In an ensemble effort, the University of Hawaii football program assembled an emotional 31-16 victory over Nevada before an announced crowd of 9,231 at the Ching Complex.
The outcome was for UH’s Timmy Chang, who defeated a team he had coached the previous five years in securing the first FBS and Mountain West victories of his coaching career.
It was for an offensive line that recalibrated after an early injury to open the way for running back Dedrick Parson’s three touchdowns and provide four-Mississippi protection for a fast-maturing passing attack.
And it was for the bond of the self-styled “Braddahhood” — the Rainbow Warriors players and coaches — who supported a grieving teammate.
“It meant more than anything,” said safety Peter Manuma, whose mother died on Tuesday after battling breast cancer. “All she wanted was for me to be successful in life, which included playing football and going to college.”
The day after his mother died, Manuma was back at practice. “Football is a medicine,” he said. “It’s really a cure for everything. The people I surround myself with — the coaches, the players — they showed me a tremendous amount of love and support. They played their hearts out. Coach Chang said to play for your brother next to you. We played for each other tonight.”
Manuma made seven tackles, with one of his six solo stops in the Wolf Pack’s backfield. When weak-side linebacker Isaiah Tufaga departed with a knee injury in the first half, Logan Taylor stepped in and produced five tackles while choking the Wolf Pack’s running lanes. Middle linebacker Penei Pavihi led the Warriors with eight tackles.
“We emphasized getting down and dirty,” said Pavihi, adding the defenders embraced the gap-canceling mantra of “fits, fits, fits.”
Nevada entered with the 1-2 combo of 5-foot-9 running backs Toa Taua and Devonte Lee. In four previous meetings, Taua amassed 413 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 128.5 yards in Nevada’s games in Hawaii in 2018 and 2020.
On Saturday night, Taua netted 23 yards on 12 carries. Lee gained 2 yards on eight carries. In all, Nevada gained 93 yards on 27 non-sack rushes.
Nevada also was 4-for-13 on third down. In the red zone, the Wolf Pack managed one touchdown and were forced to attempt field goals on the other two possessions inside the UH 20. One of the settle-for-3 drives spanned 14 plays, 86 yards and 6 minutes, 35 seconds in the second half.
“Analytics say giving up three is better than seven,” UH defensive coordinator Jacob Yoro said, smiling. “We take a ton of reps in the red zone. That’s the key to victory every single week. To be able to hold people to three points is a big deal. Now we have to stop them from getting in the red zone.”
The game still was in slim reach, at 28-16, when the Wolf Pack took over at their 20 with 4:25 to play. But defensive tackle John Tuitupou knocked the ball from quarterback Nate Cox’s grip, and defensive lineman Blessman Ta’ala recovered at the 24. Seven snaps later, Matthew Shipley’s 27-yard field goal ended the scoring.
The Warriors, who improved to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West, continued to refine their new-look offense. Three weeks ago, they added run-and-shoot concepts intended to lengthen the passing attack.
For the second consecutive game, wideout Zion “Zibo” Bowens and quarterback Brayden Schager collaborated on a long touchdown. This time, it was a 48-yard scoring pass on a double-post route to put the Warriors ahead, 14-7.
“It was a great call from the (coaches’) box,” Bowens said. “That was one of the shots we planned on taking. Everyone came together on that one. O-line gave great protection. Brayden made a great throw. We were able to put up 6.”
Schager said: “We were able to hit the deep ones. Zibo ran a great route.”
Bowens suffered a knee injury in the first series of the season opener against Vanderbilt. He did not play in the next four games before returning against San Diego State last week. Bowens, who once was timed at sub-4.4 seconds over 40 yards, is one of the fastest Warriors.
Schager, a second-year Warrior making his fourth start, displayed pressure awareness in completing seven of nine passes for 100 yards in the first quarter. While he cooled after that, finishing 13-for-25 for 173 yards, the vertical threat opened the way for Parson.
Parson, a senior co-captain, scored on runs of 1, 9 and 2 yards.
“He always makes people miss,” Schager said of Parson. “He has great vision. His vision is unbelievable. And he’s like a bowling ball. He runs off people.”
Parson gained 136 yards on 24 carries, an average of 5.7 yards per rush.
“I was playing freely today,” Parson said. “Sometimes I go into the game knowing it’s my last season, and I try to think too much, try to do too much sometimes. Today, I just played freely, just had fun. Just going back to having fun, like when I was a kid. That’s the best thing I could do.”
Parson and Schager also credited the offensive line. On the game’s third play, left guard Stephan Bernal-Wendt suffered an injury. Center Sergio Muasau moved to left guard, and Eliki Tanuvasa, who did not play last week because of an ailment, entered at center.
“I’m proud of those guys,” Schager said of the O-line. “That’s the most mature and oldest group. That’s the strength of our team right now.”
GAME STATS
SECOND QUARTER
HAWAII
>> Dedrick Parson 1 run. Matthew Shipley kick.
>> Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:35 elapsed time.
>> Time: 11:25. Score:
Hawaii 7, Nevada 0.
NEVADA
>> Devonte Lee 1 run. Matthew Killam kick.
>> Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 7:19 elapsed time.
>> Time: 4:06. Score:
Hawaii 7, Nevada 7.
HAWAII
>> Zion Bowens 48 pass from Brayden Schager. Shipley kick.
>> Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 1:40 elapsed time.
>> Time: 2:21. Score:
Hawaii 14, Nevada 7.
SECOND QUARTER
NEVADA
>> FG 36 Killam.
>> Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:33.
>> Time: 12:39. Score:
Hawaii 14, Nevada 10.
HAWAII
>> Parson 9 run. Shipley kick.
>> Drive: 9 plays, 94 yards, 3:27 elapsed time.
>> Time: 9:11. Score:
Hawaii 21, Nevada 10.
NEVADA
>> FG 48 Killam.
>> Drive: 13 plays, 40 yards, 6:48.
>> Time: 2:10. Score:
Hawaii 21, Nevada 13.
THIRD QUARTER
NEVADA
>> FG 20 Killam.
>> Drive: 14 plays, 86 yards, 6:35.
>> Time: 3:19. Score:
Hawaii 21, Nevada 16.
FOURTH QUARTER
HAWAII
>> Parson 2 run. Shipley kick.
>> Drive: 16 plays, 65 yards, 8:06 elapsed time.
>> Time: 10:13. Score:
Hawaii 28, Nevada 16.
HAWAII
>> FG 27 Shipley.
>> Drive: 7 plays, 14 yards, 2:40 elapsed time.
>> Time: 1:37. Score:
Hawaii 31, Nevada 16.
TEAM STATISTICS
NEV UH
First downs 19 17
Total Net Yards 277 403
Rushes-yards 28-89 46-230
Passing 188 173
Punt Returns 1-28 0-0
Kickoff Returns 2-34 3-36
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 22-36-0 13-25-1
Sacked-Yards Lost 1-4 1-5
Punts 3-31.667 3-38.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-0
Penalties-Yards 3-34 8-70
Time of Possession 30:25 29:27
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Nevada, Cox 6-52, Taua 12-23, Patton 1-11, Lee 8-2, Kommer 1-1. Hawaii, Parson 24-136, T.Hines 12-70, Shipley 1-18, Schager 4-5, Bryant-Lelei 3-3, (Team) 2-(minus 2).
PASSING—Nevada, Cox 22-35-0-188, (Team) 0-1-0-0. Hawaii, Schager 13-25-1-173.
RECEIVING—Nevada, Taua 6-67, Casteel 4-22, Lee 3-23, Campbell 2-21, Bell 2-20, Patton 1-12, Curtis 1-11, Kommer 1-9, Shults 1-4, Ca.Brown 1-(minus 1). Hawaii, Bowens 4-79, Scott 4-14, Cenacle 2-42, Walthall 1-28, Nishigaya 1-6, T.Hines 1-4.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Nevada, Talton 45.
