HONOLULU, Hawai`i ? The start couldn't have been better. The finish was another gut-wrenching story for the Idaho Vandals.

After marching the length of the field to score on the first series of the game, Idaho began to falter and by night's end the Vandals had lost 49-17 to Hawai`i at Aloha Stadium.

“Too many turnovers and too much momentum,” was Idaho head coach Robb Akey's summary of the 2008 finale. “(Hawai`i) did a tremendous job. They've got a good team that played their tails off.”

The problems were turnovers ? three interceptions and one lost fumble, and struggles to protect quarterback Nathan Enderle and to make room for the Vandals' stable of running backs to make a break.

The Vandals finish the season 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the Western Athletic Conference. Hawai`i, with two non-conference games to play, is 6-5 and 5-3.

Workmanlike is the way to describe the Vandals' opening scoring drive. After McCarty's return gave them the ball at their own 26, they used 14 plays ? seven passing, seven rushing ? to score on Enderle's six-yard pass to Bjorvik with 7:39 left in the first. Enderle was six-of-seven for 58 yards during the drive as he mixed passes to four receivers.

Hawai`i was a little quicker in its response with its first possession. The Warriors used eight plays to cover 69 yards in slightly less than four minutes to even the score when quarterback Greg Alexander pushed through from about one foot out. Alexander was the impetus throughout the drive with three completed passes and four rushes.

The Warriors' next score took even less time ? one play and 10 seconds was all it took for Hawai`i to go up 14-7 when Alexander found Malcolm Lane a step behind the defense for an 82-yard scoring play. The extra point capped the effort with 1:51 left in the first.

The first quarter ended with a wild turn of events ? first with Hawai`i recovering a fumble by Deonte' Jackson then Virdell Larkins returning the favor three plays later when he pounced on a Warriors' fumble.

That tone continued into the second when Enderle, who was hit hard as he released the ball, was intercepted by Ryan Mouton. This one ended differently. Mouton returned the ball to the Idaho two, which set up Kealoha Pilares' two-yard score with 14:06 to go in the second as Hawai`i went up 21-7.

and

Tino Amancio matched his career best when he made the most of a stalled Vandal drive with a 52-yard field goal with 8:46 left in the opening half.

The Vandal defense held on Hawai`i's next possession only to suffer another turnover when Desmond Thomas picked off a pass that bounced out of Davis' hands when he was hit as the ball arrived. The Warriors capitalized on the turnover with a 29-yard drive that concluded when Alexander found an open Aaron Bain at the goal line for a three-yard TD and a 28-10 UH lead with 4:23 left.

That score held for the remainder of the half as the teams traded punts in the final two series.

The Warriors stretched their lead to 35-10 when they opened the second half with a nine-play drive that culminated in Lane's 36-yard TD with 9:50 left in the third.

Another Idaho possession ended abruptly when an Enderle pass was tipped, then intercepted by by Keao Monteilh and returned to the Idaho 31. A personal foul penalty on Bryce Sinclair moved the ball to Idaho's 16 and Daniel covered the distance in two carries to push the Warriors in front 42-10.

Idaho's drought finally ended when Enderle found lanky sophomore Eric Greenwood in the end zone for a four-yard touchdown with 13:02 to play. Lee Smith was the go-to player for much of the drive with four catches for 23 yards as the Vandals trimmed the Warriors' lead to 42-17.

The Vandals attempted an onside kick but Richard Torres recovered it and returned it to the Idaho 19. A penalty moved it to the four and, in one more play, Hawai`i led 49-17.

Notes:

·         T.J. Conley maintained his national punting average lead by booming four kicks an average of 50.8 yards.

·         True freshman Kama Bailey became Idaho's single-season kickoff return yardage leader with 902 yards. His 41 returns rank second for a single season.

·         Tino Amancio became the first Vandal to make every PAT attempt in his career with 82, which includes 29 this season.

·         Senior Adam Korby, a three-time winner of Idaho's Wayne Walker Ironman award, closed out his career by starting every game at his center position.