Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors vs Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders Match Player Stats On Dec 24, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Dec 25, 2016

Dru Brown threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth Saturday as Hawaii surprised Middle Tennessee State 52-35 in the Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

Brown, who completed 20 of 30 passes for 274 yards, collected two scoring passes in each half. The last one, a 4-yard toss to Dylan Collie with 3:31 left in the game, finished off an 84-yard drive that lasted 6:33 and gave the Rainbow Warriors (7-7) a 17-point lead.

Diocemy Saint Juste added balance to the Hawaii attack with 170 yards on 25 rushes. The Warriors, who wouldn't have qualified for a bowl game if enough teams had finished with 6-6 records, got in by dint of a win in their regular-season finale against Massachusetts.

Brent Stockstill completed 30 of 54 passes for 433 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions for the Blue Raiders (8-5). Wide receiver Richie James caught nine passes for 175 yards and a score before leaving the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent upper-body injury.

Middle Tennessee rolled to a 14-0 lead before the game was 5 1/2 minutes old. I'Tavius Mathers peeled off a 20-yard touchdown run with 12:09 left in the first quarter and Stockstill fired a 51-yard scoring strike to James.

But Hawaii responded with 28 straight points, taking advantage of short fields after turnovers. In a 90-second span late in the first quarter, Brown hit Meluisela 'Unga for an 18-yard touchdown pass and Steve Lakalaka plunged over from the 1 to tie the score.

Brown's 2-yard touchdown run with 11:43 left in the half gave the Rainbow Warriors their first lead of the day and a 68-yard interception return by Trayvon Henderson with 7:30 remaining capped the outburst.

The Blue Raiders pulled within 28-21 when Stockstill found Ty Lee for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 1:41 left, but Hawaii marched 55 yards in five plays to make it 35-21 at the half. Brown hit top receiver Marcus Kemp for his first catch of the day, a 39-yard scoring strike 22 seconds before halftime.

NOTES: This is Hawaii's seventh appearance in the Hawaii Bowl, where it is 3-3, but its first since 2010. ... Middle Tennessee WR Richie James' 6-yard reception late in the first quarter was his 100th catch of the season. ... Blue Raiders QB Brent Stockstill (broken collarbone) started after missing the last three regular season games following his injury in a Nov. 5 home loss to Texas-San Antonio.