‘Resilient buggahs’

Down on the scoreboard, down on the number of healthy bodies, down … but not out.

"We’re 1-0 in the conference," Hawaii coach Norm Chow said following Saturday’s gritty 38-28 football victory over Wyoming at Aloha Stadium. "How about that?"

The Warriors lost starting quarterback Taylor Graham to a possible broken foot at the end of the first half, then lost running back Steven Lakalaka to concussion-like symptoms in the third quarter.

But the Warriors, who had dropped four of their five nonconference games, surged from deficits of 14-0, 21-10 and 28-17 to win their Mountain West Conference opener. At 1-0, the Warriors are atop the West Division. The Cowboys fell to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the MWC.

Ikaika Woolsey threw two scoring passes, and Diocemy Saint Juste rushed for a career-high 135 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown.

"These kids are resilient buggahs," Chow said. "They’re tough guys. I love each and every one of them. They were not going to be denied."

In turn, the Warriors played for a head coach whose wife suffered a brain aneurysm a week earlier and whose mother’s memorial service was held Friday.

"We wanted to get a win for Coach Chow," nose tackle Moses Samia said. "He had a lot on his shoulders. We had to fight hard. This game was hard fought on both sides."

With Woolsey inconsistent in the first five games, the Warriors turned to Graham, a fifth-year senior who was used sparingly after suffering a shoulder injury in the third game of the 2013 season. Graham, who played in one series this season, led two scoring drives in the first half but also factored in a Wyoming defensive touchdown. He was stripped of the football before he could start a throwing motion — a fumble that was parlayed into linebacker Devyn Harris’ 78-yard return for a touchdown.

On the final play of the first half, Graham injured his right foot. He was in a walking boot in the second half.

"I have to talk to the doctors and see what they say," said Graham, who was smiling through the pain. "I’m so happy we got the win."

In the locker room at halftime, Chow told Woolsey: "You’re going in."

Woolsey was with the second-team offense during this past week’s practices.

"I could have chosen two routes," Woolsey said of his demotion. "I could have been selfish. I could have pouted. I could have made a big deal about it. I chose the other route — being positive, being a great teammate, and supporting the ones in the (quarterbacks) room."

Graham said: "Ikaika knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t need any help from me. I wanted to be there and encourage him."

In the third quarter, Woolsey was struck in the back. The impact turned his legs to pasta, causing a noticeable limp.

"I told him he couldn’t hobble," Chow said. "I told him to forget it. I don’t care what. He couldn’t (hobble)."

Woolsey said: "Coach said he’ll give me a massage later. He said to stay in there and fight through. I said, ‘You’re right.’ I owe it to my teammates. I owe it to this university. I owe it to this state."

D.J. May’s 17-yard touchdown on a middle screen extended the Cowboys’ lead to 28-17. They would not score again.

On the ensuing possession, from the UH 47, Woolsey rolled to his right as a defender approached at full speed.

"I knew I was going to take a hit," Woolsey said. "I figured I’d take a hit, and make the best of it."

Woolsey lofted a fluttering pass that wideout Quinton Pedroza had to wait patiently to catch. Pedroza eluded a defender and raced the rest of the way to complete the 53-yard scoring play and close the Warriors to 28-24 as time expired in the third quarter.

Soon after, Samia maneuvered past a blocker and headed toward Wyoming quarterback Colby Kirkegaard, who fired downfield. The football went directly to safety Trayvon Henderson for the interception.

"The ball came right to me," Henderson said. "I was just doing my job. I don’t take too much credit for that. The D-line and the linebackers put pressure on the quarterback. They helped me make the play."

Five plays later, the Warriors went to the memory bank. In the first half, Graham and wideout Marcus Kemp failed to connect on a hitch-and-go play.

"Ikaika told me: ‘I’m going to get you a touchdown,’" Kemp recalled.

Woolsey hit Kemp on the hitch-and-go. Kemp eluded a defender and raced to the end zone on the 40-yard scoring play that gave the Warriors their first lead, at 31-28 with 11:36 to play.

"I told myself, ‘No matter what, I’m going to get the touchdown,’" Kemp said. "I saw the end zone, and I knew I wasn’t going to be stopped 1 yard short."

The Cowboys then drove to the UH 34. But Stuart Williams’ field-goal attempt from 51 yards traveled only 49.

The Warriors took over and drove to the 16, from where Saint Juste sprinted around right end for the touchdown that ended the suspense.

Saint Juste’s run left the Cowboys in a daze, although he did not recall making the spin moves.

"I don’t know what the play was," Saint Juste said. "All I know is I scored, and I loved it."

The Cowboys’ final drive was abbreviated by Henderson’s second interception.

When Henderson saw the pass, he thought, "It’s mine."

So, too, was the Warriors’ first MWC victory since 2012.

"It feels amazing," co-captain Scott Harding said. "It’s been a long time coming. We were fighting and scratching to get a win. We were down, and stuff wasn’t going for us, but we knuckled down and got the win. Hopefully, we can start stacking wins."

TEAM STATISTICS

DEFENSIVE STATISTICS

WYOMING

HAWAII

TACKLES FOR LOSS-YARDS — Wyoming, Mark Nzeocha 1-6, Darrenn White 1-2, Devyn Harris 1-1, Riley Lange 1-1, Patrick Mertens 1-1. Hawaii, Beau Yap 2-9, Marcus Malepeai 1-9, Trayvon Henderson 1-7, Jeremy Castro 1-7, Benetton Fonua 1-1, T.J. Taimatuia 1-1, NeQuan Phillips 1-1.
SACKS-YARDS — Wyoming, Mark Nzeocha 1-6. Hawaii, Marcus Malepeai 1-9, Trayvon Henderson 1-7, Jeremy Castro 1-7, Beau Yap 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS — Wyoming, none. Hawaii, Trayvon Henderson 2-0.
KICKS BLOCKED — Wyoming, none. Hawaii, none.
QUARTERBACK HURRIES — Wyoming, none. Hawaii, none.

FIRST PERIOD

WYOMING
» Score: Shaun Wick 20-yard run. Stuart Williams kick.
» Drive: 5 plays, 71 yards, 1:57 elapsed time. Time: 11:53. Score: Wyoming 7, Hawaii 0.

WYOMING
» Score: Devyn Harris 78-yard fumble recovery. Williams kick.
» Drive: 6 plays, 51 yards, 2:07 elapsed time. Time: 9:42. Score: Wyoming 14, Hawaii 0.

HAWAII
» Score: Tyler Hadden 35-yard field goal.
» Drive: 11 plays, 68 yards, 4:47 elapsed time. Time: 4:45. Score: Wyoming 14, Hawaii 3.

SECOND PERIOD

HAWAII
» Score: Quinton Pedroza 16-yard pass from Taylor Graham. Hadden kick.
» Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:45 elapsed time. Time: 10:30. Score: Wyoming 14, Hawaii 10.

WYOMING
» Score: Jalen Claiborne 42 pass from Colby Kirkegaard. Williams kick.
» Drive: 8 plays, 98 yards, 2:35 elapsed time. Time: 1:41. Score: Wyoming 21, Hawaii 10.

THIRD PERIOD

HAWAII
» Score: Keelan Ewaliko 11-yard run. Hadden kick.
» Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 2:12 elapsed time. Time: 10:30. Score: Wyoming 21, Hawaii 17.

WYOMING
» Score: D.J. May 17-yard pass from Kirkegaard. Williams kick.
» Drive: 3 plays, 31 yards, 1:16 elapsed time. Time: 1:16. Score: Wyoming 28, Hawaii 17.

HAWAII
» Score: Pedroza 53-yard pass from Ikaika Woolsey. Hadden kick.
» Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 1:54 elapsed time. Time: 0:00. Score: Wyoming 28, Hawaii 24.

FOURTH PERIOD

HAWAII
» Score: Marcus Kemp 40-yard pass from Woolsey. Hadden kick.
» Drive: 5 plays, 51 yards, 1:51 elapsed time. Time: 11:36. Score: Hawaii 31, Wyoming 28.

HAWAII
» Score: Diocemy Saint Juste 16-yard run. Hadden kick.
» Drive: 7 plays, 66 yards, 4:09 elapsed time. Time: 3:32. Score: Hawaii 38, Wyoming 28.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

WYOMING

HAWAII