Rainbows win Hawaii Bowl to finish at .500
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii running back Paul Harris (6) rushes the ball against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii wide receiver Keelan Ewaliko (12), second from right, hoists the Hawaii Bowl trophy with team mates after the 2016 Hawaii Bowl.
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Hawaii’s Metuisela ‘Unga snagged a Dru Brown pass for the Warriors’ first touchdown against Middle Tennessee State in the Hawaii Bowl today at Aloha Stadium.
First-year coach Nick Rolovich wasn’t satisfied with just getting the University of Hawaii football team to the postseason. For it to be a successful inaugural campaign, the Rainbow Warriors needed to win today’s Hawaii Bowl against Middle Tennessee. And that’s exactly what they did before 20,327 gathered at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve.
GALLERY
Down by two touchdowns barely five minutes into the game, the Rainbow Warriors rallied for a 52-35 victory over the Blue Raiders to finish the season with an improbable 7-7 record. It was only the third victory against a team with a winning record for UH, as Middle Tennessee closed out 8-5 this season, but it was the biggest one for Rolovich.
Sophomore quarterback Dru Brown threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 23 and another score to key Hawaii’s attack. Throw in 170 yards rushing on 25 carries by Diocemy St. Juste and six catches for 120 yards by John Ursua, and you get the idea why Hawaii won.
Not that it was easy, mind you. The Blue Raiders had 543 yards of their own as sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill completed 30 of 51 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns. But he also threw two interceptions that resulted in 14 points for UH that proved to be the difference.
It offset a stellar performance by wideout Richie James, who caught eight passes for 162 yards and a score. He also carried the football six times for 39 yards, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.
Down 17 to start the fourth quarter, the Blue Raiders cut it to 45-35 on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Stockstill to Ty Lee. Canon Rooker added the extra point with 10:09 left. If it made UH nervous, the Warriors didn’t show it, as they held that lead until extending to 17 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Dylan Collie. Rigo Sanchez hit the PAT to make it 52-35 with 3:31 left.
Up 14 to start the second half, UH forced Middle Tennessee to punt on its first possession after intermission. By contrast, the Hawaii offense moved the football effectively against the Blue Raiders, eventually facing a first-and-goal from the 9.
But from there the drive stalled, setting up a 23-yard field goal by Sanchez that he knocked through with 9:46 left in the quarter to make it 38-21 Hawaii. But Middle Tennessee wouldn’t go quietly.
The Blue Raiders continued to move the ball effectively, eventually managing a first-and-goal of their own from the 9. Two plays later, Stockstill hit a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Andrews to cut UH’s margin to 38-28 with 7:51 left in the period.
At this point in the game, the Blue Raiders had 100 more total offensive yards and held a 20-11 advantage on first downs, but still trailed by 10 thanks in part to three turnovers UH turned into 21 points.
On Hawaii’s next possession, it appeared the Warriors’ drive stalled near midfield until Hawaii ran a fake punt on which Makoa Camanse-Stevens completed a 21-yard pass to Ammon Barker that set up a first down at the Blue Raiders 26.
From there, UH needed six plays before Brown completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Metuisela Unga, their second hook-up of the game. Sanchez added the PAT to make it 45-28 with 1:15 left.
After falling behind 14-0 early, Hawaii scored 28 unanswered points en route to a 35-21 halftime lead. The 56 combined points in a half tied a Hawaii Bowl record.
Hawaii took its first lead of the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by Brown that completed a drive in the second quarter that began at the end of the first. Sanchez added the PAT to make it 21-14 after Hawaii went 80 yards on eight plays. After giving up 14 points in the first five minutes of the game, Hawaii scored 21 unanswered to move ahead with 11:43 left in the quarter.
The Blue Raiders decided to rejoin the party on their next possession, quickly moving into Hawaii territory thanks to James, who had 30 yards on two plays.
But much like in the first quarter, in which Middle Tennessee turned over the football twice, Stockstill threw a pass right into the waiting arms of Trayvon Henderson, who returned it 68 yards for a touchdown. Sanchez knocked through his fourth PAT to make it 28-14 Hawaii with 7:30 remaining in the period.
It was the first pick-six since 2013 for the Warriors.
It took a while, but the Middle Tennessee offense finally put together a scoring drive late in the quarter. Facing a first-and-10 at the UH 18 with 1:57 left in the half, a pass interference by Henderson gave them a first-and-goal at the 3. Two plays later, Stockstill found Lee in the flat for a 3-yard touchdown. Rooker added the PAT to cut UH’s lead to 28-21 with 1:41 left in the half. That drive was six plays, 82 yards to put the Blue Raiders back in it. But the Warriors responded.
Hawaii got another chance to score just before the half, taking over at its own 45 after a nice return by Paul Harris and a penalty on Middle Tennessee. After a variety of flags on both teams, Hawaii still managed to score on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Marcus Kemp, who made a nice adjustment on a slightly under-thrown pass. Sanchez made the PAT to give UH a 35-21 lead with 22 seconds left in the half.
Hawaii got off to a slow start before rallying to draw even at 14-14 after a wild first quarter in which the teams combined for 290 yards.
After forcing a three-and-out on Hawaii’s first series, Middle Tennessee wasted little time scoring, marching 74 yards on four plays for the first touchdown of the game. The last play was a 20-yard touchdown run by I’Tavius Mathers. Rooker added the PAT to make it 7-0 with 12:09 left in the quarter.
Stockstill was 3-for-3 on the drive for 64 yards. The defense forced another three-and-out, giving the Blue Raiders the football at their own 30 to start their second drive and again quickly scored on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Stockstill to a wide-open James, who went in untouched for the score. Rooker added the extra point to make it 14-0 with 9:46 left in the quarter.
Hawaii marched down the field on its third possession, but failed to pick up a first down on a fourth-and-1 at the Middle Tennessee 23. No matter, the defense forced a fumble by Stockstill three plays later. Jahlani Tavai scooped it up and returned it to the Blue Raiders 18.
From there, Brown completed a scoring pass to Unga and Sanchez added the PAT to make it 14-7 with 4:09 left in the quarter.
Middle Tennessee began its next series at the UH 35 after Sanchez kicked the football out of bounds. And once again, the UH defense forced a turnover, this time an interception by Jalen Rogers at the Middle Tennessee 45.
From there, the UH offense went to work and completed a 44-yard pass from Brown to Ursua to set up a 1-yard scoring run by Steven Lakalaka, who was stopped on the fourth-down try earlier in the quarter. Sanchez knocked through the PAT to make it 14-14 with 2:39 left in the quarter.
A little shell-shocked, the Blue Raiders offense suddenly couldn’t move the football before converting a big third-down play on a 14-yard completion from Stockstill to Lee, much to the chagrin of the pro-UH crowd.
But once more, the UH defense held, giving UH the ball at its own 20 after a 55-yard punt by Matt Bonadies. UH needed only two plays to work its way back into Middle Tennessee territory as the first quarter ended.
40 responses to “Rainbows win Hawaii Bowl to finish at .500”
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The stadium looks empty. What was the attendance not counting the two teams?
This is like watching two bad high school teams play and the sad part is even is Hawaii wins they won’t hav a winning record
The only thing that’s bad is your breath. Get a life!
They won’t have a losing record. So depends on your point of view.
“IF” they don’t win; but they did win. It’s like saying IF you had nuts, you’d be a man, but you don’t, so you aren’t.
Get a life.
True. UH should neevr have agreed to embarrass themselves by facing such a minor league team. Middle Tennessee? Huh? Why would even a losing UH team face them? No wonder attendance was so disappointing. Thwere are way too many manufactured and phony bowls around the country like this.
Allie, At first I was going to ignore your comment, as I’m sure most do, but you need to be corrected. Middle Tennessee is a very good team with a lot of talent. Did you check out their schedule? I didn’t think so. You aren’t a fan of football. Hope you enjoy Chrstmas.
UH makes themselves and the State proud on National TV. They also messed up a lot of peoples bowl picks.
The game was in Hawaii……….who would bet against the Bow’s at home????
Most of the Country!
Hawaii wins; ESPN says good night from Hanalulu.
recount! mid tennessee had more total yards than hawaii.
Congratulations, Coach Rolo and Rainbow Warriors.
This was a good season and something to build on next season. Congratulations Coach Rolo and the Warriors!
Congratulations to our Rainbow Warrior Football team to end the season on a win and in a bowl game. To Coach Rolo and his staff a great start to his coaching career in Hawaii.
Hear hear! Congratulations to a job well done! I’m so happy for Coach Rolo, his staff and mainly the players who made this win happen! And thanks for the free game show on ESPN!
Ditto ditto!
I have to admit that I didn’t think we had a chance in the Hawaii Bowl, after all of the national sports casters basically “dissed” Hawaii, and their “shakey” victories. But, the ‘Bows put together their best showing of this season. Congrats to Coach Rolo and the whole team. This should bode well for recruiting & the team for next year. Really proud of the Hawaii team! I Mua! (With apologies to Kam School!)
No matter how the grinches on this thread try to downplay their Hawaii Bowl win and their season as a whole–beating a team like Middle Tennessee with their very high powered offense is no small feat, as they went 8-4 in the regular season, beating the top team in C-USA’s West division, Louisiana Tech earlier in the season. LA Tech by the way, recently beat #25 ranked Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. In their season opener, LA Tech lost to SEC power Arkansas by one point. Thus Middle Tennessee is no slough and neither is Hawaii, especially after beating them convincingly. Congratulations to Rolo and his team. Go Warriors!
Correction: I meant slouch not “slough” as I misspelled it.
Congratulations! Warriors made Hawaii proud!
UH football is back!!
no hon. It is way too expensive for the UH to carry. We are an academic institution and it is not in our charter to provide sports entertainment for the public. Close it down and fund academics.
Why can’t it be both? The Ivy League does it.
This win was huge because win #7 makes them better than most FBS (Division 1-A) teams–as 62 out of 128 FBS D-1 teams currently have seven or more victories. Additionally, many teams with six or more wins have lost/will lose their bowl games this year. With a solid nucleus of skill position players returning next season on offense including Dru Brown, Diocemy Saint Juste, John Ursua and Dylan Collie, the future looks very bright for this squad. Go Warriors!
Not only does Rolovich have a solid nucleus of skill position players returning, as you mentioned, but almost all of the Offensive Line is returning also. Not to mention, most of the Defensive Unit is returning to.
A very good win by the Warriors! A great job of adjusting and playing with confidence after MTSU’s first two scoring drives. Despite whatever the mahu Negative Nancy’s want to say, MTSU is a good team. The players and the coaching staff did an excellent job of turning things around and playing with pride!
Congratulations to the Rainbow Warriors on your win. This win was huge in many ways. Not only was it done on national TV, but it showed what Hawaii football is and what it can be with the right recruits to move the program forward. The culture is being built, the foundation being set down, and the shelves just need to be stocked.
Great Win On National TV!
Good Job Warriors!! Normy Chow how do you like them apples!!
The way Norm Chow thinks, he can do better cuz he is smarter. (WRONG!!!!!!)
MT is a good team. Congratulations to the Warriors. I look forward to next season (It has been years since I could say that).
Yes the team seems to be headed in the right direction.
Great game for the Warriors! They played well (after a very rough first five minutes) and entertained the 20,000+ mostly UH fans in attendance. The game was well worth attending and is great for the seniors and a good foundation to build on! Go Bows!
Congratulations to the Hawaii Rainbow warriors and Coach Rolo and staff for a good win and great way to end the season. I am proud of the way the team held together and pleased with the direction and improvements made by the coaches. Looking forward to continued successes.
I got to tell you, I really didn’t give the Bows a chance in this one. I thought MTS was going to take us to the wood shed and smack us good. Boy was I full of crap—–thankfully. Rolo is right, Hawaii is back and they proved it 100% tonight. It was a solid win over a good team. I was a bit disheartened over the low attendance at the game but you can be sure that’s going to improve next year. congrats to the boys and thanks for not letting us down.
Congratulations to Coach Rolo and the UH team. Anyone that wants to find any criticism about the team should stay home. Great effort by the players. We need fans to support the team and coaches. UH Athletics needs to support Coach Rolo and be patient. Compensate him to stay with Hawaii. We are fooling ourselves if we think we can find another coach that has the Aloha for UH like Rolo. We need to invest in Rolo and go long.
I’ll drink to that! Pass the eggnog please…
Still a very long road to respectability for the Bows and coach Rolovich but congrats to them on the win in front of a national TV audience. It was an entertaining and well played ball game.
hope this helps ticket sales next year……….by the way……..$50 for parking?…ya think the bowl made money?