What a rush.

Spearheaded by a career-high 205 yards from running back Diocemy Saint Juste and a dominant effort by the offensive line, Hawaii consumed huge chunks of yardage on the ground and devoured visiting Nevada 38-17 on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

With sophomore quarterback Dru Brown making his first start, the ground game flourished and the Rainbow Warriors (2-3 overall) earned their first Mountain West victory under coach Nick Rolovich. UH netted 344 rushing yards, its most since gaining 348 against UNLV on Nov. 22, 2014. That was also the last time UH had a 200-yard rusher — Joey Iosefa with 219.

“We’ve been practicing a lot on on our runs and trying to get better as running backs, as a whole unit,” said Saint Juste, whose previous career best was 135 against Wyoming two years ago. “I feel like with the O-line we have now, we have a very good chance to be a successful ground team.”

The starting front of Dejon Allen, Leo Koloamatangi, Asotui Eli, John Wa‘a and RJ Hollis set the tone.

“We was all clicking,” said Hollis, the right tackle. “From the top to the bottom, we relayed our plan to the coaches, thinking that we could run it on these guys. They weren’t giving us the stunts and blitzes and everything, they were base so we could take ’em. Our coach listened to us and took our word for it, and it all came to pan (out). The running backs ran a hell of a game, too.”

Saint Juste carried 19 times for an average of 10.8 per carry and became the 10th player in UH history with a 200-yard rushing game.

Paul Harris came on in relief in the second half, gaining 85 yards on just seven carries for an average of 12.1.

“From an O-line perspective, all I know when I looked up they was gone,” Hollis said. “So as long as they are doing that I’m going to make sure I’m going to block the hell out of somebody to make sure they can do it again.”

Meanwhile, running back Steven Lakalaka, receiver John Ursua and tight end Kaiwi Chung found the end zone on short-yardage rushing situations.

Rolovich said it was not his prior knowledge as Nevada offensive coordinator that led to the prolific night, but that some key injuries contributed to the Wolf Pack’s woes.

Rolovich was asked if the running game exceeded his expectations. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “Maybe.”

“I didn’t know if it was going to be (like that), I was hoping it would be,” Rolovich said. “You mentioned D (Saint Juste), you mentioned Harris, and Lakalaka. The only common denominator there is the guys up front, and they deserve some credit for what happened tonight.”

Saint Juste went right up the middle to open the second half and tore off a career-long 59-yard gain, setting up a touchdown for a 24-3 lead.

On the Wolf Pack’s ensuing possession, punter Alex Boy pinned UH at the 5 with an excellent kick. But Harris immediately ripped off 44 yards, getting UH to midfield. Two more carries by Harris — a 1,000-yard rusher last season who has been a reserve this year — set up Brown’s second touchdown pass of the game for a 28-point lead.

“It’s pretty helpful to have a lot of backs that can contribute to our offense because there are times when we do kind of get winded, so it helps us catch our breath knowing the next guy up is just as good,” Saint Juste said.

With the game a total blowout in the fourth quarter, Saint Juste’s final handful of carries got him over the 200 mark and killed some clock.