In excavating past success, the University of Hawaii football team used the shovel.

“It works,” quarterback Cole McDonald said of the shovel pass, a change-of-pace technique in the run-and-shoot offense.

The shovel pass was largely buried during the run-and-shoot’s six-year hiatus from the Rainbow Warriors’ playbook. But the Warriors, who resurrected the run-and-shoot this season, used the shovel pass four times with impressive results in a 43-34 upset of Colorado State this past weekend.

The Warriors averaged 15.0 yards on four shovel-pass plays.

“I get excited because any time we run that play, it’s going to be a big gain no matter what,” running back Fred Holly said.

The shovel pass is a forward pitch to a running back behind the offensive line. Although coaches view it as part screen, part running play, because the ball is pitched forward, statisticians count it as a pass play.

The shovel pass is a counter punch to attacking defense. Similar to a screen, pass rushers are lured into chasing a back-pedaling quarterback. While the screen calls for the pass to loop over the pass rush, the shovel is a direct pitch to a running back. It is like an option toss, except the running back is in front instead of behind or to the side of the quarterback.

“We stop, get the ball, turn, get vertical, and try to find the blocks,” running back Dayton Furuta said of his 5-yard route.

A difficulty is that the back must accelerate after coming to a complete stop.

There also is the trust factor. The running back is not facing the defense as he awaits the pitch.

“That’s kind of scary a little bit,” Holly said. “You have to trust it, and know our linemen are going to take care of their jobs.

McDonald said it takes “a lot of practice, a lot of reps” to perfect the pitch’s timing and placement. “It’s a lot of trust — a lot of trust in the O-line, a lot of trust in myself.”

In the run-and-shoot, the receivers and quarterback base routes on the coverages. The shovel requires the running back to pretend to block, then slip into an open area away from a pass rusher but behind the offensive linemen, who have advanced to the second level.

“We’re going based off (the defense),” Holly said. “It’s not like the beginning of the play we know exactly what look we’re going to get. The (defense) can do a certain stunt, and we have to adjust during the play.”

McDonald said he has gone through the video archives and watched how former UH quarterbacks – Colt Brennan, Tim Chang, Bryant Moniz and Nick Rolovich — used the shovel pass.

“We’re a big pass team,” McDonald said. “D-linemen, d-ends are really going to pin their ears and rush hard. Just to get a little change-up to keep them on their toes, we throw the shovel passes in there once in a while.”

Furuta and Holly are polar weapons. Furuta, a junior who weighs 248 pounds, is a 2014 judo state champion at 220 pounds. Furuta averaged 2.5 post-contact yards on six rushes against Colorado State. Holly, a third-year sophomore, has improved his conditioning (down to 9 percent body fat) and knowledge of the offense. “That’s why I feel I can play faster,” Holly said.