Defense, Barfield’s big half helps Hawai’i down Portland State

HONOLULU – Home, sweet homecoming.

Playing the earliest Homecoming Game in program history, a shorthanded University of Hawai’i football team rolled past Portland State (0-4) on Saturday, 23-3, behind a strong defensive performance and a pair of receiving touchdowns from junior running back Cam Barfield.

Junior quarterback Luke Weaver, making his second straight start in place of the injured Micah Alejado, ended the night 26-for-42 and passed for 240 yards and two touchdowns while Hawai’i (3-1) avoided turning the ball over for an entire game for the first time this year. Over the first three weeks, UH had committed eight total turnovers.

While Hawai’i took care of the ball well against PSU, penalties shot back up as the Rainbow Warriors were flagged 13 times for 138 yards. Two of the UH penalties provided a fresh set of downs for the Vikings while WR Brandon White had two different touchdowns wiped off the board due to holding calls.

“The one thing I would say is that I’m not happy about the amount of penalties we had today,” head coach Timmy Chang said following the win. “We harp on them, and they continue to happen.”

Barfield, in his second season with the Rainbow Warriors after transferring in from Boston College, led the UH receiving attack with 50 yards on four catches and scored the first two touchdowns of his college career.

“We gave a game ball to Cam,” Chang said. “Cam is a really good player that we can keep feeding the ball, whether they’re in runs, whether it’s in passing, Cam is special … He’s a dynamic player that we have to find a way to get the ball to.”

Without the services of starting receivers Nick Cenacle and Jackson Harris, Karsyn Pupunu stepped up with 40 yards and led the team with a career-best five catches while Pofele Ashlock extended his games with at least one reception streak to 28 straight as he collected four catches for 17 yards on Saturday night.

The victory marks the fourth straight inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex, the longest home winning streak of the Timmy Chang era and most consecutive wins for the program at home since moving inside the temporary facility in 2021.

Elijah Palmer matched a career high with seven tackles as he led the Rainbow Warrior defense, adding two tackles for a loss and securing his fourth career interception with a pick of former teammate John-Keawe Sagapolutele at the end of the first quarter. The Hawai’i defense kept the Vikings to 230 yards of total offense and held an opponent without a touchdown for the first time this season.

“I thought in the first quarter, they were finding their way,” Chang said of his defense. “A couple of first downs here and there, but other than that, I thought it was really good. [They] got put in some situations where they’re at midfield because we were backed up and they responded with stops.

The UH defensive line continued to produce pressure against opposing QBs as Jamar Sekona and Lester Lagafuaina each registered a full sack and Jackie Johnson III and Qwyn Williams chipped in half-a-sack in the victory.

The interception by Palmer sparked the Rainbow Warriors after a slow offensive start, closing the opening frame with momentum in the host’s direction. Weaver and company promptly marched 73 yards down the field to capitalize on the turnover, giving Hawai’i a lead that they never relinquished.

“I love the way Elijah Palmer played,” Chang said. “He played aggressive on the screens, he’s a downhill tackler, but also has the athletic ability to cover in space, so I was really proud of that.”

With just under two minutes gone in the second quarter and facing a manageable third down deep in Vikings territory, Weaver dumped a pass off to a crossing Barfield and the junior back took it 16 yards to open up the scoring for the Rainbow Warriors, 7-0.

The defense followed the score with a three-and-out, forcing a punt from Portland State and quickly getting the UH offense back on the field. Hawai’i struck again as Barfield showed off his catch-and-run ability by taking a slip screen 31 yards for his second score in less than four minutes, giving the Rainbow Warriors a 14-0 lead to take into halftime.

After a roughing-the-passer penalty against Portland State helped extend the opening drive of the third quarter for Hawai’i, Kansei Matsuzawa pushed the UH lead to 17 with a 44-yard field goal, the first of three eventual second-half makes from the senior kicker.

Portland State finally got on the board with 3:45 left in the third quarter, kicking a 25-yard field goal after starting in UH territory thanks to a short punt and facemask penalty against the Rainbow Warriors.

Matsuzawa connected on a career-long 47-yard kick to put Hawai’i up 20-3 and added a 35-yard chip shot on UH’s final drive to improve to 11-for-11 on FG attempts this year as the team tied a bow on top of the best start to a Rainbow Warrior season since 2019. The senior from Japan has more than doubled his makes from 40+ yards than last season, when he made 12-of-16 tries total and only two kicks from 40-or-more yards out.

“Kansei continues to be consistent,” Chang said of his kicker. “He stays right there; he’s in a good place and we’re very fortunate and lucky to have him.”

Portland State starting QB John-Keawe Sagapolutele had an efficient night in his return to Hawai’i, completing 23-of-35 passes for 189 yards while throwing one interception. Zachary Dodson-Greene led the way in the receiving game for the Vikings, pulling down nine catches for a game-best 78 yards in the loss.

Hawai’i will close out a stretch of three straight home games next weekend, hosting Fresno State (3-1) to kick off the 2025 Mountain West conference slate for both squads.

“We’re going to take a look at them, we know they’re a good football team,” Chang said ahead of the matchup with the Bulldogs. “We don’t play for a trophy, but it has that rivalry feel to it … it’s going to be a great game.”