Michael Washington's week got off to an inauspicious start, but ended with two trips to the end zone in Hawai'i's 38-31 Western Athletic Conference win against Nevada last night at Aloha Stadium.

While Malcolm Lane might have made the dramatic game-winning TD catch, Washington caught a career-high two, each from starting quarterback Inoke Funaki and No. 3 Greg Alexander. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound senior had five catches for 100 yards and it seemed that every one was critical.

"We told him, we expect more out of you," said UH graduate assistant Craig Stutzmann, a fine receiver himself for the Warriors. "I told him 'You're such a quick, fast guy (and) that we need you to catch the ball and stay on your feet and really get up the field. I told him it's a challenge. I'm going to challenge you this week. Stay on your feet, make big plays. And he answered the challenge. I feel so proud of him."

What helped, Washington said, was changing his pass routes to use his speed.

"At the beginning, I had a lot of flat routes," he said. "It's hard to get the ball out of the flat when you have to block and make the turn. But Coach Mack (Greg McMackin) challenged me to make a play. Make the first guy miss and that's what we did. The game plan this week was to attack down field. That's what we're used to. That's what Hawai'i's used to. I made plays today going downfield. I utilized my speed."

The Warriors hadn't completed a pass until the second quarter and Washington had only one ball thrown his direction before he hauled in a 26-yard TD pass on an out route to the left side of the end zone from Funaki that put UH ahead, 14-7 early in the second quarter.

He would not see another pass until late in the third quarter when Alexander went in for his second of UH's first three series to start the second half. He made three crucial catches in the drive that increased UH's lead to 31-17.

Facing third-and-11 at the UH 21, Washington caught a pass in the left flat and bullied his way for 12 yards and the first down.

"He was the backbone of a lot of our drives," Stutzmann said. "He made a guy miss and took it up the field and got another five yards for a first down."

Five plays later at midfield, the Warriors faced third-and-5 and Washington's 29-yard reception to the Nevada 21 set the stage for his 16-yard TD pass from Alexander on another out route to the left side. He had beaten his defender by some five yards and was wide open in the end zone.

"They were playing a lot of cover two," Alexander said of Nevada's pass defense scheme. "So you're going to get that squat corner (route). Put Mike one-on-one with the safety, he's going to win that match every time."

Washington's fifth reception was the second-longest after Lane's 24-yard TD catch. His 17-yard catch put UH into Nevada territory at the 44 to keep the drive alive.

Beside being challenged as a receiver, Washington was pulled from punt returns during the week. The coaches thought it would be better if Washington put his focus on offense.

"My thing is and Coach (Ikaika) Malloe's thing is, you might get five plays returning punts, but you're going to get 75 plays on offense," Stutzmann said. "Aaron Bain did a good job, stepping in his role, stepping away from offense, being a punt returner. It was a total team effort."

Malloe is in charge of UH's special teams.

"It did help me concentrate offense," Washington said. "The changes kind of helped this week. It was all for the better."

Stutzmann was proud of the way Washington responded to the challenges.

"He really did everything we asked him to do in meetings and at practice," Stutzmann said. "Trust your technique; trust what you gotta do. He adjusted to the ball really well and the main thing was he was being a leader to the other guys."