UNLV’s follow-up season to its first bowl appearance in 13 years hasn’t gone according to plan.

A lot of the frustration that has built up over the year will go away if the Rebels (2-9, 1-5 Mountain West) can scratch out a win at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night against Hawaii (3-8, 2-4).

UNLV features six players on its roster from the islands, with linebacker Tau Lotulelei and safety Peni Vea two of the team’s biggest contributors.

They are 1-2 in tackles, with Lotulelei, a Maui High product, leading the way with 83 in 11 games, while Vea has 69 in 10 games.

They have been the bright spots within a unit that has struggled all season. UNLV has held only one FBS team under 30 points all season and has given up 40 or more points five times, including each of the past two games.

"It hasn’t turned out the way we were hoping for," said Vea, a 2011 Kealakehe graduate. "We’ve got a bunch of good guys on this team, though, and nobody is willing to give up. We keep fighting."

UNLV qualified for a bowl game last year by winning its final two games of the regular season.

The Rebels would not have had that chance without a last-second win over Hawaii when Nolan Kohorst kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired.

Vea played here in 2012 when UNLV was shellacked 48-10 but is hopeful for a different outcome this time around.

"I’m certainly excited," Vea said. "We look at Hawaii as an out-of-state rival, so you know going out there and getting a win where they are always tough at home would mean a lot to the team."

Listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Vea had an opportunity to play for UH, which recruited him as a linebacker.

He felt more comfortable playing defensive back and decided instead to sign with Utah State before eventually settling on UNLV.

"I just really like to play in the back and fly around and make plays," Vea said. "Position (choice) was one of the factors for where I wanted to go. I didn’t want to put on too much weight and coach (Bobby) Hauck gave me that opportunity to play safety here."

Other players who graduated from local high schools on the UNLV roster are defensive lineman Asten Koki (Roosevelt), receivers Maika Mataele (Kamehameha) and Christian Clapp (Kaiser) and quarterback Jarin Morikawa (Mililani).

Koki has made 17 tackles in limited action, while Mataele has 21 catches for 268 yards. Clapp and Morikawa haven’t played in a game.

Peni Vea
School: UNLV
Class: Junior
Position: DB
Height: 6-1
Weight: 205
High school: Kealakehe (2011)