The 2006 Hawaii Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Warriors tied the school record for most victories in a season with 11, with their only losses coming against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, an undefeated Boise State team that went on to participate in the Bowl Championship Series and Oregon State, which won ten games and finished the season nationally ranked. The Warriors finished in second place in the Western Athletic Conference behind Boise State and returned to the Hawaii Bowl after missing out on postseason play in 2005 due to a losing record. The Warriors defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils in the bowl game by a score of 41–24 to round out one of the school's most successful football seasons ever.
Junior quarterback Colt Brennan returned from a breakout 2005 campaign to put together statistically one of the best seasons of any quarterback in college football history. Brennan would end up setting NCAA single-season records for touchdown passes in a season (58) and passing efficiency rating (185.96) on his way to a sixth-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting, WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors and numerous All-America honors as well. Head coach June Jones would go on to be named WAC Coach of the Year and the Warriors would place nine players on the All-WAC first team as a result of the team's outstanding play throughout the season.
Preseason The Warriors were picked to finish fourth in the WAC by both the Preseason Media Poll and the Preseason Coaches Poll behind Nevada, Fresno State and Boise State.
Colt Brennan was voted the WAC's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year after a breakout 2005 campaign that saw him set 11 Hawaii offensive records and lead the nation in passing yards (4,301 yards) and total yards (371.2 YPG.)
Pre-season award watchlists Colt Brennan Maxwell Award watch list Walter Camp Award watch list Manning Award watch list Davey O'Brien Award watch list WAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Samson Satele Rimington Trophy watch list Outland Trophy watch list
Ikaika Alama-Francis Ted Hendricks Award watch list
Mid-season award semifinalist announcements Colt Brennan Walter Camp Award "Ten Players to Watch" Davey O'Brien Award Manning Award
Mid-season award finalist announcements Colt Brennan Walter Camp Award Davey O'Brien Award Manning Award
Schedule
Personnel Depth chart – offense Offensive Scheme: run and shoot Position Number Name Class QB 15 Colt Brennan Jr. RB 4 Nate Ilaoa Sr. SB 1 Ryan Grice-Mullen So. WR 84 Jason Rivers Jr. WR 3 Ross Dickerson Sr. SB 7 Davone Bess So. LT 70 Tala Esera Sr. LG 65 Hercules Satele Jr. C 64 Samson Satele Sr. RG 55 John Estes Fr. RT 72 Dane Uperesa Sr.
Depth chart – defense Base Defense: 3–4 Position Number Name Class DE 98 Melila Purcell III Sr. NT 67 Michael Lafaele Jr. DE 91 Ikaika Alama-Francis Sr. OLB 26 Micah Lau Jr. ILB 41 Solomon Elimimian So. ILB 44 Adam Leonard So. OLB 8 Tyson Kafentzis So. CB 23 Gerard Lewis Jr. SS 31 Jacob Patek Jr. FS 42 Leonard Peters Sr. CB 38 Myron Newberry Jr.
Depth chart – special teams Position Number Name Class FGS 86 Dan Kelly So. PATS 40 Briton Forester Fr. P 25 Kurt Milne Sr. KR 82 Ross Dickerson Sr. PR 38 Myron Newberry Jr. KOS 84 Dan Kelly So.
Roster (as of 10/4/2006)Quarterbacks 6 Tyler Graunke – Sophomore 11 Inoke Funaki – Freshman 12 William Brogan – Freshman 15 Colt Brennan – Junior
Running backs 4 Nate Ilaoa – Senior 19 Jayson Rego – Freshman 21 Jazen Anderson – Junior 23 Alonzo Chopp – Junior 27 Khevin Peoples – Sophomore 34 Reagan Mauia – Senior 37 Josh Berry – Freshman 39 Siave Seti – Junior 44 Gabriel Weisbarth – Freshman 45 Jason Laumoli – Senior 48 David Farmer – Sophomore 99 Hammy Vasconcelos – Freshman
Wide receivers 1 Ryan Grice-Mullen – Sophomore 2 Jason Ferguson – Sophomore 3 Ian Sample – Senior 5 Michael Washington – Sophomore 7 Davone Bess – Sophomore 9 Rick Taylor – Freshman 36 Greg Salas – Freshman 80 Antwan Mahaley – Freshman 81 Dylan Linkner – Sophomore 82 Ross Dickerson – Senior 83 Mitch Farney – Freshman 84 Jason Rivers – Junior 85 Aaron Bain – Sophomore 87 Marquez Jackson – Freshman 88 Chad Mock – Senior 89 Malcolm Lane – Freshman Offensive line 50 Laupepa Letuli – Freshman 51 Clarence Tuioti-Mariner – Sophomore 55 John Estes – Freshman 56 Kavan Bannigan – Junior 58 Joey Lipp – Freshman 60 Marques Kaonohi – Senior 62 Keith Ah-Soon – Sophomore 63 Brysen Ginlack – Freshman 64 Samson Satele – Senior 65 Hercules Satele – Junior 66 Adrian Thomas – Freshman 69 Daniel Johnson – Freshman 70 Tala Esera – Senior 72 Dane Uperesa – Senior 73 Larry Sauafea – Junior 74 Raphael Ieru – Freshman 76 Nathan McKay – Sophomore 77 Aaron Kia – Freshman 78 Keoni Steinhoff – Sophomore 79 Cameron Allen-Jones – Sophomore
Defensive line 50 Laupepa Letuli – Freshman 54 Amani Purcell – Junior 56 Nathan Russell – Sophomore 57 Jake Ingram – Sophomore 67 Michael Lafaele – Junior 68 Kahai La Count – Senior 77 Matthew R Gerhardt – Junior 90 Elliott Purcell – Freshman 91 Ikaika Alama-Francis – Senior 92 Rocky Savaiigaea – Freshman 93 Keala Watson – Sophomore 94 David Veikune – Junior 96 Fale Laeli – Sophomore 97 Renolds Fruean – Senior 98 Melila Purcell III – Senior 99 Lawrence Wilson – Senior Linebackers 8 Tyson Kafentzis – Sophomore 10 Timo Paepule – Junior 11 Victor Fergerstrom – Senior 12 Karl Noa – Junior 13 Brashton Satele – Freshman 26 Micah Lau – Junior 33 C.J. Allen-Jones – Sophomore 39 Waikaloa Noa – Junior 41 Solomon Elimimian – Sophomore 43 Brad Kalilimoku – Junior 44 Adam Leonard – Sophomore 47 Joshua Rice – Freshman 49 Jared Lene – Freshman 51 Victor Clore – Freshman 52 Rustin Saole – Junior 53 Blaze Soares – Freshman 59 R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane – Freshman 95 Sebastian Siaki – Freshman
Defensive backs 9 Ryan Keomaka – Junior 14 Kirk Alexander Jr. – Sophomore 15 Josh Aufai – Freshman 16 JoPierre Davis – Freshman 17 Desmond Thomas – Sophomore 18 Guyton Galdeira – Sophomore 19 C.J. Hawthorne – Junior 20 Michael Malala – Senior 23 Gerard Lewis – Junior 24 Kenny Patton – Senior 25 Ryan Perry – Junior 28 Erik Pedersen – Freshman 29 Keenan Jones – Junior 30 Dane Porlas – Sophomore 31 Jacob Patek – Junior 34 A.J. Martinez – Junior 35 Keao Monteilh – Junior 38 Myron Newberry – Junior 42 Leonard Peters – Senior 45 Spencer Smith – Freshman Punters 25 Kurt Milne – Senior
Kickers
86 Dan Kelly – Sophomore
Long snappers 48 David Farmer – Sophomore 57 Jake Ingram – Sophomore
Holders 11 Inoke Funaki – Freshman 25 Kurt Milne – Senior
Coaching staff Name Position Yearsat UH Alma mater (year) June Jones Head Coach 8 New York State Regents College George Lumpkin Associate head coachOutside linebackers 34 University of Hawaii at Manoa (1972) Dan Morrison Quarterbacks 8 University of California, Los Angeles (1971) Wes Suan Offensive line 8 Linfield College (1975) Rich Miano Secondary 8 University of Hawaii at Manoa (1987) Ron Lee Wide receivers 9 Willamette University (1967) Cal Lee Linebackers 4 Willamette University (1970) Mel deLaura Strength coach 8 Portland State University Jerry Glanville Defensive coordinator 2 Northern Michigan University (1964) Mouse Davis Special teamsRunning backs 3 Western Oregon University (1955) Jeff Reinebold Special teamsDefensive line 2 Indiana University Bloomington (1981)
Game summaries Alabama
John Parker Wilson threw for 253 yards and a touchdown in his first collegiate start as Alabama got a late defensive stand to hold off Hawaii 25–17.
Leigh Tiffin added three field goals for the Crimson Tide, which had two apparent touchdowns overturned on replay challenges by Hawaii.
Wilson started slowly, completing only four of 10 passes for 80 yards in the first half. Looking more comfortable after halftime, he was 12-of-19 attempts for 173 yards and a 35-yard touchdown pass to Keith Brown.
Down by a touchdown and 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter, Hawaii drove the ball to the Alabama 26 with 13 seconds left. On fourth down with 1 second remaining, Colt Brennan lofted a pass to the goal line, where the Tide's Lionel Mitchell jumped for an interception to preserve the win.
In June 2009 Alabama was forced to vacate this win along with 20 others occurring from 2005 to 2007 after violating NCAA regulations.
Weekly accolades: None
UNLV
Colt Brennan threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns while running in another score as Hawaii defeated UNLV 42–13.
Davone Bess caught 10 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown and Nate Ilaoa ran for 104 yards and two scores for the Warriors (1–1), who racked up 583 yards of total offense, including 359 in the first half.
The Warriors raced to a 42–0 lead behind Brennan's hot hand. He was 24-of-35 before coming out of the game, along with the rest of Hawaii's offensive starters, late in the third quarter.
The loss was UNLV's 11th straight on the road. The Rebels haven't won an away game since beating Brigham Young 24–20 on Oct. 8, 2004.
Weekly accolades: WAC Offensive Player of the Week: Nate Ilaoa, RB
Boise State
Jared Zabransky threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns and Ian Johnson ran for 178 yards and two scores as Boise State defeated Hawaii 41–34.
The Broncos (4–0) won the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams for their 48th win in their 50 games on their home blue turf.
Hawaii (1–2) trailed by 18 points in the second quarter, but closed to 34–27 early in the fourth on Colt Brennan's 14-yard pass to Davone Bess on fourth down. After Hawaii botched an extra point try in the second quarter, Orlando Scandrick came up with the ball in the ensuing scramble and went 88 yards for a two-point defensive conversion, repeating a feat he accomplished last season at Hawaii that gave the Broncos the final margin in that wild 44–41 win.
Brennan completed 25 of 36 passes for 388 yards and five touchdowns and an interception. But he also fumbled as Hawaii was driving in the fourth quarter for the tie, and Boise State's Gerald Alexander recovered.
Had Hawaii not had so many miscues in the kicking game, Hawaii would have had the opportunity to win the game.
Boise State had 515 total offensive yards to Hawaii's 476. Boise had 308 yards of offense in the first half, 150 rushing and 158 passing. Hawaii had 267 total yards in the first half, 232 on passing.
Weekly accolades: None
Eastern Illinois Previous meeting: Hawaii 61, Eastern Illinois 36 (2002)
Colt Brennan threw for 409 yards and five first-half touchdowns as Hawaii coasted past Division I-Championship Subdivision (formerly known as I-AA) Eastern Illinois 44–9.
The Warriors (2–2) aired it out against the Panthers (2–3), scoring early and often. Hawaii attempted 38 passes and called just one run play in the first half, while jumping out a 34–9 lead. Brennan passed for 369 yards in the one-sided half and led the Warriors to a 32-point lead before being taken out midway through the third quarter.
Before a sparse crowd of 22,480, the Warriors put up 571 yards of offense compared with the Panthers' 291.
The Panthers were playing their second Bowl Subdivision opponent this season. They lost at Illinois 42–17 on Sept. 2.
Weekly accolades: None
Nevada
Colt Brennan threw four first-half touchdown passes and ran for another score as Hawaii held on to a 41–34 victory over Nevada.
Nate Ilaoa carried 14 times for 151 yards and caught eight passes for 68 yards as the Warriors (3–2, 1–1 Western Athletic Conference) snapped the Wolf Pack's three-game winning streak.
Brennan's 7-yard run in the fourth quarter put Hawaii up 41–21 and helped seal the win. He finished the night 36-of-47 for 419 yards, moving into second place on Hawaii's career passing list.