GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The left hand hurt, but not nearly as much as the fear that swiftly crossed wide receiver Greg Salas' mind in the first quarter of yesterday's University of Hawai'i football game.

"It was like, 'oh, no, not now,' " Salas told a teammate, holding up the well-wrapped hand.

Indeed, after paying his dues for two years in the Warriors' deep receiving corps, here he was in his first college start and, suddenly, he'd hurt his hand in the first quarter of what would become a 56-10 loss to Florida.

A bad break?

Salas would eventually learn just how bad: there was a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone — the ring finger.

But after redshirting as a freshman and playing sparingly last year as a backup behind Jason Rivers and C.J. Hawthorne, the last thing Salas wanted was a seat on the bench.

So he had the hand wrapped and played on, catching a game-high matching four passes, including the Warriors' only touchdown, a 13-yarder from Inoke Funaki in the fourth quarter.

"He showed some toughness," offensive coordinator Ron Lee said. "His hand was hurt but he played through it. He'll probably have to play like that the whole season."

Salas said: "I hurt it blocking in the first quarter, but it is fine, I can play with it for as long as it takes."

Salas' four catches for 33 yards matched the four by running back Leon Wright-Jackson as the most in the game by a player for either team. It was one more than he had all of last season, when he appeared in eight games.

"I thought he did good," UH head coach Greg McMackin said. "He had a great (training) camp and has been coming on for us."