48 - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 30, 1998
Michigan
Hawaii
48
17
Michigan player of the game: Anthony Thomas
Michigan's sophomore running back helped the Wolverines establish their
ground game early against the Rainbow Warriors, busting several long runs
en route to four touchdowns. Thomas returned to break an 80-yard touch-
down run after spending much of the second half on the sideline, watching
the second string run the offense.
Stat line:
Attempts
13
Yards
183
Average
14.1
TDs
4
"M AIICST
MICHIGAN
Rainbow Warriors' defense can't
stop Thomas from career game
PASSING
Player C,
Brady 911
Henson3-
Kapsner 1
breisbach 1
Totals 1"
RUSHING
Player At
Thomas 13
Williams 18
Henson 4
Cross 8
Brady 2
Dreisbach 1
Totals 46
RECEIVING
Player No.
Streets 5
Knight 2
Thomas 1
Cross 1
Smith 1
Williams 1
ichards 1
Walker 1
Shea 1
Totals 31
PUNTING
Player1
Epstein
Henson
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Cross 2
Thomas 1
Totals 3
PUNT RETURNS
Player N.
Knght 4
Johnson 1
Totals 5
DEFENSE
Payer
Foote
Gold
Patmon
Jordan
Whitley
Schanski
Sechler
Singletary
Jones
Hlendricks
Copenhaver
Frysinger
Kratus
Jackson
Sword
Brooks
Rosel
Ray
Wilson
Peterson
Feazell
Campb~ell
Miller
Renes
Terrell
Hall
Williams
Anderson
Totals
1-1
22
Yds
183
80
41
19
1
1
327
YdS
90
11
35
18
15
9
9
6
6
199
No.
4
1
S
Y2
59
24
83
US
Ys
75
13
28
8o
3
5
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
55
28
0
0
28
Yes TO bIS
142
33
15
9
199
2
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
Avg
14.1
4.4
10.3
2.4
.5
1.0
7.1
Avg
18
5.5
35
18
15
9
9
6
6
12.1
Yds
161
39
200
L9
80
9
34
8
2
1
8o
Lg
49
6
35
18
15
9
9
6
6
49
TD
4
0
1
0
0
0
5
TO
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
Avg L9
40.3 47
39 39
40 47
By JimRose
Daily Sports Editor
tIHONOLULU - As Anthony
Thomas rushed past the line of scnm-
mage with his first carry on Saturday, a
rainbow appeared.
And it tackled him.
kg It was a Rainbow Warrior, to be exact
- a linebacker that stopped Thomas
after a gain of five yards. But it was one
of the few times all afternoon that
Thomas was held in check.
4-In one of his most dominant perfor-
mances to date, Thomas was virtually
unstoppable against Hawai'i. He car-
ied the ball 13 times for a career-high
183 yards, and also scored a career-high
four touchdowns in the blowout win,
flipping the switch on Michigan's on-
again, off-again rushing attack.
"I was impressed with Anthony's
running," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
said after the game. "He ran hard, and I
think that is always a positive. When
you have a guy that runs like he did, it's
always a good thing for your football
team."
After his initial carry, Thomas did-
n't take long to get on track. On his
fourth touch, he burst through the
MARGARET MYERS/Daily right side of the line and went 38
Anthony Thomas helped himself to a four-touchdown evening against Hawaii, rack- yards for the Wolverines' first touch-
ing up 183 yards.
'M' backups get their chances
down of the game.
His second touchdown was a short
one - just a four-yard jaunt that made
the score 21-3 - but his next two were
beauties.
Touchdown No. 3 came less than
four minutes later, with 10:02 remain-
ing in the first half. After Clarence
Williams did the grunt work, carrying
three straight times for, 15 yards to get
Michigan into position, Thomas fin-
ished the drive off. He went left this
time, sprinting 16 yards for his third
touchdown of the half.
It was his final carry of the half, and
at the time, it looked as though it would
be his final carry of the afternoon. With
104 yards on just I1 carries - and with
his team up 35-3 - Thomas had
already put in a full day's work.
"They told me I was finished at half-
time," Thomas said. "So I was relaxing,
drinking water and chewing gum. Then
somebody told me to get loose again,
and I was like, 'Get loose again?"'
In the interim, Michigan's defense
had surrendered a few points since the
intermission. And while 41-17 was
hardly what you would term "striking
distance," Carr was unamused. He did-
n't want the game getting any closer.
So Thomas went back in. But not
for long.
All it took was one play. Thomas
took the ball from Brady and promptly
raced 80 yards for a touchdown, mak-
ing the score 48-17 and effectively 0
squashing whatever minuscule hopes.
the Rainbow Warriors may have held of
making a comeback.
"They told me all they wanted was
one play," Thomas said. "So that's what
I tried to give them."
But there was something else moti-
vating Thomas. After his initial char-
gethrough the line, he had to outsprint
Hawai'i's defensive backs to the end
zone. And it was a pretty close race.
"I knew if I would have gotten caught
from the backside, I'd never hear the
end of it," he said. "The guys would
never let me forget it."
And while the controlled variable
was Michigan's offense, the obvious
independent variable in Thomas' career
afternoon was the opposing defense -
Hawai'i's not 0-12 for a reason, after
all. But the sophomore running back
said the tropical climate was an added
bonus.
"I feel like I'm at home, back in
Louisiana;" he said. "It's warm every
day here. It helps you get loose. I ran
pretty freely."
Avg Etg
29.5 32
24 24
27.7 32
Avg t9
18.8 28
13 13
17.6 26
Mat
3
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
13
TO
0
0
0
ID
0
: T
0
0
Tot
6
5
5
5
5
3
3
.3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
68
TD
0 0
1 0
1 0
S 0
I.
PASS DEFENSE
Player
Ray
Peterson
Weathers
Totals
Team Stats
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/ lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
hit
1
0
0
1
Lt
28
0
0
28
21
46/325
199
68
524
199
14/22/0
5/40
1/0
7/52
26:22
Srkeup
1
1
2
20
33/73
328
85
401
29
24/52/1
8/328
1/0
5/37
33:38
By Jim Rose
Daily Sports Editor
HONOLULU -- The stars were
shining for Michigan on Saturday -
but in most cases, just for one half.
While Anthony Thomas (183
yards, four touchdowns) racked up
career numbers and Tom Brady (9-
for-10) and Tai Streets (five catches,
two for touchdowns) continued to
connect, most of the second half of
Michigan's 48-17 trouncing of
Hawai'i belonged to the guys who
don't always make the headlines.
Drew Henson - admittedly, a
headline-maker, if not for his play
this season - showed flashes of the
talent that has him bearing the label
of Michigan's Next Great
Quarterback.
The freshman's numbers (3-for-9,
33 yards) weren't outstanding, but
his athleticism showed up in the
form of four scrambling runs for 41
yards.
Most impressive was a 34-yard
touchdown run around left end.
With any other Michigan signal-
caller behind center, it would likely
have been little more than a coverage
sack.
And while Thomas and senior
Clarence Williams (18 carries, 80
yards) handled the bulk of the work-
load in the backfield, freshman
Walter Cross got eight carries of his
own, and also turned a screen pass
from Henson into an 33-yard gain,
15 of which were negated because of
a holding penalty.
Yet Cross' biggest mark may have
been made returning kicks in the sec-
ond half - his two returns netted a
total of 59 yards.
"It's really good to see guys like
Walter go out and do well," said
Michigan receiver Diallo Johnson,
who himself added punt returning to
his repertoire, taking one back 13
yards. "You just tell them to keep
working hard, and maybe- they'll
even break one off like A-Train
sometime."
In addition to Henson and Cross,
several other little-used Wolverines
saw action. Rudy Smith (15 yards),
Aaron Richards (nine yards) and
Marquise Walker (six yards) caught
one pass apiece.
Wifh the starting offensive line
resting, Jason Kapsner and Scott
Dreisbach each completed passes in
fourth-quarter action.
Special teams regulars Tate
Schanski and Andy Sechler con-
tributed even more this week, with
three tackles each. Jeff Smokevitch
- cleverly disguised, in a No. 99 jer-
sey, as Jake Frysinger - had a pair
of tackles. In all, 29 different
Wolverines made tackles.
"We had an opportunity to play a
lot of guys, which was good," Lloyd
Carr said. "It's always helpful to
their development, and to their expe-
rience."
MOVE OVER, DESMOND: While Tai
Streets' success this season has been
well-documented, his most recent
accomplishment will likely raise
eyebrows of even the most astute stat
watchers.
With his third catch of the game, a
two-yarder with 12 minutes left in
the second quarter, Streets passed
former Heisman winner Desmond
Howard to claim third place on
Michigan's all-time receptions list.
Howard played just three seasons
for the Wolverines, but was one of
the most celebrated receivers in
school history.
Streets, in his fourth and final sea-
son, finished the game with five
catches for 90 yards and a pair of
touchdowns.
0
0
HAWAII
PASSING
Player
Robinson
Tharp
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Thompson
Mims
Weaver
Pigg
Kane
Oau
Grant
Tharp
Robinson
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Mos
Carter
McClain
Thompson
Kane
Mims
Tharp
Totals
PUIMNG
Player
Shrout
Tots
C-A
2451
2452
Aft
5
6
2
4
1
3
I.
2
9
33
No.
9
8
2
2
1
4
1
24
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
MorrisI
Grant
Totals 2
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
Tharp 3
Totals 3
DEFENSE
Player
A. Smith
Gamner
Paul
Mollner
Cobb-Adams
Avila
Jiles
Lelay
Austin
Ulbrich
Gonzales
Bright
Elam
Rosehill
Tuioti
B. Smith
Jackson
Correia
Morris
Weaver.
Totals
Yds
25
24
18
9
6
4
0
"1
-12
73
Yds
124
154
13
3
22
10
2
325
No.
8
8
Yds
20
8
28
Ys
1
1
Soto
9
6
5
4
3
5
4
4
4
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
i
60
Y6s
328
0
328
Avg
5
4
9
2.3
6
1.3
0
-.5
-13
2.2
Avg
13.8
19.3
6.5
1.5
22
10
2
1.3.7
Yds
328
328
S Avg
S 20
a 28
E Avg
.3
.3
TO
1
0
14
12
4
13
5
6
2
0
2
4
13
L9
32
67
9
5
22
10
2
67
o
1
0
1
YD
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1D
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
Carr gives punting opportunity to unexpected kickers
Henson and Epstein give kick to Michigan's punting
Avg t9
41 60
41 0
AA
3
2
3
4
4
1
2
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
23
is TO
20 0
8 0
2 0
tg T
3 0
3 0
Tot
12
8
8
8
7
6
6
5
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
63
WARREN ZINN/Daily
With Michigan building up a quick 28-3 lead, many of the Wolverines' reserves
saw extended action against Hawaii on Saturday.
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Editor
HONOLULU - After seeing his ever-reliable
punter Jason Vinson lose his touch last week against
Ohio State, Lloyd Carr knew he needed to make a
change at punter.
Instead, he made two.
As Vinson watched from the sideline, freshmen
Hayden Epstein and Drew Henson got a chance to
demonstrate their skills. Epstein, the much-bally-
hooed placekicker/punter/kickoff specialist, finally
got an opportunity from the beginning of the game
to demonstrate the monster leg Carr raved about on
signing day last February.
Judging from his first day under fire as the pri-
mary punter, Epstein held his own against Hawai'i.
Surprisingly, the first kick came on the
Wolverines' first series of the game when Michigan
failed to advance the ball, going three-and-out.
The offense began clicking soon after, scoring on
its next five possessions to break the game open and
build a 35-3 lead. So by the next time Epstein was
called, it was after halftime and the score was no
longer in jeopardy.
He punted three more times in the second half as
Michigan's second-string offense - coincidentally
led by Henson - sputtered.
His stats included a 40.3 yard average on four
punts with a long kick of 47 yards.
"Hayden, in the last couple weeks, has punted
more consistently," Carr said. He "has a great leg."
Epstein was able to keep his powerful leg warm
on the field, kicking off after Michigan seven
touchdowns.
Henson, who starred as an All-State punter last
year when his own Brighton offense halted, provid-
one month ago.
All of the healthy tailbacks contributed to the
effort as Thomas and Clarence Williams mostly
were confined to the first half, with Walter Cross
getting most of the second-half carries.
Though his long run was just nine yards,
Williams gained 80 yards on a team-high 18 carries.
The most surprising run of the second half came
on a Henson improvisation.
Facing third and three at Hawai'i's 34, the fresh-
man lined up under center looking to pass.
When all his options were negated, he scrambled
to his left and scooted into the end zone for a touch-
down.
For those keeping score at home, Henson is now
tied for third with injured Justin Fargas for rushing
touchdowns with one.
Final Big Ten
qftandilnv
1 S.. 1
I -