Hawaii defeats Navy 24-17, spoiling Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo’s island homecoming

Hawaii spoils Navy coach’s island homecoming 24-17

HONOLULU — Bryant Moniz threw for 366 yards and Kealoha Pilares scored two touchdowns as Hawaii spoiled Oahu-born Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo’s island homecoming and defeated the Midshipmen 24-17 Saturday night.

Moniz threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Alex Green to give the Warriors a 24-17 lead in the third quarter.

The victory keeps Hawaii (6-6) in the running for its fourth straight bowl appearance. The Warriors, who have won four straight, must beat Wisconsin next week to earn a postseason berth in the hometown Hawaii Bowl.

Niumatalolo, in his second season at Navy (8-4), was born in Laie, played quarterback at Hawaii and started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Warriors.

Navy has already accepted an invitation to play in the Texas Bowl, likely against a Big 12 opponent.

Ricky Dobbs ran for one touchdown for the Midshipmen, tying the college football record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback at 23. He’s now even with Air Force’s Chance Harridge and Florida’s Tim Tebow.

The sophomore ran the ball 25 times for 127 yards.

Moniz returned as a starter after sitting out last week’s game against San Jose State to recover from a bruised rib he sustained the week before.

Moniz stepped in for starting quarterback Greg Alexander after Alexander had a season-ending injury against Louisiana Tech in September.

The Warriors treated the game like a playoff — a loss would have given them no chance to play in the postseason.

Pilares had eight catches for 147 yards and Greg Salas caught 10 passes for 102 yards for the Warriors.

Hawaii passed for 366 yards while Navy only passed for 88. But the Midshipmen rushed for 248 yards to the Warriors’ 62.