Far West Roundup : Aztecs Win, Set Up WAC Showdown

Chris Hardy ran for three touchdowns in the first quarter Saturday night as San Diego State moved within one game of clinching the Western Athletic Conference title with a 35-5 rout of Hawaii at San Diego.

Hardy ran for a 66-yard touchdown on the game’s first play, and later added scoring runs of 1 and 4 yards to give the Aztecs a 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Hardy finished with 119 yards in 20 carries.

Todd Santos’ five-yard scoring pass to Kerry Reid-Martin made it 28-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Safety Harold Hicks closed out the scoring for the Aztecs, intercepting his first pass of the season and returning it 100 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

San Diego State (7-3 overall, 6-1 in the WAC) will play Brigham Young next week for the conference title and a berth in the Holiday Bowl.

BYU 34, Utah 21--At Salt Lake City, Lakei Heimuli, Robert Parker and Bruce Hansen each rushed for more than 100 yards as the Cougars shelved their passing attack.

Heimuli rushed for 171 yards, Parker gained 121 and Hansen added 149 as BYU (7-3, 5-1) kept alive its chances for an 11th straight WAC championship. Utah is 2-8 and 1-6.

Texas El Paso 21, Colorado St. 19--Sammy Garza threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to John Harvey, and Robert Murray intercepted a pass at the goal line in the final minute at El Paso, Tex., as the Miners (3-8) won their first WAC game of the season in seven tries.