This Day In Sports: An emotional record-setting day on the Blue

November 6, 2010: A record-breaking day as Boise State routs Hawaii, 42-7, ending the Warriors’ six-game winning streak before a sellout crowd in Bronco Stadium. Three of the Broncos’ most coveted all-time records fell, as Kellen Moore passed Ryan Dinwiddie to become the career leader in touchdown passes with 85 (he finished with 142) and Austin Pettis grabbed the career lead in receptions, topping Don Hutt with 196 (Matt Miller is the current record-holder with 244). Hutt’s mark had stood for 37 years.

The team broke the third record, amassing 737 yards in total offense for the game (a standard that has been eclipsed twice since, with 742 at Colorado State the following year and 818 at home versus UConn in 2018). Moore threw for a career-high 507 yards, third-most ever at Boise State. The Broncos, ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, also tied their record for longest winning streak with their 22nd victory in a row.

The romp over Hawaii will forever be remembered as the “Coach Kinsey” game. Stephen Kinsey, a 12-year-old cancer patient from San Antonio, TX, was part of Make-A-Wish. And his wish was to coach a game for the Boise State Broncos. Chris Petersen’s wife, Barbara, helped make it come true. The team hosted Kinsey for three magical days, including him in team meetings and practice. He led the team onto the field holding the hand of star defensive end Shea McClellin, with both carrying Hammers, and he was decked out in coaches attire and got to wear a headset.

It was a tough journey. Stephen’s mom, Betsy, wrote a book about it. “If Only Someone Had Told Me” was published two years ago. The Coach Kinsey Facebook page, “Until Stephen Is Cancer Free,” has kept well-wishers informed on his treatment and progress over the years. Kinsey graduated from high school in 2017, and word is he’s doing great now. Stephen rooted on the Broncos from Section 103 at Toyota Stadium during their 35-32 win over North Texas last December in the Frisco Bowl—and even got some airtime on ESPN.

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)

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