Bruised and battered, the University of Hawai'i football team overcame a variety of setbacks to produce a statement-making 50-23 victory over Utah State last night at Aloha Stadium.

"We had a great night," UH defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis said.

A dominant second quarter and a relentless defense helped the Warriors improve to 4-6 overall and finish the Western Athletic Conference season with a 4-4 record. After next week's bye, the Warriors close the regular season with games against Wisconsin and San Diego State.

"Right now, we're trying to send off the seniors the right way," said Colt Brennan, a third-year sophomore who withstood a sore back to complete 24 of 36 passes for 386 yards and two touchdowns, both to slotback Davone Bess. "We have two games left, one against a great team (Wisconsin), and we want to have as much fun as possible, and end the season on as good a note as possible."

For the Warriors, the good times did not roll immediately. They appeared to be sluggish in taking a 6-3 lead that was constructed by two Daniel Kelly field goals. This season, four of Kelly's line-drive kicks were blocked, a deficiency he apparently cured last night. "I'm glad, I found my height (on field-goal attempts) again," Kelly said.

And in the second quarter, the Warriors found their mojo, outscoring the Aggies, 28-0, to take a 34-3 lead into the intermission. Inspiration came from frustration — Brennan's interception with 12:41 left in the second quarter.

"I'm battling a real sore back lately, and I didn't have my confidence behind my throws," Brennan said. "I tried to place balls, and not throw them. Once I got that (interception), it got us mad enough. It woke us up. I got mad at myself, and I totally forgot about my back, and started slinging it."

UH extended its lead to 13-3 when Brennan and Bess, who made five catches for 110 yards, collaborated on a 6-yard scoring pass.

Soon after, the Warriors regained possession when outside linebacker Kila Kamakawiwo'ole struck quarterback Leon Jackson's left (throwing) arm, forcing a fumble. Safety Lono Manners recovered.

"All I saw was him on the opposite side of me," Kamakawiwo'ole recalled. "He was right at the moment when he was going to throw it, when I got him. I was kind of lucky."

Jackson said: "He hit me underneath my shoulder blade. That's all I remember."

Jackson, who was recovering from a sprained left wrist, did not play the rest of the game. "I can't lift my shoulder up," he said after the game.

Five plays later — aided by two pass-interference penalties against safety Andre Bala — David Farmer scored on a 1-yard run.

The Warriors increased their lead to 27-3 on Nate Ilaoa's 3-yard run, in which he escaped cornerback Jarrett Bush's attempted ankle tackle at the line of scrimmage. The touchdown was set up by Brennan's 57-yard pass to Ross Dickerson.

"I needed to make up for the last one," said Ilaoa, referring to an earlier 53-yard run in which he tripped. "On that first one, I was wide open, and I tackled myself. I wanted to get a tackle for the year, so I got one. Does that count? Anyway, I knew if I got tackled (by Bush), I would never hear the end of it from (video coordinator Michael) Brewster. I knew I had to score."

The Warriors then finished the first-half scoring with Brennan's 1-yard sneak with 6 seconds remaining.

"The whole game was the second quarter, the (28) points, turning the ball over," Utah State coach Brent Guy said. "We made a play, but turned the ball over. We imploded again."

The Aggies, who fell to 2-7 overall and 1-5 in their first WAC season, managed one first down in the second quarter — a personal foul against the Warriors on the first half's final kickoff.

Although they scored three touchdowns in the second half — two off of broken UH coverages — the suspense had long been over.

The Warriors had altered their 3-4 defense, moving outside linebackers Kamakawiwo'ole and Tanuvasa Moe to the line of scrimmage, a strategy intended to bracket the Aggies' perimeter offense.

"We knew (Jackson) was a shifty quarterback," said Alama-Francis, who also blocked a USU extra-point kick that resulted in Manners' 95-yard run for a UH two-point conversion. "We had to contain him. I think we did a good job of it."

Nose tackle Michael Lafaele also was able to collapse Utah State's interior blocking schemes, forcing Jackson and then his replacement, Jerod Walker, to scramble frequently.

Despite two significant injuries — cornerback Turmarian Moreland suffered a sprained right knee and defensive end Melila Purcell was wearing a sling for his hyper-extended left elbow — the Warriors' defense remained in control.

"It wasn't the look or the scheme," UH defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said. "It was how hard we hit. If you hit as hard as we hit in the first half, you usually have success."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.