An Army game plan that could be written on the back of an envelope took down Hawaii’s more complex attack as the Black Knights secured a 28-21 win today in a nonconference football game played in West Point, N.Y.

A touchdown underdog on the road, the Rainbow Warriors dropped to 3-1 and will return home to play Duquesne next weekend. Army is now 2-1 after winning its 10th straight game at home.

The Black Knights offense dominated as quarterback Kelvin Hopkins ran and threw the ball with equal enthusiasm. He had a pair of 1-yard scoring runs in the opening half and hit six of 10 passes for 162 yards, including a 63-yarder to Kamehameha alumnus Calen Holt that set up one of the scores. Hopkins also carried the ball 20 times for 110 yards.

Down 21-14 at the half, the Hawaii defense caught two breaks when a pair of chop block penalties against Army killed its opening two drives in UH territory. The Warriors went three-and-out on their opening drive, failing to convert a third down for the fourth time in five tries.

>> Photos from the University of Hawaii vs. Army game

That didn’t happen on the next drive as Hawaii took over at its own 15 late in the quarter and in need of something positive. The Warriors got it early in the drive, almost getting into Army territory. But a holding penalty put the Warriors behind the sticks and they couldn’t recover, forcing a punt as the quarter ended.

That’s where the Black Knights thrive. They were 19-2 when leading going into the fourth quarter. Make that 20-2 as Hopkins killed the Warriors with a relentless 13-play scoring drive that culminated with a 3-yard scoring run by Darnell Woolfolk with 9:02 left in the game. Landon Salyers hit the first of four PATs to extend the Knights’ lead to 28-14.

Hawaii responded with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Cole McDonald to John Ursua and Ryan Meskell hit the last of his three PATs. These two scores were a microcosm of the game itself. Army needed 13 plays to score, Hawaii only one to make it 28-21 with 8:42 remaining.

Army held the ball for almost six minutes before failing to convert a fourth down as Hopkins was stopped an inch away from effectively ending the game. UH took over at its own 27 and drove the length of the field before failing to convert a fourth-and-8 play at the Army 11. McDonald looked for Cedric Byrd, but he was covered and the ball was knocked away to end it.

Like every game so far this year, Hawaii got off to a fast start, needing only five plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 12-yard touchdown pass from McDonald to Ursua. But Army responded with a pair of scoring drives that ended on two 1-yard scoring runs by Hopkins. The second scoring drive took nearly seven and a half minutes off the clock and Army led 14-7 early in the second quarter. It was the first time Hawaii trailed all year.

The Warriors responded with a nice 65-yard drive on which Rolovich made some adjustments to the Black Knights defense that had forced four straight incompletions and a pair of sacks of McDonald. Not on this drive.

Facing third-and-2 just outside the Army 10, McDonald didn’t pay attention to the clock and had a delay of game. He completed a pass to Marcus Armstrong-Brown to set up first-and-goal from the 5. Two plays later, the Warriors evened up the game on a 1-yard scoring run by Ursua, who took a direct snap on the play that evened the score at 14 with 7:05 left in the half.

Army came right back on a 48-yard touchdown run on a third-and-1 run by fullback Connor Slomka, who went in untouched to give Army a 21-14 advantage with 3:46 left in the half. The Warriors had a chance to get the Black Knights off the field, but allowed Hopkins to convert a third-down play on a 16-yard pass completion. The only series the UH defense was effective was the opening Army drive, when the Warriors forced a three-and-out.

The UH offense had a three-and-out of its own on the ensuing series as Army took over at the UH 48 after a short punt with plenty of time to put points on the board. The Black Knights got in scoring position, but a blocked field goal by UH kept the Warriors within seven at the half.