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Tulsa routs turnover-prone Warriors in Hawaii Bowl

Dec 25, 2010 - 5:40 AM Honolulu, HI (Sports Network) - Curnelius Arnick had two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown, and the Tulsa Golden Hurricane forced six turnovers to upend No. 24 Hawaii, 62-35, in the Hawaii Bowl.

Damaris Johnson broke the NCAA record for career all-purpose yards with a 326- yard performance while also adding two touchdowns for the Golden Hurricane (10-3), who finished the season with seven straight wins.

G.J. Kinne threw for 343 yards with three scores and played mistake-free in the victory.

His counterpart, Bryant Moniz, was unable to do the same, throwing four interceptions to overshadow his 411-yard, three-TD effort.

Greg Salas finished with 214 yards and two TDs on 13 receptions for the Warriors (10-4), who shared the Western Athletic Conference regular season title with Boise State and Nevada.

Moniz had a tough first quarter, throwing interceptions on consecutive possessions, then getting briefly knocked out of the game by a big hit.

Arnick returned the first pick 52 yards to the Hawaii three-yard line, where Alex Singleton ran it in for a 7-0 lead less than three minutes in.

Tulsa's Kevin Fitzpatrick added a 42-yard field goal later in the quarter, and Hawaii got on the board when backup quarterback Shane Austin capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive with a one-yard keeper early in the second.

On the next Warriors series, Austin threw off his back foot and was intercepted by John Flanders, who returned it 54 yards for a TD.

Moniz re-entered and mirrored his backup by throwing into tight coverage near midfield. Arnick was there for the pick and took it up the right sideline 54 yards for yet another defensive score with 9:34 left in the half.

Salas hauled in a 55-yard jump ball with under four minutes remaining before catching a short pass over the middle and going in for an 18-yard score.

The next time Salas touched the ball, though, he fumbled, as his muffed punt inside a minute to go in the half led to Fitzpatrick's 28-yard field goal.

Tulsa led at the break, 27-14, despite getting out-gained, 273-94.

Salas came back with a five-yard TD catch at the 7:28 mark of the third, the first of five touchdowns in just four minutes, 16 seconds.

Johnson's 59-yard catch on the first play of Tulsa's next drive preceded a Kinne-to-Jameel Owens 15-yard scoring hookup.

Two straight Moniz completions covered 74 yards down to the Golden Hurricane one, and Alex Green punched it in from there to cut the deficit to 34-28.

Johnson, who still has a year of eligibility remaining, answered by taking a handoff to the left, breaking a tackle and sprinting 67 yards to paydirt with 4:57 to go in the third.

Hawaii quickly punted, and Kinne's perfectly thrown 47-yard bomb to Thomas Roberson capped the scoring barrage and extended the margin to 48-28.

Five minutes into the fourth, Royce Pollard brought in a 33-yard Moniz pass in the end zone to pull Hawaii within 48-35.

Tulsa responded in five plays with Singleton's three-yard jaunt coming at the seven-minute mark.

Fittingly, Kinne found Johnson for a nine-yard TD with just over a minute to play to polish off the rout.

Game Notes

Johnson, who led the nation in all-purpose the past two seasons, broke the NCAA record held by Western Michigan's Brandon West (7,764 yards). He logged 98 yards on five carries, 101 yards on four receptions, 109 yards on five kickoff returns and 18 yards on one punt return..Kinne completed passes to nine different receivers, finishing 17-of-31 overall...Moniz finished 24-of-47 through the air...Hawaii senior wide receiver Kealoha Pilares, who came in with 88 catches on the season, suffered a knee injury early in the game and did not return...Pollard stepped up with eight catches for 129 yards in the loss...Both teams came in averaging nearly 40 points per game...Tulsa has an 8-9 record in bowl games, including wins in its last three...Hawaii has appeared in six of the nine Hawaii Bowls, going 3-3 in those contests.