Utah’s Kamo’i Latu was given his first start at safety on Saturday and turned it into a Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honor on Monday.
The 2020 Saint Louis alumnus finished with a career-high 10 tackles and broke up a pass in a 42-26 win over USC at the Coliseum.
Latu had five of those tackles in the first quarter to help Utah (3-2, 2-0) beat the Trojans in Los Angeles for the first time since 1916.
Latu, who is 6 feet and 195 pounds, appeared in all five games the Utes played in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season on special teams and had eight career tackles in nine games before doubling that on Saturday.
Latu is one of 34 Crusaders currently listed on FBS rosters.
Young Kaniho stands out for Boise State
Boise State cornerback Kaonohi Kaniho was named the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week on Monday.
Kaniho, the younger brother of senior Kekaula Kaniho and a 2020 Kahuku alumnus, made five tackles and picked off the first pass of his career on BYU’s final drive to seal a 26-17 win over the previously No. 10-ranked Cougars.
Kaniho had two of his tackles on third down and broke up a pass.
The 6-foot, 178-pound freshman appeared in four games in 2020 and hadn’t made a tackle in three games this season before seeing increased playing time against BYU.
Kekaula Kaniho, a fifth-year senior and 2017 Kahuku alumnus who was named to the All-MWC first team in 2019, had four tackles against the Cougars.
Boise State had lost its last four games against ranked opponents but is now 5-1 in its last six games against Top 10 opponents, with the only loss coming to No. 9 BYU in 2020.
Washington’s Horn to transfer
Washington place-kicker Tim Horn, a 2019 Punahou alumnus, announced Monday that he is entering the transfer portal.
Horn, who had won kickoff duties this season, averaged 63.1 yards on his kicks with eight touchbacks in 19 attempts.
He rotated on extra-point duties in one of the Huskies’ games this season but had not attempted a field goal.
He appeared in UW’s first four games, but instead of redshirting the rest of the season, decided to transfer.
Horn has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
FOOTBALL
>> Jayden de Laura, Saint Louis ’20: The Washington State quarterback finished 32-for-46 for a career-high 399 yards and three touchdowns with only one pick in a 31-24 win over Oregon State on Saturday.
>> De’Zhaun Stribling, Kapolei ’20: The Washington State receiver caught three passes for 37 yards against the Beavers.
>> Nick Herbig, Saint Louis ’20: The Wisconsin linebacker made three tackles and broke up three passes in a 24-0 shutout of Illinois on Saturday.
>> Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kapolei ’17: The Notre Dame senior defensive lineman made three tackles with one tackle for loss in a 32-29 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday.
>> Wayne Taulapapa, Punahou ’16: The Virginia senior running back rushed 10 times for a team-high 42 yards and caught a 4-yard pass in a 34-33 win over Louisville on Saturday.
>> Aaron Faumui, Kapolei ’18: The Virginia junior defensive lineman had two tackles for loss against the Cardinal.
>> Vavae Malepeai, Mililani ’16: The USC senior running back scored on a 2-yard touchdown run in a 42-26 loss to Utah on Saturday.
>> Kana’i Mauga, Waianae ’18: The USC senior linebacker made a game-high 11 tackles with two tackles for loss in the loss to the Utes.
MEN’S GOLF
>> Kolbe Irei, Roosevelt ’20: The UC Irvine sophomore posted his first collegiate top-20 finish on Tuesday, closing the Big Cullum Invitational with a 2-over 74 to finish in a tie for 17th place at 8 over at The Oaks Clubs in Valencia, Calif. Irei’s 74 was UC Irvine’s best round of the tournament and allowed him to climb six spots on the leaderboard.
>> Pono Yanagi, KS-Hawaii ’19: The Washington State junior closed with a 4-over 75 to finish in a tie for 24th place at 5 over in the Oregon State Invitational on Tuesday in Corvallis, Ore.
WOMEN’S GOLF
>> Claire Choi, Punahou ’18: The Santa Clara senior closed with a 1-over 73 to finish in third place at 2-over 218 at the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational on Tuesday in Tacoma, Wash. Choi shot a 71 on Monday for her first round under par of the fall season.
>> Shayna Lu, Punahou ’21: The Seattle freshman closed with a 6-over 78 to finish in a tie for eighth place at 6 over at the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational. Lu opened with consecutive rounds of even par in just her fourth collegiate tournament.
>> Myah McDonald, Mid-Pacific ’20: The New Mexico sophomore closed with an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for 23rd place at 6-over 222 in the Dale McNamara Invitational in Broken Arrow, Okla., on Tuesday.
>> Allysha Mae Mateo, Maryknoll ’18: The Brigham Young senior closed with consecutive rounds of 76 to finish in a tie for 37th place at 10 over in the Dale McNamara Invitational.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
>> Chardonnay Curran, Campbell ’17: The Oregon senior midfielder scored the lone goal in the third minute of a 1-0 win over Arizona on Thursday.
>> Karlin Wurlitzer, Mililani ’18: The Idaho State junior defensive back scored on a penalty kick in the 67th minute of a 3-2 win over Southern Utah on Friday.
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Stats compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser. To submit an athlete for publication, email: bhull@staradvertiser.com.
