Aug 26, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Hawaii Warriors head coach Timmy Chang yells to his players during the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Quick Hits from Hawai’i Football’s 44-20 loss in Mountain West-opener at UNLV

BY PAUL BRECHT | HONOLULU
PUBLISHED SEP 30, 2023

The Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors fell on the road to UNLV, 44-20, in the Mountain West Conference-opener to fall to 2-4 on the season and drop to 0-1 in conference play. The Rebels rushed for over 300 yards on the ground and registered six sacks, dominating in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Below, you can find the quick hitters of the action from the ‘Bows loss in the 9th Island and slow start to conference play.

GAME LOG: 

1ST HALF

  • ‘Bows come up empty in first two offensive drives. 
  • UNLV scores first as Maiava finds Davis Jr. for a 16-yard TD pass out of the backfield. 
  • Rebels go up 10-0 after a 52-yard field goal make. 
  • Hawai’i kicks field goal to get on board, down 10-3 with 12:08 left in 1st half. 
  • UNLV answers with FG of their own, 13-3. 
  • ‘Bows fumble late in half in own territory. 
  • Back-to-back Hawai’i personal foul penalties fuel UNLV touchdown drive to close 1st half, 20-3 Rebels’ lead. 

2ND HALF

  • Teams trade three-and-outs to open 2nd half. 
  • Trick play, flea-flicker 51-yd TD Schager Bomb to McBride to spark offense. 
  • UNLV drives field and responds with 21-yard TD run by Courtney Reese. 
  • UH able to chip away with 33-yard field goal to make it a two-score game again, 27-13. 
  • Rebels drain the rest of 3rd quarter clock, kick field goal to open final quarter and push lead back to 30-13. 
  • Hawai’i with a quick drive, capped by 38-yard TD pass down the left sideline to freshman WR Alex Perry to cut lead to 30-20. 
  • 10-play, 80-yard drive over four minutes for UNLV puts Rebels up 17 with 8:18 left to play (37-20).  
  • ‘Bows see 50+ yard gain for Ashlock on 4th-and-1 called back from pick play, forced to punt away with six minutes left and down three scores. 
  • UNLV RB Donavyn Lester breaks tackles for a 22-yard rushing touchdown to give Rebels the biggest lead of the day, 44-20 
  • Hawai’i drives the field before Karsyn Pupunu had the ball ripped from hands in end zone for a Rebels’ INT to close the game with less than 90 seconds left. 

Hawai’i enters the bye week with multiple injuries to continue healing from, penalty problems and need to look back at the trenches and two weeks to progress it all before returning to action at home against San Diego State.

The time off to reset couldn’t have happened sooner for the ‘Bows, down Virdel Edwards II and Elijah Palmer in the secondary. Alex Perry did not return to the game after a collision over the middle led to the freshman being checked for a head injury. 

You can follow @12brecht on X (formerly Twitter) for updates on Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors athletics.