Weaver solid as Hawai’i sprints past Sam Houston

HONOLULU – No Micah, no problem.

Despite being without the services of their starting quarterback, the University of Hawai’i took down Sam Houston (0-3) inside the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on Saturday night, 37-20, to move to 2-1 to start a season for the first time under fourth-year head coach Timmy Chang. Quarterback Luke Weaver tossed three touchdowns while completing 27-of-43 pass attempts for 294 yards in his first career Division I start.

“Luke is a diamond for us,” Chang said of his backup QB following the game. “When we recruited [Weaver], there’s one qualification that comes to mind, that’s a winner … From January, all the way through now, he’s put in the work.”

Playing substitute for redshirt freshman Micah Alejado, Weaver leaned on Pofele Ashlock, who exploded for 125 yards and a pair of TDs on seven catches while eclipsing the century mark in receiving yards for the first time in 2025 and fourth time in his career. Senior running back Landon Sims added seven catches for 29 yards and another touchdown to go along with 60 yards rushing across 14 carries in the win.

“He’s a dawg,” Weaver said of Ashlock after the star junior’s big game. “He’s got all the confidence in the world and I know he’s going to make a play if [I] put it there for him. So it’s great having a guy like him on the team.”

The Rainbow Warriors started quickly as the defense forced a three-and-out from the Bearkats and Weaver dropped a dime to a wide-open Ashlock 47 yards down the field before most fans took their seats.

Weaver helped pilot the offense to the doorstep of the end zone and then capitalized on a second chance for his first UH touchdown pass. After a fumble by Cam Barfield was overturned, the former Modesto College star found a wide-open Sims on fourth-and-goal for the 1-yard score.

Sam Houston returned fire after Sims got the ball punched out near midfield with just under six minutes left in the first quarter, working into the red zone before settling for a 28-yard field goal from RJ Lopez.

The UH defense provided a big spark for the home squad midway through the second quarter as Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen came crashing in to pop a Mabrey Mettauer pass up in the air and Giovanni Iovino took it back 41 yards for a touchdown to put the Rainbow Warriors up by 11.

“I just turned to the field and seen we had elephants on parade, we had a whole convoy [of blockers] so I just knew I had to run as fast as I could,” Iovino recalled of the pick-six after the game, adding that it was his first defensive touchdown since his peewee football days. “It was an awesome experience.”

Kansei Matsuzawa continued his perfect start to the year with a pair of kicks on each side of the halftime break, drilling a 38-yard field goal as time expired in the first half before he added a career-long 43-yard make on the first possession of the third quarter to help extend the Rainbow Warrior lead, 20-6.

Sam Houston got right back into the game with 3:12 left in the third quarter as DB Emon Allen jumped a Weaver pass and returned it 66 yards for a pick-six of his own, making it 20-13 with more than a quarter remaining. Undeterred, Hawai’i came right back with a nine-play, 76-yard scoring drive to go back up by two possessions as Weaver connected with Ashlock on a 5-yard score, the first of two touchdowns hookups between the pair.

“That’s one of our team’s biggest emphases right now is just one snap and clear,” Weaver responded when asked about being able to quickly flush the turnover to lead a scoring drive. “Can’t let the last play affect the next play. You have to move on, whether it’s good or bad. In that sense, I just had to move on from the pick-six and keep the game going.”

Sam Houston came back with another score of their own, but another chip shot field goal from Matsuzawa followed by the knockout blow on the next possession – a 15-yard TD to Ashlock – comfortably secured the victory for the Rainbow Warriors, 37-20.

“It was a great game by us in all three phases, offense, defense and special teams,” Chang said.

The UH defense turned in a bounce back performance of their own, racking up four sacks and 7.0 TFLs while holding the Bearkats to just 2-of-11 on third down. Iovino’s interception was also the second forced turnover of the year for the Rainbow Warriors and the first pick-six by UH’s defense since 2022 when Penei Pavihi returned an interception 50 yards for a score against Duquesne.

Matsuzawa tied his career-best with three made field goals while setting a new longest make at 43 yards. Freshman punter Billy Gowers saw his services only needed three times throughout the night and placed two punts inside the Bearkat 20-yard line.

Sam Houston QB Mabrey Mettauer, who started in place of the injured Hunter Watson, completed 12-of-18 passes for 91 yards and led the Bearkats in rushing with 45 yards across 17 attempts before exiting early in the fourth quarter after taking a big hit from Iovino. Senior running back Elijah Green added three receptions for a team-leading 45 yards and the lone offensive touchdown for the Bearkats.

Hawai’i hosts Portland State next week to close out the non-conference schedule, hosting former backup QB John-Keawe Sagapolutele and the Vikings for the second leg of a three-game home stand.