‘Bows rally from 13 down to win at Fresno in final seconds
CRAIG KOHLRUSS / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii quarterback Brayden Schager avoids getting tripped up by Fresno State’s Sione Noa in the first half of their game at Valley Children’s Stadium today in Fresno. UH won the game, 21-20, with a last-minute touchdown pass from Schager to wide receiver Nick Cenacle.
FRESNO, CALIF. >> In the rally in the valley, Hawaii surged from a 13-point deficit to earn a 21-20 victory over Fresno Sate today at Valley Children’s Stadium.
On fourth-and-10 from the Fresno State 18, Brayden Schager and Tylan Hines could not connect on a pass into the end zone with 28 seconds left. But linebacker Tuasivi Nomura was called for pass interference, giving UH the ball — and extended life — at the 3.
Two plays later, Schager threw to Nick Cenacle in the right flat for the touchdown to tie it at 20 with 15 seconds to play.
Kansei Matsuzawa’s point after kick delivered UH’s second victory in 16 road games under coach Timmy Chang.
The Rainbow Warriors improved to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West.
The Warriors closed to 20-14 on Brayden Schager’s 9-yard pass to Cenacle, who was wide open in the left corner of the end zone, with 9:04 to play.
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Down 13-7, the Warriors drove into the red zone in the third quarter. But on third-and-9 from the Fresno State 20, the Warriors were penalized for a false start. On the next play, Schager fled to his left, then tried to fire a pass across to the middle. Nomura deflected the ball into the air. Backup linebacker Phoenix Jackson caught the popup, then raced 89 yards the other way on the pick-6 to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 20-7 with 3:57 remaining in the third quarter.
A series of unfortunate events for Hawaii resulted in Fresno State taking a 13-7 lead into the intermission.
The Warriors struck first, with a methodical opening scoring drive that covered 75 yards in 14 plays. Schager’s 5-yard scoring pass to slotback Pofele Ashl0ck made it 7-0 with 7:12 left in the first quarter.
But two UH breakdowns set up the Bulldogs’ two first-half touchdowns. On second-and-8 from the Warriors’ 20, defensive tackle Malachi Finau forced a fumble that defensive end Elijah Robinson recovered. But the officials ruled UH linebacker Noah Kema hit a “defenseless” receiver running a crossing route. The fumble was overturned, a 10-yard personal foul was assessed and, on the ensuing play, Fresno State running back Elijah Gilliam ran 10 yards to tie it at 7.
The Warriors, who had successfully converted a fourth-down play, tried again, this time on fourth-and-1 from their 45. Under pressure, Schager was hit by linebacker Malachi Langley. The football was knocked free. Left guard Zhen Sotelo recovered but was stopped short of the first-down marker.
The Bulldogs took over, then drove 28 yards in eight plays to take a 13-7 lead on Mikey Keene’s 5-yard pass to Raylen Sharpe. UH’s Cam Stone blocked the point-after attempt in what would prove to be a game-deciding play.
