The construction of Hawaii’s 45-31 victory over New Mexico began long before the Rainbow Warriors raced to a 35-3 lead on Saturday.

It started in the weeks between when Nick Rolovich was hired as head coach on Nov. 27, 2015 and his first signing period for recruits in February 2016.

“You do have to trust some people you have years of relationships with,” Rolovich said of the contacts and friendships that helped in assembling the 2016 recruiting list.

Of that 2016 freshman class, 14 remain — many of whom contributed on Saturday.

Quarterback Cole McDonald rushed for 140 non-sack yards and two touchdowns while adding 237 passing yards and a scoring toss.

Receiver Kumoku Noa, in his first appearance of the season, had four catches for 120 yards. He became the sixth Warrior this season with at least 100 receiving yards in a game.

Taaga Tuulima, who joined the Warriors as a walk-on in 2016, has been the anchor of the offensive line. When Tuulima starts at center, the Warriors are 11-9 and averaging 451.5 yards.

Linebacker Jeremiah Pritchard amassed five tackles, including a sack, as part of his duties in tracking UNM quarterback Tevaka Tuioti.

Safety Ikem Okeke intercepted Tuioti’s pass in front of the goal line to extinguish the Lobos’ final drive.

And Stan Gaudion and Ben Scruton averaged more than 50 yards on their punts.

Rolovich and his staff secured commitments from many overlooked prospects in 2016.

“As long as you search and talk to people, there are plenty of athletes out there who have seen plenty of their friends get recruited and still have a bunch of desire to play football at the next level,” Rolovich said. “They feel maybe they have a chip on their shoulder a little bit. But they still want to be part of something.”

Rolovich said Chris Brown, a Bishop Gorman High assistant coach, was helpful in leading UH to Okeke and Kalen Hicks, a starting safety who did not play on Saturday because of an ailment. Rolovich and Brown, a former linebacker, were UH teammates.

Rolovich has known Noa’s family for several years. An older brother, Kilinahe Noa, and Rolovich played together on the Warriors’ 2001 team. “He has a very good family,” Rolovich said of Kumoku Noa, adding, “he cares about this team.”

Through the years. Rolovich compiled a list of quarterback prospects. After the rush of quarterback commitments during the fall of 2015, McDonald was available in January 2016. McDonald had the dual-quarterback skills to match the Warriors’ initial mesh of three-wide and spread concepts. McDonald has flourished since the Warriors resurrected the run-and-shoot as the offensive base in 2018.

“Cole has an inherent desire to be better and to see what he can do with his ability,” Rolovich said. “That’s nothing we did. He was born with it and his parents raised him that way.”