BOISE, Idaho >> As a valued member of Hawaii’s special teams, Melquise Stovall has enjoyed many happy returns.

But the most delightful was his return to the active roster after missing the past two games with a hip injury.

In the Rainbow Warriors’ 59-37 loss to 14th-ranked Boise State, Stovall caught a season-high eight passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a 2-point conversion. He averaged 27 yards on three kickoff returns, including a 37-yarder.

“On the first (touchdown), it was a fade route,” said Stovall, who transferred to UH in January. “It was a really good ball by (quarterback Cole McDonald). I went over my rules, and kind of succeeded on that one. The second one was a little flat route. Again, it was a nice ball by (McDonald). It was really executing the play.”

>> Click here to see photos of the game between Hawaii and Boise State.

After meeting with head coach Nick Rolovich, it was decided it would best if Stovall did not rush back from the ailment. “We didn’t have to push it for Nevada (on Sept. 28),” Stovall said. The Warriors had a bye last weekend. “I knew I was playing this game the whole entire time. I was taking it slow, day by day, bringing it back, getting healthier. That was all I could do.”

Offensive linemen Michael Eletise and Kohl Levao made their 2019 debuts for UH. Levao, who suffered an injury in training camp, started at right guard. Eletise played left guard in the fourth quarter. Eletise played three years at Arizona before transferring to UH in August. Last week, the NCAA approved a waiver allowing Eletise to play this season. A football player usually has to redshirt after transferring between Division I schools.

Mardner makes first catch count

Wideout Nick Mardner went a long way for his first college touchdown.

Mardner, a second-year freshman from Canada, caught a 50-yard scoring pass from Chevan Cordeiro late in Saturday’s loss to Boise State.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” Mardner said. “It feels like a dream come true.”

At 6-5, Mardner is UH’s tallest receiver.

“I’ve been working on my speed with all the speedsters, all the smaller guys on my team,” Mardner said. “It’s been helping a lot.”

It was the first catch of his career.

Backup QB performs well for Boise

When Broncos’ starting quarterback Hank Bachmeier was knocked out of the game in the second quarter, the Rainbow Warriors hoped that might swing some momentum their way.

“We were hoping, I guess,” said linebacker Kana‘i Picanco, who delivered the hit with 10 minutes, 58 seconds left in the second quarter and UH trailing, 17-7. “But nothing really changed. You’ve got to give credit to them. You never want to see anybody get hurt. I’m not even sure where I hit him. I know that he tried to spin off me and I had to tackle him. I just tried to make the play.”

Nick Rolovich said, “I knew that (backup Chase Cord) was a real good player from Arizona and was coming off knee surgery last year. So I knew he was real talented.”

Rolovich said, “On the pass to the running back (George Holani) I thought he (Cord) was going to get hit in the mouth and he flings it out there (for a touchdown).”