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LAS VEGAS >> As the clock struck “0:00” on a 44-20 victory over Hawaii, several UNLV football players skipped the traditional handshake line to sprint to the north end zone and claim the rivalry’s pineapple-shaped Island Showdown Trophy.
In Allegiant Stadium’s basement, where the visitors locker room is located, mounted monitors flashed: “REBELS WIN!”
Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager’s bruised shoulder and ice-pack-covered knee were additional reminders that the Rainbow Warriors were just another tale of Las Vegas visitors receiving a kick to the wallet.
“It’s frustrating,” Schager said of a dismal first half leading to the Warriors’ fourth loss in six games this season, in front of a crowd of 25,328. “It’s really annoying, really. I’m tired of losing. Everyone’s tired of hearing excuses for the losses. There’s no excuse. As a team, we have to be better. We still have time to get better. Hopefully, we can move forward.”
Coming off last weekend’s comeback victory over New Mexico State, the Warriors had spirited practices ahead of the opener of Mountain West play. But the Rebels doused those ambitious plans with a creative pass rush that sacked Schager six times and hit him several more times after he threw, and a no-huddle, quick-tempo offense that rushed for 307 yards and converted 75% on third down after the intermission.
“It wasn’t what we wanted,” UH coach Timmy Chang said. “How many yards did they gain, especially on the ground? We’ve got to get better. We really wanted this one. We didn’t start fast on offense.”
For each game, Chang scripts the first five plays. Each game, the opponent has responded with blue-pencil edits. This season, the Warriors’ average 1.1 yards per play on opening drives. Five possessions have ended in punts; a blocked punt set up a UH field goal to conclude a four-play drive against Albany.
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For the Rebels, the identity of the starting quarterback was cloaked in mystery all week. Two weeks ago, Doug Brumfield departed after being rocked three times in a five-play sequence against Vanderbilt. Jayden Maiava, who attended Kaimuki High as a junior, replaced Brumfield and led the Rebels to victories over Vanderbilt and UTEP. Brumfield participated in some drills this week, but Maiava earned his second consecutive start.
As a freshman, Maiava has learned the pace and intricacies of offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s Go-Go attack. Using unique alignments — two backs to the side of the quarterback or three receivers crammed into the narrow side of the formation — the Go-Go spreads the field deep and wide. Maiava boosted the Rebels to a 20-3 lead at the intermission.
It was 13-3 when Schager tried to step into the pocket to throw to an open receiver. But outside linebacker Xavier Carter circled around a blocker and hit Schager’s right arm as he was releasing the pass and defensive back Thomas Anderson pounced on the football. “I was throwing the ball,” Schager insisted. The officials confirmed the fumble.
Benefiting from a face-mask violation and personal foul, the Rebels drove for the touchdown and 20-3 lead.
“We give them that turnover, and they get an easy one,” Chang said. “And they go up 20-3 instead of it being (13-3). And they’re playing tough.”
In the first half, the Warriors struggled to solve defensive coordinator Mike Scherer’s coverages. The Rebels were in a three-deep zone to counter the Warriors’ vertical-passing game and used line stunts and delayed blitzes to storm the UH backfield.
“They were throwing some crazy coverages at us,” Schager said. “These last two defenses (UH faced) have thrown some crazy looks we have to read and adjust to. We’ve got to bounce back, look at the film, and find where the holes (of the defense) are. It’s about finding them and getting on the same page. That’s been the story of the year, getting on the same page.”
The Warriors were able to cobble an attack in the second half. After receiving a toss-back from running back Jordan Johnson, Schager connected with wideout Steven McBride on a 51-yard touchdown to complete the flea-flicker play.
After overthrowing McBride on a corner route, Schager came back the next play to team with Alex Perry on the 38-yard touchdown to cut it to 30-20.
“I thought we got the ball moving in the second half,” Schager said. “There wasn’t enough time. We can’t start slow like we did. We can’t score three points in the first half. They had all the momentum in the first half. I thought we came out in the second half and made some plays. Not enough when you put up a goose egg like that in the first half. It’s pretty frustrating.”
But the Warriors could not stop the Rebels. After a punt on the first drive of the second half, the Rebels scored three touchdowns and a field goal on their remaining four full drives. During one drive that ended with the last of Jose Pizano’s three field goals, the Rebels converted on two third-down plays, and slotback Jacob De Jesus, surrounded by three Warriors, recovered his own fumble.
“We just couldn’t find a way to get off the field in those moments we needed to,” UH co-defensive coordinator Eti Ena said. “I thought the first half (the defense was) out there too much. We need to get on and off the field quicker. In the second half, we just didn’t create enough third-down moments. They had the edge on us on the scoreboard. And they were able to run the ball and keep their offense clicking.”
The Warriors were without injured weak-side linebacker Nalu Emerson and cornerback Virdel Edwards II. Jalen Smith, who started in place of Emerson, and middle linebacker Isaiah Tufaga each had 10 tackles. Caleb Brown, who was part of the cornerback rotation, had three breakups.
“People said I played good, but I feel I didn’t play good enough,” Smith said. “We want to take this as a lesson. It hurts, for sure. We want to build off this. There no point to sulking. We’re going to clear our heads during the bye week and get ready for the next game.”
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