Hawai’i rallies against Cal to complete all-time classic Hawaii Bowl

HONOLULU – Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Hawai’i fans.

After weeks of chatter about storylines surrounding the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, the on-the-field action between the University of Hawai’i and California surpassed scripts Hollywood only dreams of as the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) put together the largest comeback in Hawaii Bowl history to stun the Golden Bears (7-6) on Christmas Eve, 35-31.

“They’re gritty,” head coach Timmy Chang said of his team after matching the biggest comeback in program history. “They’ve learned how to fight through adversity. I would say the first three years taught us the ways not to fight through adversity and this year has taught us the ways that we can handle adversity and continue to propel ourselves.”

Redshirt freshman QB Micah Alejado, who excited UH fans last week when he announced he would be returning to the islands next season after his Mountain West Freshman of the Year campaign, fought through a bevy of bumps and bruises throughout the night to complete 32-of-46 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns.

“All glory goes to God because you know, this year we’ve been through a lot of adversity,” Alejado said after the win. “The offense, we started off slow a lot and we’ve been down a lot [this season], but this team just doesn’t stop fighting.”

Junior QB Luke Weaver was the one to deliver the dagger for UH on the final offensive play, finding Nick Cenacle for a go-ahead 22-yard TD pass with 10 seconds remaining after Alejado exited with another lower body injury. In his first game action since September 13, Weaver completed 2-of-3 passes for 28 yards and the eventual game-winning score as he became the latest UH backup quarterback to cement themselves in program lore with a legendary moment.

Junior WR Pofele Ashlock was named the Hugh Yoshida Most Valuable Player after matching Jason Rivers’ 2006 Hawaii Bowl receptions record with 14 catches that went for 123 yards and two touchdowns, setting a new career high for catches in a contest while notching his sixth career multi-score game.

“I asked for this,” the junior wideout said, opening up after his record-tying outing. “Before, in the hotel room, I just asked [God] for a game. Just to go out there and prove to myself, not to everyone else but to myself, man. Lately, I haven’t been confident in most ways, so going out there [and performing] was amazing.”

The start was less than amazing for UH as Cal came out swinging on its opening drive with an early 41-yard bomb from freshman QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to senior WR Jacob De Jesus, taking a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Hawai’i looked to answer on the ensuing possession, but stalled out in Bears territory and saw Kansei Matsuzawa miss for just the second time this year on a 50-yard attempt.

The rough open by UH rolled into the second quarter as Cal RB Kendrick Raphael rumbled 19 yards for his 13th rushing TD of the year on the first play of the frame. Freshman RB Anthony League followed it up shortly after with his first collegiate touchdown run for the Bears, putting the Rainbow Warriors in a 21-0 hole with 9:38 to play in the opening half.

Hawai’i finally found the end zone with 3:57 left before the break behind the heroics of Ashlock, who put together a string of impressive catches before capping off the drive with a 13-yard score. It marked the first time the junior wideout found paydirt since October 11 when he had a 3-touchdown performance against Utah State.

Ashlock’s return to form came at a perfect time as UH dealt with the absence of star sophomore Jackson Harris, who opted out of the bowl with intentions of entering the transfer portal next month after leading the Rainbow Warriors with 963 yards and 12 touchdowns in 11 games this season.

“The biggest thing with having Jackson gone, I mean he was a big momentum changer for us,” Ashlock said. “It was going back to myself and understanding that I have that ability too, man … Thinking back to my freshman files.”

Hawai’i’s defense looked re-energized after the score, responding with a stop as they forced the first Cal punt of the game with just under two minutes left in the second quarter. Special teams got in on the fun as junior defensive back Riis Weber, a Kailua alum, got a piece of the punt to record the first statistic of any kind in his UH career and set up the Rainbow Warriors at the California 32-yard line with 1:45 to work with.

The blocked punt ultimately resulted in points for Hawai’i as the offense set up a 29-yard chip shot for Matsuzawa, who calmly pocketed the kick to make it a 21-10 deficit at the break with momentum starting to roll back towards the hosts.

Hawai’i’s defense continued to solve the Cal offensive puzzle as play resumed in the third quarter, forcing another punt to set up another Matsuzawa field goal from 39 yards out to pull the Rainbow Warriors within eight heading into the final frame.

UH finally got fans to fully erupt just over a minute into the final frame as Ashlock hauled in his second touchdown of the night. The Rainbow Warriors completed the rally from 21 down moments later on a shovel pass from Alejado to Cam Barfield on the 2-point conversion, sending the sold-out T.C. Ching Athletics Complex crowd into a frenzy.

Cal briefly regained the lead after Chase Meyer’s 22-yard field goal with 8:56 left to play, but Brandon White hauled in a 17-yard dime from Alejado for his second TD reception of the season and lone catch of the game to vault Hawai’i back in front less than two minutes later.

The Golden Bears again relied on their star freshman Sagapolutele to work some late-game magic as a response, seeing the ‘Ewa Beach native lead a go-ahead scoring drive with 1:57 remaining in regulation with eyes on a homecoming villain moment as he powered into the end zone on a sneak from a yard out to put Cal up, 31-28.

With the comfort of the chance to send the game to overtime with another Matsuzawa field goal, the Rainbow Warriors quickly moved onto Cal’s side of the 50-yard line with 37 seconds and a timeout still to work with after an Alejado third-down scramble over midfield.

The redshirt freshman did enough to work the offense into Tokyo Toe range a few plays later as he hooked up with Cam Barfield on screen pass for a 13-yard pickup but forced Hawai’i to burn its final timeout after with 15 seconds left after taking another hit that left him on the ground writhing in pain.

Move over, Rudolph. The Hawaii Bowl provided a new hero to save Christmas Eve.

Luke Weaver entered in relief for Alejado with time for a couple of quick plays before UH would need to kick a field goal to force overtime, but the junior gunslinger needed only one chance to lead the Rainbow Warriors back in front as he fired a perfect 22-yard strike to Nick Cenacle for the game-winning score with 10 seconds to play.

“I said a quick little prayer before I went out there and I feel like [God] took care of the rest,” Weaver shared when asked about what was running through his mind coming into the game in the clutch. “That’s what every football player dreams about as an 8-year-old kid when they start to play football, and I can guarantee that was a dream that God made come true tonight.”

Nick Cenacle finished his UH tenure on a high note after dealing with a plethora of injuries throughout his senior year, grabbing a season-best eight passes for 59 yards and the biggest score of his career in his final college game.

“He hasn’t had the most memorable season because he’s been battling with injuries, but I think his heart, his grind, his work ethic is always there and that’s the things that go unseen throughout these Saturdays,” Ashlock gushed about his teammate when asked about Cenacle’s storybook ending. “I think that was the biggest play right there to put a message to all of us that you can do this, regardless of whatever adversity you go through.”

The win marked UH’s third consecutive victory when appearing in a bowl (2019, ’20, ’25), tying the longest streak in program history while bringing home the sixth Hawaii Bowl title for the Rainbow Warriors, the most championships by any team.

Timmy Chang has been a part of half of those Hawaii Bowl-winning UH teams, taking home two titles as a player before securing his first career bowl victory as a head coach this season. Despite two MVP performances and victories during his playing days, the fourth-year head coach may have enjoyed the most recent postseason win the most.

“I think it’s better now,” Chang said when comparing the two chapters of his football life. “I’m helping raise leaders in the community and building young men to just be great fathers and husband, and we can come out here and win games as well as do those things. I think that’s the joy that I have now being older … I totally love being a coach and I love coaching at the University of Hawai’i.”