The University of Hawaii football team’s hunt for a red-hot October began with a 38-17 rout of Nevada on a humid Saturday night in Halawa.
It began with cool-as-Freon quarterback Dru Brown, who was 15-for-18 for 222 yards and two touchdowns in his first NCAA start, and running back Diocemy Saint Juste, who gained 205 of the Rainbow Warriors’ 344 rushing yards in a 58-play, 566-yard outburst.
It began with a defense, roused with inspiration and frustration, controlling multiple-threat schemes for 50 minutes before the Wolf Pack scored two touchdowns after the suspense had expired.
And it began with head coach Nick Rolovich, who was Nevada’s offensive coordinator the previous four seasons, setting the tone with a hunting knife attached to his belt.
“They’re a tough animal,” Rolovich said. “The Wolves are tough.”
Wideout Marcus Kemp said Rolovich “surprised us coming out with it. It kept our energy up.”
Slotback John Ursua, who aligned as the wildcat quarterback to score on a 5-yard keeper, marveled at Rolovich’s gesture. “When I saw (the knife), I said, ‘What the heck is that he has?’ ” Ursua said. “But it’s the humor he has. It brings joy to us. It was good fun.”
One serious reality: The Rainbow Warriors, who entered with four victories in 32 Mountain West Conference games since becoming a member in 2012, are now atop the West Division standings at 1-0.
“Its a great feeling,” Kemp said. “We’re excited about how we can perform in conference.”
The mood was decidedly different after the Warriors traveled more than 24,000 miles in suffering one-sided losses to California, Michigan and Arizona. The defense entered — and exited — last weekend’s bye dazed and confused.
“We were playing these teams that are Power Five teams who are very good, who have very good athletes, very talented players,” defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. “It took something out of us.”
It was suggested during a meeting among defensive coaches to view video of an intrasquad scrimmage in August. “It was like, ‘What’s going on?’” Lempa said of the video. “They played with a lot of juice (in the scrimmage), a lot of energy. So we showed (the players) that (video). It was silent in the room. We said, ‘This is what you’re capable of. This is how you can play. Let’s get it back.’”
Lempa said the Warriors’ defense had an animated practice on Thursday. That was followed with a spirited walk-through session on Friday.
“I saw a turnaround in the defense on Thursday,” Rolovich said. “Something happened.”
The Warriors won the toss, then chose to defer, putting their trust in the defense to start the game.
Nevada, benefiting from a broken play on James Butler’s 55-yard run, advance to the 5 on its opening drive. The Wolf Pack aligned in an unbalanced formation, with all the linemen but the center to the wide side. Jaxson Kincaide took the pitch, but slipped on the Aloha Stadium turf. That Nevada fall led to a UH stand for the rest of the half.
“We put on the pressure,” said linebacker Russell Williams Jr., who led the Warriors with 12 tackles. The Warriors amassed four sacks and seven backfield tackles, and made quarterback Taylor Stewart claustrophobic in the pocket.
“We trusted the defense to come out and play, and they did,” Rolovich said.
That boosted a UH offense whose struggles led to Brown’s promotion to No. 1 quarterback. Saint Juste, who became the 10th UH player to gain at least 200 rushing yards in a game, took advantage of a Nevada defense that tried to play a low-pressure blanket defense.
Saint Juste was the set-up guy. He did not score a touchdown. Steven Lakalaka scored on a 4-yard run and H-back Kaiwi Chung, on his first NCAA carry, found the end zone from a yard out.
“We ran the ball super well,” Brown said. “It helped me out a lot. It makes throwing the ball easier.”
It was 17-3 in the second quarter when Brown threw high into the right corner of the end zone. Tight end Metuisela ‘Unga made a one-handed grab.
“Tui made a great play,” Brown said of his first NCAA touchdown pass. “I tried to throw it up and let him do what he does.”
‘Unga said: “I had a corner route. I busted the corner. (Linebacker Jaden Sawyer) was in front of me. I didn’t even see Dru. I saw the ball go up. I don’t know if my left hand got caught, but my right hand was there.”
Later, ‘Unga and Brown teamed on an 8-yard scoring pass.
The Warriors also were able to open the playbook with Ursua’s touchdown. Ursua, taking the snap as the wildcat, faked a handoff to running back Paul Harris, who ran across the formation on a jet sweep. Ursua then followed Harris’ lead block into the end zone for his first rushing touchdown since he was a high school senior in 2011. Ursua worked for a year before going on a two-year mission and then joining UH last year, when he redshirted.
“I’m glad they trusted me,” Ursua said. “It was fun to get that option-read back.”
Ursua also said it was fun to win a conference game. The Warriors were 0-8 in the Mountain West last year.
“It’s not by coincidence,” Ursua said. “It’s our hard work in the offseason. It was big for us to get our that win for Coach Rolo and the staff that came over from Nevada.”
FIRST QUARTER
HAWAII
>> Rigo Sanchez 27 field goal.
>> Drive: 10 plays, 81 yards, 6:06 elapsed time. Time: 5:23. Score: Hawaii 3, Nevada 0
SECOND QUARTER
HAWAII
>> Steven Lakalaka 4 rush. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 10 plays, 88 yards, 4:05 elapsed time. Time: 8:43. Score: Hawaii 10, Nevada 0
NEVADA
>> Brent Zuzo 31 field goal.
>> Drive: 14 plays, 61 yards, 6:15 elapsed time. Time: 2:28. Score: Hawaii 10, Nevada 3
HAWAII
>> Metuisela ‘Unga 16 pass from Dru Brown. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 6 plays, 79 yards, 1:35 elapsed time. Time: 0:48. Score: Hawaii 17, Nevada 3
THIRD QUARTER
HAWAII
>> John Ursua 5 rush. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:12 elapsed time. Time: 13:48. Score: Hawaii 24, Nevada 3
HAWAII
>> ‘Unga 8 pass from Brown. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 6 plays, 95 yards, 2:48 elapsed time. Time: 6:10. Score: Hawaii 31, Nevada 3
HAWAII
>> Kaiwi Chung 1 rush. Sanchez kick.
>> Drive: 6 plays, 58 yards, 3:07 elapsed time. Time: 1:02. Score: Hawaii 38, Nevada 3
FOURTH QUARTER
NEVADA
>> Wyatt Demps 9 pass from Tyler Stewart. Zuzo kick.
>> Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:21 elapsed time. Time: 10:09. Score: Hawaii 38, Nevada 10
NEVADA
>> Jaxson Kincaide 2 rush. Zuzo kick.
>> Drive: 4 plays, 69 yards, 1:11 elapsed time. Time: 5:02. Score: Hawaii 38, Nevada 17
TEAM STATISTICS
|
NEV |
HAW |
| First downs |
23 |
24 |
| Rushes-yards |
42-194 |
40-344 |
| Passing |
203 |
222 |
| Comp-Att-Int |
19-33-0 |
15-18-0 |
| Return Yards |
95 |
13 |
| Punts-Avg. |
4-48.5 |
3-48.0 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
1-1 |
0-0 |
| Penalty-Yards |
9-95 |
10-90 |
| Time of Possession |
31:36 |
28:24 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Nevada, J. Butler 21-168, T. Stewart 10-8, J. Kincaide 7-9, T. Gangi 1-8, A. Lynch 3-1. Hawaii, D. Saint Juste 19-205, P. Harris 7-85, D. Brown 7-31, S. Lakalaka 5-17, J. Ursua 1-5, K. Chung 1-1.
PASSING–Nevada, T. Stewart 19-33-0-203. Hawaii, D. Brown 15-18-0-222.
RECEIVING–Nevada, W. Demps 4-53, A. Celis, 3-52, J. Richardson 4-39, J. Butler 3-16, A. Carrow 1-11, H. Henderson 2-23, J. Gipson 1-6, J. Kincaide 1-3. Hawaii, M. Kemp 6-88, A. Barker 3-48, M. Camanse-Stevens 2-40, M. ‘Unga 2-24, K. Timoteo 1-13, J. Ursua 1-9.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–Nevada, Zuso 48.
