Helpless Hawai’i offense falters in home opener against UNLV

HONOLULU – September sadness.

The University of Hawai’i football team saw the good vibes of the offseason slither away on Saturday evening, falling 21-6 to conference rival UNLV (1-1, 1-0 Mountain West) inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex after a second straight no-show performance from the offense.

Sophomore QB Micah Alejado struggled mightily to find chemistry with his receivers, completing just 17-of-41 passes for 176 yards and an interception. The left-handed signal caller was also sacked five times and faced immense pressure from the Rebels defensive line from the opening snap.

Hawai’i (0-2, 0-1 Mountain West) won the time of possession battle by over four minutes but failed to capitalize on multiple opportunities throughout the game. The Rainbow Warriors went 9-for-21 on third down and just 1-for-3 on red zone opportunities, dropping passes and getting hit behind the line of scrimmage far too many times.

“I feel bad for the guys in the locker room,” head coach Timmy Chang said after the loss. “They’re playing hard … but you know, just things haven’t gone our way right now.”

Chang shouldered the blame for performance, stating that he needed to do a better job putting the players in position to succeed.

“It really starts with me,” said the fifth-year head man.

Both teams posted strong defensive starts, each forcing a three-and-out before UNLV QB Jackson Arnold and the rest of the Rebels got the scoring started on their second drive.

After a defensive pass interference set the visitors up near midfield, Arnold hit TE Keyan Burnett on a 25-yard strike and followed it up with a pair of QB draws in the red zone, mowing over a few Rainbow Warrior defenders on his way to the endzone for the game’s first points.

Hawai’i seemed to start dethawing towards the start of the second quarter, getting a 26-yard catch-and-run from Kai Kai Carvalho and a 10-yard rumble from Sitani Mikaele to set up Sean Olvera-Harle for a 39-yard field goal that got the hosts on the board.

The UH defense would force punts on the next two UNLV possessions but couldn’t hold up for a third time before the opening half’s end, seeing a 44-yard catch by Kayden McGee set up another Jackson Arnold battering-ram touchdown run with 1:33 left before the break.

“He’s a great quarterback,” Hawai’i senior linebacker Jamih Otis said about Arnold. “We knew before coming into the game [that] he was real good with his legs. I just think as a whole, we could’ve been more effective in understanding that and stopping that.”

The woes went on for Hawai’i following the halftime break.

Despite driving down the field and into the red zone on the first possession of the third quarter, the Rainbow Warriors exited another drive without any points after Sean Olvera-Harle’s 41-yard field goal try trickled wide right.

Still, the Hawai’i defense held strong and kept the UNLV offense quiet throughout the third quarter to keep within striking distance.

It appeared as though the Rainbow Warrior offense finally broke through before the end of the third frame after Alejado exited for a snap with a leg cramp, seeing Audric Harris seemingly snag a 15-yard laser from backup QB Bjorn Jurgensen for a touchdown until a review overturned the call on the field.

Faced with a 4th-and-goal from the UNLV 15, Hawai’i opted for points and trotted out Olvera-Harle for a 33-yard field goal with 1:32 left in the third quarter, making it a one-possession game again.

“I thought for the most part, our defense played really well and kept us right in it,” Chang said after the game. “Just kept us right around in striking distance to go and have a chance to tie the game or be in position to take over the game.”

Hawai’i forced another UNLV punt to begin the fourth quarter and drove deep into the red zone behind the backfield duo of DeVon Rice and Sitani Mikaele taking turns picking up positive yards.

Faced with a 4th-and-1 from the UNLV 10 while trailing by eight, Hawai’i opted to try and move the chains and instead got stuffed behind the line of scrimmage for a turnover-on-downs with 9:53 remaining.

The Hawai’i defense got the ball back one more time without giving up any more points, but another immediate three-and-out from the offense broke the back of the Rainbow Warriors with five minutes left to play.

UNLV RB Jai’den “Jet” Thomas provided the exclamation point for the visitors, delivering a 50-yard dash for the dagger as the Rebels retained possession of the Island Showdown Trophy for the fourth straight meeting.

Thomas finished with 143 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries for the Rebels, who ran for 258 yards as a team against the Hawai’i defense. Jackson Arnold finished the night 8-for-18 passing for 116 yards and added 89 yards with two scores on the ground.

 Jamih Otis led the effort for the Hawai’i defense, tallying 12 tackles in the loss. Despite the chance to throw the offense under the bus in the postgame, Otis emphasized togetherness for the Rainbow Warriors and turned the blame back on the defense.

“At the end of the day, we could do better because, you know, if they didn’t score 21 points, we would have won,” said the senior linebacker. “If we’ve got to be on the field for 100 plays, so be it … It’s just the brotherhood we have … We’ll go toe-to-toe anytime for the offense.”

Hawai’i must regroup quickly, turning attention to hosting New Mexico State (1-1) next Saturday before a much-needed bye week. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. HT and will be broadcast on K5 and the MW+ app.

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