No. 23 Washington dominates University of Hawaii football
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington wide receiver Aaron Fuller leaps over Hawaii’s Cortez Davis, Mason Vega and Kalen Hicks during the first half.
Coming into today’s nonconference football game at No. 23 University of Washington, Hawaii had never defeated three teams from Power Five conferences in the same season. That streak continued in emphatic fashion as the Huskies dominated the Rainbow Warriors 52-20 before a boisterous crowd at Husky Stadium.
After opening the year with two victories over Pac-12 opponents Arizona and Oregon State in the friendly confines of Aloha Stadium, the Warriors took to the road for the first time this year and the three-touchdown underdogs didn’t fare as well, dropping to 2-1 for the season.
Washington bounced back from a strange 20-19 weather-delayed loss to conference rival California at home a week ago. The Huskies are also 2-1 for the 2019 campaign. Hawaii has now lost seven straight and is 1-17 lifetime against ranked teams away from the island chain. The Warriors haven’t knocked off a Top 25 opponent on the road since defeating Fresno State in 2008.
Credit a stout Washington defense that pressured quarterbacks Cole McDonald and Chevan Cordeiro into mostly average performances. The rush was persistent enough and the coverages tight by UW to keep the run-and-shoot mainly in check. Meanwhile, on the other side of the football, the Huskies offense had its way with the Warriors defense, mixing run and pass with equal effectiveness.
Quarterback Jacob Eason completed the first seven passes he threw, including two for touchdowns, en route to a good night at the ballpark. He went 18-for-25 for 262 yards and three touchdowns. McDonald countered with an uneven day, connecting on 22 of 35 throws for 218 yards and one touchdown. He also had three tough interceptions. Cordeiro came in for a couple of series in the first half and cleaned up in the second. He was 4-for-12 for 36 yards.
After Hawaii cut Washington’s 38-0 lead to 38-20, the Huskies righted the ship with a dominant 11-play, 75-yard drive of their own that they almost gave away near the goal line. After UH lost a challenge that Andre Baccellia fumbled the ball out of the end zone before stepping out of bounds, Newton took it in from a yard out for his second touchdown of the game. Peyton Henry hit the PAT to make it 45-20 with 12:02 remaining in the game.
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On the ensuing series, McDonald threw his third interception of the game off a tipped pass that Cameron Williams picked out of the sky and returned to the UH 31. That made it 11 turnovers for Hawaii in its first three games. The Huskies accepted the gift and turned it into a touchdown on an 8-yard scoring run by Newton, his third of the game. Henry’s PAT was good to extend the advantage to 52-20 with 8:08 left.
