2004 Hawaii Bowl

2004 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Bowl Game
Hawaii Warriors UAB Blazers (7–5) (7–4) 59 40 Head coach:  June Jones Head coach:  Watson Brown
1 2 3 4 Total Hawaii 21 7 17 14 59 UAB 13 13 7 7 40
Date	December 24, 2004
Season	2004
Stadium	Aloha Stadium
Location	Honolulu, Hawaii
MVP	WR Chad Owens (Hawai'i) QB Timmy Chang (Hawai'i) QB Darrell Hackney (UAB)
Referee	Jack Folliard (Pac-10)
Attendance	39,754
Payout	US$750,000 per team
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Dave Pasch (Play-by-Play) Rod Gilmore (Analyst) Trevor Matich (Analyst) Rob Stone (Sidelines)

The 2004 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, part of the 2004 bowl game season, took place on December 24, 2004, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. The competing teams were the UAB Blazers, representing Conference USA (C-USA) and the Hawaii Warriors, representing the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Hawaii won the game 59–40.

Teams

Hawaii

See also: 2004 Hawaii Warriors football team

Hawaii finished the 2004 season with an 8–5 record, going 4–4 in WAC play. The Warriors made their third straight appearance in the Hawaiʻi Bowl, facing off against UAB. The Warriors would go on to defeat the Blazers and cap off their third straight winning season, the fifth in six seasons under head coach June Jones.

UAB

See also: 2004 UAB Blazers football team

The Blazers finished the 2004 season with a record of 7–5 (5–3 C-USA). The Blazers would also make their first and only appearance.

Game summary

Aloha Stadium, the site of the 2004 Hawaii Bowl and the home field for the Hawaii Warriors. (2005 Hawaii-USC game shown)

The 2004 Hawaii Bowl kicked off at 2:06 p.m. HAST (8:06 p.m. EST) on December 24, 2004 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The contest concluded at 6:12 p.m. HAST, lasting a total of four hours and six minutes. Official attendance for the game was listed as 39,754, placing it at fifteenth highest in at dance for non-BCS bowls during the season. It also set an attendance record for the Hawaii Bowl and currently stands as the third-highest attended game. At kickoff, the weather was cloudy with a temperature of approximately 75 degrees. The wind was from the northeast at 6 miles per hour (10 km/h). There was a possibility of rain throughout the game, although only a minimal amount of rainfall was recorded.

First quarter

UAB won the ceremonial pre-game coin toss to select first possession and deferred its option to the second half; Hawaii elected to receive the opening kick. The Warriors began the game's opening drive at their own 20-yard line after the opening kickoff was fielded in the end zone for a touchback. On the team's first two plays, Timmy Chang threw an incompletion and a short pass to running back West Keliikipi. On a short third down, a rush by Chang was stopped one yard shy of a first down, forcing Hawaii to punt.

UAB started the scoring with a 51-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Darrell Hackney to wide receiver Roddy White. The extra point attempt was blocked, and UAB opened up a 6–0 lead. Hawaii came right back with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Timmy Chang to Jason Rivers to take a 7–6 lead. UAB's Dan Burks scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to make the score 13–7 UAB. However, the Warriors responded with a pair of touchdowns to take a 21–13 lead at the end of the first quarter. West Keliikipi scored first on a 4-yard run, and Chang threw a 29-yard pass to Gerald Welch for the second score.

Second quarter

In the second quarter, Nick Hayes opened the scoring with a 22-yard field goal to bring UAB within 21–16. Hawaii answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Chang to Chad Owens bringing the lead to 28–16. Norris Drinkard scored on a 10-yard touchdown run for UAB to cut the lead to 28–23. Hayes second field goal of the quarter from 36-yards out with three seconds remaining in the half trimmed the lead to 28–26.

Third quarter

Hawaii blew the game wide open in the third quarter. First, Chad Owens caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Timmy Chang, and then he scored on a 59-yard punt return. A Justin Ayat 43-yard field goal pushed the lead to 45–26. UAB's Hackney scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 45–33, but the Warriors would not fold.

Fourth quarter

In the fourth quarter, Timmy Chang drove Hawaii the length of the field, and capped a time consuming drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. Lance Rhodes caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Hackney, to bring the score to 52–40. But the ensuing onside kick was returned by Hawaii's Britton Komine 42-yards for a Hawaii touchdown. That provided the final score, 59–40.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Hawaii UAB 1 11:06 6 67 1:58 UAB Roddy White 51-yard touchdown reception from Darrell Hackney, Nick Hayes kick no good (blocked) 0 6 1 10:45 1 74 00:12 Hawaii Jason Rivers 74-yard touchdown reception from Timmy Chang, Justin Ayat kick good 7 6 1 8:19 8 80 2:21 UAB Dan Burks 4-yard touchdown run, Nick Hayes kick good 7 13 1 5:32 6 83 2:42 Hawaii West Keliikipi 4-yard touchdown run, Justin Ayat kick good 14 13 1 3:57 4 54 1:07 Hawaii Gerald Welch 29-yard touchdown reception from Timmy Chang, Justin Ayat kick good 21 13 2 13:43 12 74 5:14 UAB 22-yard field goal by Nick Hayes 21 16 2 9:14 6 76 2:32 Hawaii Chad Owens 13-yard touchdown reception from Timmy Chang, Justin Ayat kick good 28 16 2 6:03 8 67 3:02 UAB Norris Drinkard 10-yard touchdown run, Nick Hayes kick good 28 23 2 00:03 10 52 2:29 UAB 37-yard field goal by Nick Hayes 28 26 3 11:47 4 36 1:22 Hawaii Chad Owens 15-yard touchdown reception from Timmy Chang, Justin Ayat kick good 35 26 3 7:44 1 59 00:18 Hawaii Chad Owens 59-yard punt return for a touchdown, Justin Ayat kick good 42 26 3 3:41 5 29 2:13 Hawaii 43-yard field goal by Justin Ayat 45 26 3 00:21 9 80 3:20 UAB Darrell Hackney 4-yard touchdown run, Nick Hayes kick good 45 33 4 9:40 15 85 5:35 Hawaii Timmy Chang 4-yard touchdown run, Justin Ayat kick good 52 33 4 2:06 7 54 2:40 UAB Lance Rhodes 17-yard touchdown reception from Darrell Hackney, Nick Hayes kick good 52 40 4 1:55 1 42 00:10 Hawaii Britton Komine 42-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Justin Ayat kick good 59 40 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 59 40