Muasau, who leads the 12-team Mountain West Conference in tackles, it would be a memorable evening with a career-high 18 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, a pass break-up and four quarters of intimidation.
It was the most at UH since Solomon Elimimian’s 20 tackles against Utah State in 2007. Muasau’s previous high had been 14 each against Wyoming and Nevada.
In what UH head coach Todd Graham told his team was a “must-win” game if the Rainbow Warriors were to salvage a 4-4 finish in the season finale after a bumpy late season run, Muasau was a can-do part of the equation. One that allowed the Rainbow Warriors to retain their only piece of rivalry hardware, the Island Showdown Trophy.
>> PHOTOS: Hawaii beats UNLV
In the truncated campaign that has been 2020, Muasau finishes with 95 tackles, which is pretty remarkable when you consider he had 61 in 15 games for 2019.
But, then, all indications are that the Mililani High graduate is just scratching the surface on where his ability could take him.
One year after seizing the opening provided by Penei Pavihi’s injury in 2019, he has burst into his own in 2020.
“Man, I think the sky is the limit (for Muasau),” Graham said afterward. “I tell him every day his goal is to be the best linebacker in the country in 2021, be a first-team All-America. Because he has that ability.”
More than that, Graham noted, “This guy has the heart of a champion. He has the heart of a lion. He loves the games. He loves what he is doing.”
Muasau drove home the point in a juncture that had the possibility of becoming pivotal with 8 minutes 45 seconds remaining with the Rebels hanging around, 35-21, after Matt Shipley missed a 34-yard field-goal attempt.
One quick score and UNLV would have been back in it. But Muasau was having none of it.
With the Rebels at midfield, Muasau threw Williams for a 1-yard loss and then came up with two more tackles, including stopping quarterback Max Gilliam for a 2-yard gain on fourth-and-9.
Then, UH promptly drove to set up Shipley’s 44-yard field goal that safely tucked the game away, 38-21 with 3 minutes, 5 seconds remaining.
The exclamation point would be defensive back Dalton Donovan’s interception of Gilliam’s pass with 37 seconds left, a play that came with the UNLV quarterback furiously backpedaling under pressure from Muasau.
“He (Muasau) is just so talented, so instinctive,” Graham gushed. “He is just a special guy.”
On this night there was no doubt from the first defensive series to the last one.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
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