Wolf Pack Notebook: Garcia plays well in first star

RENO - Nevada didn't lose a beat with redshirt freshman Dominic Garcia manning the center spot for the first time in his career.

Green started because Jimmy Wadhams tore his left medial collateral ligament against San Jose State and will miss the next four weeks minimum. Fred White, the back-up center, is currently out with a sprained foot, also suffered in the San Jose State game.

Green and Kyle Robertson worked at center all week, and the Pack coaching staff decided to go with Green. Charles Manu, a sophomore JC transfer, started in Green's spot at guard.

There were no errant snaps the entire game as quarterback Jeff Rowe pointed out in the post-game press conference.

"It was huge," Rowe said. "Dom is an incredible athlete. From the get-go he was great. It was just really unbelievable to have a game like he did."

Coach Chris Ault said he was impressed not only with how Green snapped the ball, but his blocking. Ault also was impressed with Manu's effort.

"Charles (Manu) from what I could see played real well," Ault said.

ANOTHER BIG PLAY

Free safety Nick Hawthrone continues to make big plays for the Wolf Pack.

Hawthrone returned a fourth-quarter fumble 90 yards for a TD. He had previously returned two interceptions for touchdowns. It was the first fumble return for a TD since Logan Carter did it against Southern Utah in the 2003 season-opener.

The play came on a third-and-1 from the Nevada 6. Siua Musika, normally a defensive lineman, lost control of the ball, and Hawthrone had nothing but open space in front of him, and he outraced the Idaho offense to the end zone.

"I was just trying to score," Hawthrone said. "I was trying to add more points to the scoreboard."

HALL OF FAME HONOREES

At halftime, former basketball coach Sonny Allen, football star Shahriar Pourdanesh, basketball star Michael Gray and baseball star Jim Stassi were introduced to the crowd as the newest members of the University of Nevada Hall of Fame.

The quartet was honored at a dinner on Friday night at Lawlor Events Center.

Allen led the Pack to their first NCAA appearance in the 80s, Stassi was a hard-hitting catcher for coach Gary Powers, Gray teamed with Johnny High and Edgar Jones to form one of the best trios in Nevada history, and Pourdanesh had a brief NFL career with the Steelers, Redskins and Raiders.

SLOW STARTS

Idaho continues to be plagued by slow starts, and this one was the worst, as Nevada rolled up 28 straight points before Idaho scored.

The Vandals trailed 14-0 in the first two minutes against Washington State, and Hawai'i scored on its first drive of the game in its 24-0 win in the WAC opener two weeks ago.

"We practiced well, but we need to do a better job as coaches to get these guys up for the game," Idaho coach Nick Holt said. "Nothing was good today."

FACTS & FIGURES

De'Angelo Wilson scored the Pack's second defensive touchdown of the game when he intercepted a Steve Wichman pass and returned it 47 yards. It was his first interception of the season and the first of his career. ... Nevada gained more than 500 yards (537) for the first time since rolling up 598 in the 2004 season-opener against Sacramento State. ... Nevada leads the all-time series with Idaho14-9 and Ault has piled up an 11-4 record against the Vandals. The 62-14 win was the largest winning margin by either team in the series. Before today, Nevada's biggest win against Idaho was 58-23 on Oct. 24, 1998 in Moscow. ... Nevada's 28-6 halftime lead was the largest since Nevada led Sac State 28-0 last September. ... Carson's Nick Shine and Douglas products Andy McIntosh and Luke Rippee all played in the win. McIntosh got in a couple of snaps at wide receiver, and Rippee played cornerback the last series of the game. ... Rowe has passed for more than 200 yards in every game thus far. He threw for 251 yards and three scores, and also scrambled for 45 yards.

n Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281.