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Trojans Open Season With 49-36 Win Over Hawaii

Shotgun Spratling |
September 3, 2010 | 3:53 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

HONOLULU -- Sophomore Matt Barkley threw for five touchdowns, senior Ronald Johnson scored four times and the Trojans fended off a persistent Hawai’i Warriors squad 49-36 in an offensive shootout that began the Lane Kiffin era Thursday night at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

On a night with more scoring than prom night, there were plenty of questions for the Trojans. Foremost among them: a defense that allowed Hawai'i 588 yards of total offense.

Nevertheless, Kiffin's reign begins with a victory.

“Defensively, we didn’t play well, obviously," Kiffin said after the game. "I’m really disappointed with everything in general. There are some good things, but we’ve got a long way to go. Good thing is we don’t have any major injuries and we’re 1-0.”

Offense was a bright spot for the Trojans with Barkley and Johnson posting huge numbers, and junior Marc Tyler rushing for 154 yards in his first start as a Trojan, including a 44-yard touchdown run for USC’s final score of the night. But this was no reincarnation of the 2005 national championship team that never existed according to the NCAA.

The Trojans' defense was horrendous.

The young secondary was shredded by Hawai’i’s run-and-shoot offense. The defensive line rarely got pressure. And USC looked very much like a team that hadn't tackled in nearly a month -- which was the case due to injury concerns.

USC jumped ahead in the opening quarter when senior David Ausberry took a short hitch pass, shoved away a smaller defensive back and streaked down the numbers for a 46-yard touchdown. However, during the point after attempt holder and backup quarterback Mitch Mustain tried to sling a pass to Ausberry from the “swinging gate” formation that went over the 6-foot-4 receiver’s head and out-of-bounds. 6-0 USC.

On the Trojans' next drive, Johnson found the end zone twice – catching a 1-yard pass for a touchdown from Barkley and following it up with a 3-yard pass for a two-point conversion to give the Trojans a 14-3 first quarter lead.

Barkley found tight end Rhett Ellison from 6 yards out to give USC a 20-3 lead on the next drive but inauspiciously decided to go for another two-point conversion, which failed when Barkley’s pass was broken up.

The seemingly unnecessary conversion attempt appeared to fire up the Warriors and quarterback Bryant Moniz. The former walk-on immediately led the offense down the field on an 11-play drive that stalled only after Royce Pollard dropped a potential touchdown pass, forcing Hawai’i to settle for a field goal.

The Warriors forced a punt on USC's next drive, then struck for a 56-yard touchdown.

Moniz found wide receiver Kealoha Pilares over the middle, where he made two USC defenders miss and broke to the edge, where he wouldn’t be caught on his way to the end zone.

Another score by Johnson gave Hawai’i the ball with just over a minute remaining. Moniz drove down the field using All-American receiver candidate Greg Salas almost exclusively. On a play from the 9-yard line, Salas looked to have reached the end zone, but the referees determined his elbow had hit the ground prior to the ball crossing the plane of the goal line. Two incompletions later, the Warriors were forced to kick a field goal that trimmed USC’s halftime lead to 27-16.

But Hawai’i was never able to cut the lead to a single score.

The two teams traded punts to open the second half, but Johnson was not satisfied with just getting the ball back from the Warriors. Instead of calling for a fair catch inside the 15-yard line, Johnson said he “made a full-speed decision,” catching the punt in traffic and bursting up the right sideline. With a pair of blocks from defensive linemen Jurrell Casey and Armond Armstead, Johnson took it to the house for an 89-yard score, opening the game up once more for the Trojans.

After the game, Johnson gave credit where it was due.

“I definitely got to give credit to the defense,” Johnson said. “I would’ve never broke free if it weren’t for Jurrell Casey and if everyone else didn’t get their block.”

Hawai'i and USC traded scores for the remainder of the game with Hawai’i running back Alex Green rushing for a score, Johnson finding the end zone for the fourth time, Tyler’s romping for a 44-yard touchdown, and Pilares catching a pair of touchdown receptions.

Pilares finished with 176 yards receiving and three scores. Salas and Pollard also finished with 100+ yards receiving for the game, while Moniz passed for 269 yards and one touchdown before leaving the game after a big hit from USC linebacker Michael Morgan.

Moniz had a good statistical game, but he was outdone by Barkley, who finished 18-for-23 for 257 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Barkley's five touchdown passes tied a school record, as did Johnson's three touchdown catches.

USC looks to keep the offense rolling next week when they host Virginia at 7:30 p.m. PST.

To reach reporter Shotgun Spratling, click here.



 

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