Khoury Bethley exercised restraint all season.
He cut loose when it mattered on Christmas Eve.
The Hawaii sophomore safety snared the first two interceptions of his career — including the game-sealing pick in the final seconds — as the Rainbow Warriors rallied to defeat old rival BYU 38-34 in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday night at Aloha Stadium.
“Some guys go through the buffet line, and it’s like a contest to see how high you can pile (the plates),” coach Nick Rolovich said. “I saw him get up, he had a salad at one meal.”
For Bethley, it was an ethos that saw him through a bruising 15-game season replete with injuries, fatigue, and even a virus on Hawaii Bowl game week.
“You know, you just gotta be able to do the little things right, and that’s what I try to do the most,” Bethley said. “Because the little things will take you far. Fourth quarter, when you’re tired, the little things, as far as putting in extra weight in the weight room … or just eating right, they’ll take you a long way.”
They sure did.
BYU, with two timeouts in its pocket, was on the march in the final minute needing a touchdown.
On the decisive play, Bethley read quarterback Zach Wilson’s eyes and stepped in front of tight end Matt Bushman on a vertical route at the UH 30. He made it a few yards before going down near the UH sideline, where teammates and the crowd erupted with the realization that the Rainbow Warriors had secured their first 10-win season since 2010, and beaten BYU for the first time since 2001.
“I wanted to run it back. Then my hamstring started cramping up. I fell to the ground, and my teammates came and started cheering me,” he said with a laugh. “But that was a very special moment. I’m definitely going to remember that moment for the rest of my life. Just hearing the stadium, that’s the loudest I’ve heard the stadium since I’ve played in it. It’s incredible, just that feeling you have. Just my brothers sharing in that moment, I’ll never forget it. It’s something special.”
He also had a first-quarter downfield pick of Wilson that he returned 21 yards, setting up Cole McDonald’s 40-yard touchdown pass to Jared Smart for a 14-0 lead.
To boot, he made a game-high 10 tackles, all solo, including one for loss.
All told, the 5-foot-10 sophomore from Chino, Calif., stuffed the sheet with stats and the Cougars’ stockings with coal.
“From what I saw, the defender made a great play. Undercut the route,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “I think we had some other routes that were available, too, but it was the one Zach felt comfortable with. I thought we were in a really good position with where we were at, marching with two timeouts still. So, the turnover came at a bad time for us, and really all of the turnovers came at a bad time for us. We weren’t able to really recover from it.”
In the third quarter, defensive back Eugene Ford drilled Wilson as he jumped over the goal line, dislodging the ball to preserve a 31-all tie. Rolovich compared the play to one made by his former UH teammate Pisa Tinoisamoa on Cougars quarterback Brandon Doman in the 72-45 rout of BYU in 2001.
“Shout-out to my man Pisa. That was awesome,” Rolovich said.
Bethley’s two picks tied the Hawaii Bowl record shared by three other players — Louisiana Tech’s Amik Robertson (2018), Fresno State’s Sean Alston (2012), and Tulsa’s Curnelius Amick (2010).
