Joey Iosefa had been stopped short on his previous third down.

When the opportunity came around again, the Hawaii running back didn’t stop until he’d given the Warriors some needed breathing room on their way to a 34-17 season-opening win over Colorado on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

With a 17-point halftime lead down to a tenuous seven and far too much time left for comfort, Hawaii faced a third and 10 from the Colorado 22. That’s when UH offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich decided to put the ball in the hands of the redshirt freshman.

"The only thing that went through my mind was to get a touchdown to secure the game," Iosefa said of the moment quarterback Bryant Moniz called for a shovel pass in the huddle.

"The only thing I thought was, ‘execute the play.’ "

Moniz navigated through some heavy traffic to get the ball to Iosefa, who latched on to his only reception of the night and kept his legs churning all the way to the end zone for Hawaii’s first touchdown pass of the season.

"That was a great call by Rolo," Moniz said. "Perfect timing."

The Warriors had called the shovel pass — a longtime staple of the UH playbook — once earlier, but the Buffaloes covered it and Moniz kept the ball instead.

When Rolovich called it again in the fourth quarter, Colorado again appeared to have it sniffed out as Moniz rolled to his right. But he found just enough of a window to get it to Iosefa.

"I don’t know how it got in there, seriously," Moniz said. "When I watch film I think I still won’t know."

After the Buffaloes had closed to 24-17, the UH defense responded with a three and out and the offense came through with an eight-play drive. Iosefa carried the ball on three, including on third and 1 when he was stopped for no gain. A quarterback sneak by Moniz extended the possession and the shovel pass provided the punctuation.

"The O-line has to get out and get some blocks, and it starts with the quarterback," Rolovich said. "He has to sell it and get it to Joey. It’s one of those plays, when it hits, it hits."

Iosefa carried the ball 14 times for 32 yards in his first collegiate start and reached the end zone for the first time since 2008, his senior season at Fagaitua High School in American Samoa.

"The game was just rolling in my mind, I was so excited and just tried to stay focused," Iosefa said of the hours leading up to kickoff.

Iosefa was among nine new starters taking the field last night for a Warriors offense that persevered through some rough spots to generate 343 total yards and most importantly 34 points.

"I think the offense hung together," Rolovich said. "There were some frustrating times in there, and there will be when we watch the film.

"A lot of ugly stuff," he added as he headed toward the locker room, "except the scoreboard."