It took more than four decades as a football player and coach for Hawaii defensive coordinator Corey Batoon to finally receive a congratulatory game ball.

“Not every team does that,” Batoon said of awarding game balls. “And usually it goes to players, not coaches. I wasn’t that kind of player.”

“But,” UH head coach Nick Rolovich said of Batoon, “he is that kind of coach.”

Rolovich said Batoon — and, by extension, the defense — was an easy choice following the Rainbow Warriors’ 45-38 victory over Arizona in Saturday’s season opener at Aloha Stadium. After UH’s first drive ended with an interception, the Warriors answered when nickelback Kai Kaneshiro made a diving pick off a tipped pass. UH safety Ikem Okeke intercepted a fourth-quarter pass at the 3. Defensive lineman Pumba Williams and safety Kalen Hicks tackled Arizona quarterback Khalil Tate a yard short of the goal line as time expired.

“They made enough plays to win that game when things got tough,” Rolovich said of the defensive players.

That performance matched Rolovich’s intent of reviving a past tradition of awarding game balls. “I was thinking about it in the offseason,” Rolovich said. “I was looking at some of the game balls I got as a player here. I thought it was a great tradition. And I still got ’em. I thought I’d like to celebrate with the guys more. I thought it was important because we played well defensively.”

That assessment was validated with the widespread reaction to the final play. In particular, Williams drew praise for his effort. Against Tate, the Warriors went with their “rushmen” tactic — a four-man front consisting of ends and pass rushers. Williams, who usually aligns as a strong-side end, was positioned as a defensive tackle. Williams looped into the backfield on a stunt, then raced more than 30 yards downfield to help tackle Tate.

“My buddy is the D-line coach at Georgia,” Batoon said. “They started their team meeting the other day showing that clip. I’ve got buddies in the NFL texting me.”

Rolovich said a coach from the Buffalo Bills said he would share that video with his players.

“That’s what all D-line coaches preach,” Rolovich said of Williams’ effort. “And when you see it win a game, that’s a play that may improve D-line play across the country. Sometimes, those guys are forgotten. They saw that effort come in and win a football game.”

Batoon said Williams’ pursuit and Kaneshiro’s track-and-catch interception are “two recovery-effort plays we hound (the defensive players) about. We do pursuit drills. We do break-and-drive drills. It was neat to show some of the drills we do in practice start to show up (in a game).”

Rolovich said he expects quarterback Cole McDonald to rebound. McDonald completed 70.7% of his passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns, but was intercepted four times. Two running backs also lost fumbles.

“The kid is strong as far as mentally,” Rolovich said of McDonald. “All the mistakes are fixable. He got a little bit outside of the offense is what he did. He has to stay within the boundaries of the offense. It was disappointing because that could have been one of the best offensive showings we’ve ever had. You always have missed opportunities, but (the fumbles and interceptions) were self-inflicted.”