Gift of an extra game is welcome bonus

Dru Brown said his parents will understand him coming home late for the holidays.

“They’ll be OK,” the UH sophomore quarterback from Monte Sereno, Calif., said after throwing for a career-high five touchdowns in a likely Hawaii Bowl-clinching 46-40 win over Massachusetts on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium. “I’m sure right after the game I can catch a flight so I can be there on Christmas.”

Brown’s first season with the Rainbow Warriors should last an extra month, as Hawaii is all but assured its first Hawaii Bowl appearance in six years on Christmas Eve.

UH needed all 355 total yards from Brown, whose five touchdown passes are the most by a UH QB since Sean Schroeder had six against Wyoming in 2013.

His game-winning 56-yard scoring throw to Keelan Ewaliko held up when UH’s defense stopped UMass on fourth down at the UH 21 with 1:05 remaining.

It means Hawaii (6-7) should get a date on national television on Christmas Eve against a yet-to-be named opponent.

“That was the goal coming in. With UH being my only scholarship, I wanted to come in and change the program with the help of all of the players and coaches,” said Brown, who was 22-for-30 passing and added 44 rush yards on 10 carries. “My parents always stressed to me it’s much easier to be a pioneer than a settler, and so they said when I got this opportunity to play here I could maybe change it around.”

It was rough at times against UMass (2-10), an opponent with nothing to lose. Brown fumbled twice, including one in the third quarter that led to the Minutemen taking their first lead.

But that’s where the importance of the extra month of practice and another game come in.

Brown threw two of his touchdown passes to Dylan Collie, while tight end Dakota Torres caught one on the goal line.

The deciding throw came on a pass to Ewaliko, who snuck under the grasp of a defender and raced down the sideline to put UH ahead 46-40.

“This last drive — very rewarding,” said Ewaliko, whose touchdown reception was the first of his career. “I didn’t let the team down, and when we needed it most I was able to come through for us.”

Ewaliko is the perfect symbol of a Hawaii team that started 1-3 and lost consecutive games by a score of 107-16 to fall to 4-7.

After redshirting his first season, Ewaliko started once at receiver but was primarily a kick returner the next two years.

This season, he’s spent more time developing as a receiver and has been rewarded with a starting nod in two of the last three games.

He had three catches in each of the previous two games before coming up with four big ones for 99 yards on Saturday.

“Going into the year nobody really gave us a chance. We were projected to be last in the conference,” Ewaliko said. “(My career) started out rough. I wasn’t getting reps and I wasn’t getting looked at as much and it’s hard to go through that.

“I kept doing extra, worked on my craft and finally got my shot.”

So will the Warriors on Christmas Eve.