Hawaii finds new heroes

Inspired by a Hawaii quarterback whose career was defined by bouncing back from big hits, the Hawaii offense was littered with redemptive performances on Saturday night.

Former UH quarterback Michael Carter served as the Rainbow Warriors’ honorary captain for their Mountain West Conference opener and savored the moment after the final seconds ticked away on Hawaii’s 38-28 win at Aloha Stadium.

"It brings back a lot of memories, man. It really does," said Carter, who guided the UH offense to a win over Wyoming in 1992, the last time the Rainbows claimed the Paniolo Trophy.

"We needed a win … I want to get this stadium rocking again the way it should be. My message to the kids was in the fourth quarter I don’t think people quite understand how hard it is to win in Aloha Stadium. I want the kids to know you have an advantage — that this is where we do our work, this is where we do our damage, in the third and fourth quarters."

After two fumbles in the third quarter appeared to set up the Rainbow Warriors for another trudge to a silent locker room, UH instead rallied for 21 unanswered points and opened conference play with a win for the first time since 2011.

Quarterback Ikaika Woolsey, who’d lost his starting assignment this week, stepped in for an injured Taylor Graham at halftime and completed eight of nine passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Diocemy Saint Juste picked up a career-high 135 yards on 17 carries and scored the clinching touchdown in place of an injured Steven Lakalaka.

UH’s five touchdowns were scored by players who hadn’t reached the end zone in a Hawaii uniform prior to Saturday night, with the wide receiver corps accounting for four.

UH entered the game with just three touchdown passes in five games, with two going to slot receiver Scott Harding and the third to tight end Harold Moleni. Starting with Keelan Ewaliko’s 11-yard run early in the third quarter, wideouts enjoyed a breakthrough second half.

"(The UH coaches) challenged us at halftime and we told each other we had to make the big plays to win this game," sophomore wide out Marcus Kemp said.

Quinton Pedroza, whose third-quarter fumble appeared to stunt UH’s comeback bid, responded instead by running down a wobbly throw from Woolsey —who absorbed a big hit on the play — for a 53-yard score that triggered the rally from a 28-17 deficit.

"I was hurt, but football is a game of emotion," said Pedroza, who led the receiver corps with seven catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. "I had to take that poison and I had to forget about it. I had teammates patting me up and letting me know it was going to be all right. I had to do something and that’s when I scored."

Kemp had caught one pass from 3 yards before Woolsey hit him on a slant early in the fourth quarter. Kemp broke away from the defender and bolted to the corner of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 11:36 left.

On the same play early in the game, Kemp couldn’t secure the catch, but "Coach (Jordan) Wynn (UH’s quarterbacks coach) trusted me enough to come back to that play. He called the slant on the backside, one-on-one, and I took off."