Jeremy Ioane had plenty of time in the second half to soak in the atmosphere in his return visit to Aloha Stadium.

But in his words, the Boise State safety said he was too "locked in" to notice.

Although his day ended early in a 49-14 blowout of Hawaii on Saturday at Aloha Stadium, the 2010 Punahou graduate remained heavily involved in the game.

More than 3,000 Boise State fans in attendance included a bunch of family and friends wearing Ioane’s No. 10 T-shirt in support. He admitted he could hear their cheers but insisted his focus remained on the field until the final whistle.

"I was still locked into the game and helping the guys … keeping them on point," said Ioane, who finished with two solo tackles.

The 5-foot-10, 197-pound sophomore entered the game second on the team with 48 tackles.

After appearing in 10 games as a redshirt freshman, Ioane has started every game as a sophomore, helping stuff the run as an aggressive safety while intercepting two passes — including one he returned for a touchdown.

He wasn’t needed much in Saturday’s win over Hawaii as Boise State’s defensive line hounded Hawaii quarterbacks Sean Schroeder and Jeremy Higgins.

The Broncos finished with six sacks and gave up just 67 total yards in the first half.

"Our (defensive) line is key to our defense," Ioane said. "Putting pressure on the quarterback kind of opens things up for the secondary."

Ioane’s day ended after Demarcus Lawrence returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown to put Boise State ahead 42-7 in the third quarter.

Junior Jonathan Brown got loose untouched and ended Schroeder’s day with a bone-jarring hit, knocking the ball loose right to Lawrence, who glided into the end zone.

At that point, Boise State coach Chris Petersen started putting in his subs, giving Ioane the rest of the game off.

"We didn’t want to make it too important to him where he’s trying too hard," said Petersen, who made Ioane one of Boise State’s team captains for the game. "It’s nice to bring him back here and get a W."

Ioane won a state championship at Punahou before committing to Boise State, which had won at least 12 games in a season five times in a row before this year.

The Broncos lost 21-19 to San Diego State last weekend to end that streak but remain in the thick of the Mountain West Conference race.

"It was a whole team effort," Ioane said. "It’s all about being on the same page and always communicating with each other and I think we did that."

The game brought back memories for Ioane, who was a junior when the Buffanblu routed Leilehua for the state title on the same field he played on Saturday.

However, there was one big difference between then and now.

"Now I’m playing at the next level here," Ioane said. "To do it in front of family and friends — it feels great."