Winners at last

In the celebration of the Hawaii football team’s postgame locker room, the chant began softly and then built into a thunderous pitch.

U-S-A!

U-S-A!

U-S-A!

For what was designated as a "freedom game," the Warriors were dressed to thrill in a 48-10 rout of UNLV before 22,070 at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night.

U-S-A!

U-S-A!

U-S-A!

"To wear this," wide receiver Billy Ray Stutzmann said of the specially made red-white-and-blue uniforms, "and to play the way we did, it means so much. I can’t stop smiling."

The UH jerseys are up for auction, with proceeds benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project, which helps severely injured military personnel resume an athletic life.

"I’m going to start bidding on the jersey," Stutzmann said.

U-S-A!

U-S-A!

U-S-A!

"These players have worked so hard," UH coach Norm Chow said. "It’s about them. It’s about the effort they’ve put in. They deserve success."

In ending an eight-game losing streak, the Warriors improved to 2-9 overall while claiming their first Mountain West Conference victory. They finish 1-7 in their inaugural MWC season.

The Rebels fell to 2-11 and 2-6.

The Warriors dominated in every phase and found redemption in every way.

Quarterback Sean Schroeder, the face of an offense that has struggled to find a rhythm, was in tune to 13-for-24 passing for 201 yards and a touchdown.

Schroeder directed five scoring drives, the most innovative when he was tackled at the 8 on a 2-yard scramble with 16 seconds left before the half. The UH coaches then yelled, "Banzai," an emergency call in which the field-goal unit races onto the field. Tyler Hadden’s attempt from 23 yards was true as the clock struck "0:00" for a 31-0 lead.

"You can practice that drill all year and never use it," said Chris Demarest, UH’s special teams coordinator. "And if you use it, it might not work."

But this night belonged to the Warriors, who went deep into both the playbook and the emotional cord.

The Warriors used the "duck" formation, in which tight end Ryan Hall snaps to Schroeder, while everybody else is aligned wide; the wildcat with running back Joey Iosefa taking the snap, and the fly sweep with cornerback Mike Edwards as the sprinter.

"We’re trying everything to win a game," said Chow, who serves as the offensive coordinator.

But for all of the bells and whistles, the basic formula was this: a controlled passing attack to set up the run, and an aggressive defensive front to allow the secondary to add an extra safety. The bonus was the special teams, which forced UNLV’s Chase Lansford to punt zero yards and, later, kick into the backside of an offensive lineman. Also, Scott Harding scored on a 69-yard punt return.

It all began earlier in the week when, who Schroeder suffered a concussion against Air Force, was medically cleared to play. Schroeder had started UH’s first nine games, to uneven results, and ceded the starting job to Jeremy Higgins for the Air Force game.

Chow announced that Schroeder, Higgins and Cayman Shutter would compete to start. But after two practices, it became a two-quarterback race between Schroeder and Higgins. In his evaluations, Chow began to feel that Schroeder would be the choice, citing arm strength. The knock has been Schroeder’s limited movements in the pocket and a tendency to wait too long before throwing. Schroeder was sacked three times, but managed to make the throws when needed.

"He’s a tough guy," Chow said. "He’s one of our leaders. I thought he held the ball a little too long a couple of times, but he led the drive and he did what was necessary to help us become successful."

Iosefa scored two touchdowns — on a 25-yard run in which he broke two tackles, and a 7-yard inside screen — and caught a 32-yard pass to set up Hadden’s 26-yard field goal in the second half.

"I should have scored on that pass," Iosefa said.

Schroeder said he was not discouraged during UH’s struggles this season.

"If you believe in something, you just stay the course," Schroeder said. "I believe in our players and the coaches."

Meanwhile, the Warriors slowed one of the league’s most balanced offenses. Nick Sherry, a freshman quarterback, is having a solid debut season. Tim Cornett entered as a 1,200-yard rusher.

But the Rebels’ offense could gain little traction against the Warriors’ multiple defensive schemes. Through three quarters, the Rebels managed 89 yards in 43 plays, and failed to convert on 13 third-down plays. They had four first downs in three quarters, and finished with 11, mostly against the second and third units.

Cornett was held to 32 yards. He was stopped twice on fourth-down rushes.

"We were playing for pride," UH middle linebacker Brenden Daley said.

With Sherry’s mobility, the Warriors thought they might have to send blitzers to create pressure. Instead, they were able to apply heat from the defensive linemen. That enabled them to mix their 3-3-5 scheme, which congested the passing lanes.

Sherry was sacked three times, harassed several times and intercepted three times. On one of the picks, safety John Hardy-Tuliau eluded would-be tacklers along the sideline, then cut at an angle to complete the 38-yard scoring play.

"We practice that every day when we get the ball on defense," said Hardy-Tuliau, who also intercepted Sherry on UNLV’s final possession. "We want to score. I had some blocks, a lot of blocks."

On special teams, Harding had blocks — and advice from graduate assistant Inoke Funaki.

"He saw my previous punt (return)," Harding said. "He said: ‘This time, just slide right a little bit and hit the hole.’ I did exactly what he told me and I scored a touchdown."

For the Warriors, their first victory in more than two months was boosted by pep talks from members of the Wounded Warrior Project.

"We were definitely inspired by bigger things around us," Schroeder said. "The Wounded Warriors made sacrifices that allow us to play this game. It puts things in perspective. We wanted to honor them."