Enquirer news services

HONOLULU - Hawaii football players blamed the Cincinnati Bearcats for their post-game brawl Saturday night and even challenged them to another.

Players from both teams charged onto the field and had to be separated by police after scuffling for about five minutes following Hawaii's 20-19 come-from-behind victory.

"We got a chance to get a lot of licks in," Hawaii offensive lineman Uriah Moenoa said. "They lost the game and they lost the fight."

Responding to speculation that the Bearcats and Warriors could meet again in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Day, Moenoa said:

"I would love that. We can just skip the game and go straight to the fight."

Tension built during the game as the Bearcats were whistled for several personal fouls, including a late hit by Tyjuan Hagler with 2:39 left that sent Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang out of the game with a knee injury. Chang had thrown a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Cockheran with just over five minutes remaining to provide the winning score for the Warriors (9-2).

"It was a cheap shot," Hawaii offensive lineman Vince Manuwai said.

Hawaii running back Thero Mitchell said a Cincinnati player threw a punch as the Warriors' quarterback took a knee to run out the clock.

"Everybody was in each others faces and they were jawing a lot, that was going the whole game," Mitchell said. "One person threw a punch from their team and that's all it took."

Fans threw water bottles and trash at Cincinnati players leaving the field. Police escorting the Bearcats to their locker room used pepper spray to disperse some rowdy fans. No arrests were made.

Hawaii coach June Jones downplayed the confrontation.

"It was unfortunate that it happened, but we scored one more point than they did, so that's all I care about at this point," Jones said.

"They came a long way and they lost a tough game. So sometimes emotions get the better of you."