Clippers hold off Warriors late with Wagler’s clutch bucket

Clippers hold off Warriors late with Wagler’s clutch bucket

Oct 4, 2026

Clippers hold off Warriors late with Wagler’s clutch bucket

Darius Garland celebrates one of his made three-pointers during Sunday’s preseason matchup against the Golden State Warriors. | Photo Credit: Riley Guillermo, HSRN

HONOLULU – Welcome back, NBA.

After spending a week enjoying the Aloha Spirit and working through training camp, the Los Angeles Clippers kicked off their preseason slate with a 104-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon in Hawai’i.

Playing a preseason game in the islands against each other for the second time in three years, the Clippers and Warriors provided an exciting back-and-forth contest for the packed-out crowd inside Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.

Clippers rookie G Keaton Wagler, who was selected fifth overall in the 2026 NBA Draft, scored 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting (8-of-9 FT) off the bench in 30 minutes. Despite the rough shooting day, Wagler hit the biggest shot of the game when he knocked down a 19-foot stepback jumper to put Los Angeles ahead for good with 14 seconds left to play.

After going 0-for-4 from long distance in the matchup against the Clippers in the islands in 2024, Warriors G Steph Curry delighted fans in attendance with 10 points and a pair of made three-pointers in 13 minutes of first-half action.

The 38-year-old guard was one of four Warriors to finish in double figures in the loss. Golden State was led by sixth-year center Charles Bassey’s 12 points and eight rebounds and got 11 points each from rookie UDFA Graham Ike and fifth-year guard Brandon Williams.

F Rui Hachimura led all scorers with 21 points in 15 minutes of action, knocking down 8-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-5 from long distance in his first game action for the Clippers.

G Darius Garland also chipped in 15 points in 15 minutes of work for Los Angeles, sitting out the second half with the rest of the starters.

The Clippers will return to action on October 10, visiting the Toronto Raptors for the second of three scheduled preseason games. The Warriors have a quicker turnaround, taking on the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday before heading to Portland to face the Trail Blazers on Wednesday as part of a six-game preseason slate.

Three players to watch as Hawai’i hosts San Jose State

Three players to watch as Hawai’i hosts San Jose State

Oct 3, 2026

HONOLULU – Stakes are high. Hawai’i football’s slow start to the 2026 campaign has allowed pessimism to permeate the fanbase, but there are still eight games left for the Rainbow Warriors to right the ship and earn their way into a bowl game for...

Kaiser spoils Castle’s homecoming with 42-20 win

Kaiser spoils Castle’s homecoming with 42-20 win

Oct 3, 2026

KANEOHE — Kaiser built a four-touchdown lead, weathered a spirited Castle comeback and pulled away for a 42-20 victory Friday night in an OIA Division II game. The Cougars got back into the win column as they improved to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in...

Slow starts have continued dooming Hawai’i football

Slow starts have continued dooming Hawai’i football

Oct 1, 2026

HONOLULU – The red light is flashing. The alarm bells have not hit full blast and there might be many weekends remaining in the 2026 college football season, but an unexpected 1-3 start by the University of Hawai’i football team has put everyone...

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San Jose State hangs on late to deal devastating loss to Hawai’i

San Jose State hangs on late to deal devastating loss to Hawai’i

Oct 4, 2026

San Jose State hangs on late to deal devastating loss to Hawai’i

HONOLULU – No more magic in Mānoa.

Despite posting a season-high 438 yards, the University of Hawai’i football team’s nightmare start to the season continued on Saturday night as they fell 20-16 against San Jose State (3-2, 1-0 Mountain West) inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.

“Pretty tough game for our guys,” head coach Timmy Chang said after the Rainbow Warriors lost their sixth straight game against the Spartans. “My heart aches for those guys.”

Hawai’i (1-4, 0-3 Mountain West) got plenty of production offensively, out-gaining SJSU by 114 yards, but once again failed to capitalize in the red zone. In two trips inside the Spartans’ 20-yard line, UH turned the ball over on downs in the first half and opted for three points when facing a 4th-and-5 from the SJSU 6 in the late third quarter.

QB Micah Alejado posted his second game with 300 or more passing yards this season, tallying 338 yards and a touchdown through the air for the Rainbow Warriors. The sophomore signal caller also tossed two interceptions, one in each half, that led directly to 10 points for San Jose State.

“That was a bad thing from me,” Alejado said of his turnovers. “The second interception killed us. I think that’s where it turned the game for us. Bad interception by me, just stepped up, overthrew the guy. Tried to get a little more on it just because the hole was tight, and it ended up sailing on me … It put our defense in a bad situation.”

The Hawai’i offense failed to score any points throughout the first half for the first time this season while the defense allowed a pair of touchdowns to the Spartans before the halftime break.

The game’s opening score came in the second quarter after SJSU’s Jayden Robertson stepped in front of an Alejado pass intended for Nick Delgadillo and set up the Spartans offense at the Rainbow Warrior 20-yard line.

Former UH QB Luke Weaver wasted little time helping his new squad capitalize on the mistake, finding TE Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole three plays later for a 10-yard score as Hawai’i DB Matagi Thompson missed an interception of his own by a millisecond.

“I’ve got to have that interception,” said Thompson while emphasizing how the defense needs to make the most of their opportunities. The senior safety led UH with eight tackles in the loss, tying his career high.

After being held completely scoreless in the first quarter, Weaver and company added on again on the next second quarter drive with a 73-yard, seven-play scoring march to open up a 14-0 lead before halftime.

Hawai’i finally found some offensive life to begin the third frame with help from a beautiful 49-yard Alejado bomb to WR Devin Alves, but a pair of false start penalties combined with a holding call afterwards forced the hosts to settle for a field goal as Sean Olvera-Harle hit from a career-best 44 yards out.

Re-energized by points, the Hawai’i defense promptly forced a three-and-out from the San Jose State offense and got the ball back for the offense two minutes later.

Hawai’i marched down the field again, this time with the help of two personal foul penalties against the Spartans, but failed to find paydirt as Micah Alejado’s 3rd-and-7 scramble from the SJSU 8 got stopped after two yards and brought out Olvera-Harle for a 24-yard chip shot to make it a one-possession game.

The Rainbow Warriors continued to ride the wave of momentum as the defense forced another punt on the next Spartans drive. Alejado hit Alves two plays later for a 58-yard catch-and-run score, bringing Hawai’i within a point with 3:20 left to play in the third quarter.

San Jose State’s offense finally got a jolt just before the end of the third frame with a pair of big completions from Weaver, who hit WR Cooper Hoch for a 20-yard gain before connecting with WR Carson Clark on a 43-yard shot that put the Spartans inside the Hawai’i 10-yard line.

Despite the two long completions, the Hawai’i defense held strong with the help of Julian Smith’s second sack of the night and forced the Spartans to settle for a 24-yard field goal of their own to keep it a 17-13 game entering the fourth quarter.

Hawai’i added on another 44-yard field goal from Olvera-Harle just after the final 15 minutes had started, bringing the margin back within a point.

The Rainbow Warriors got the ball back with 7:48 to play after SJSU kicker Trajan Sinatra sent a 41-yard field goal try wide right, needing any type of score to take the team’s first lead in any conference game so far this season.

Unfortunately, another false start and a drop quickly set back the offense and Alejado sailed a third-down throw over Alves for his second interception of the night to give great starting field position to the Spartans with 6:46 remaining and a one-point lead.

SJSU rolled the dice twice on what would end up as their final drive, going for (and converting) a pair of fourth downs to keep the clock rolling before tacking on a 30-yard field goal with 1:17 left to play to make it a four-point game, forcing the Rainbow Warriors to need a touchdown to win.

Hawai’i worked the ball to the San Jose State 37-yard line for a “Hail Mary” attempt despite some disastrous decisions during the under-two-minute drill, but Alejado’s heave into the end zone was batted away and fell to the turf as the Rainbow Warrior second half comeback dropped just short.

Undisciplined play had a big hand in the continued offensive failure to find the end zone as the Rainbow Warriors committed a season-high 12 penalties for 85 yards, 11 of which were by the UH offense.

“It comes down to discipline,” Chang said of the penalties. “[Flags are] never good and that’s something that continues to happen. In one possession games, in these types of situations, [penalties] come back to haunt you.”

The Hawai’i defense also failed to force a turnover for the fourth time in five games, but did post a season-best seven tackles-for-loss. The Rainbow Warriors are 0-6 since the start of the 2025 season when failing to take the ball away.

Luke Weaver enjoyed his trip back to the islands with his new squad, leading the San Jose State offense with a pair of touchdown passes and 248 yards through the air while completing 68% of his attempts and not turning the ball over at all.

Senior RB Jabari Bates tacked on 74 rushing yards across 27 carries and added another 39 yards receiving on two catches for the Spartans. Freshman WR Carson Clark led the receiving corps with five snags for 74 yards and a touchdown.

In a season that started with whispers of a potential Mountain West championship appearance, Hawai’i now faces an uphill climb towards any potential bowl eligibility. The Rainbow Warriors will need five wins in the final seven games and still have a trip to Arizona State next weekend and a pair of home matchups with conference favorites New Mexico and North Dakota State still ahead.

“It’s one day at a time,” Chang said of how the team would attack the remainder of the schedule. “You clean up these little things, regardless of who’s in there, who’s playing, it comes down to execution [and] discipline.”

HAWAI’I FOOTBALL COVERAGE ON HSRN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Campbell sweeps Pearl City for season series sweep

Campbell sweeps Pearl City for season series sweep

Sep 29, 2026

PEARL CITY — Campbell completed a season sweep of Pearl City with a 25-16, 25-16, 27-25 victory Monday night in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West girls volleyball match. The Sabers won their third consecutive match and improved to 6-2 in league play....

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

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Football provides the option to snatch souls or get your soul snatched. The University of Hawai’i football team experienced the latter of the two on Saturday, seeing their losing ways in Laramie continue as Wyoming (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) took...

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Hawai‘i heads to Wyoming looking to retain Paniolo Trophy

Hawai‘i heads to Wyoming looking to retain Paniolo Trophy

Sep 25, 2026

Hawai‘i returns from its first bye week of the season with a rivalry trophy in tow and another opportunity to get its season moving in the right direction. The Rainbow Warriors (1-2, 0-1 Mountain West) travel to Laramie to face Wyoming (1-2, 0-0)...

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Three players to watch as Hawai’i hosts San Jose State

Three players to watch as Hawai’i hosts San Jose State

Oct 3, 2026

Three players to watch as Hawai’i hosts San Jose State

HONOLULU – Stakes are high.

Hawai’i football’s slow start to the 2026 campaign has allowed pessimism to permeate the fanbase, but there are still eight games left for the Rainbow Warriors to right the ship and earn their way into a bowl game for the second straight year.

That climb out of a 1-3 hole starts on Saturday for Timmy Chang’s squad as they host former backup QB Luke Weaver and the 2-2 San Jose State Spartans inside Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.

SJSU has presented plenty of problems over the past half decade for Hawai’i, retaining possession of the Dick Tomey Legacy trophy for the last five meetings. Timmy Chang is 0-3 against the Spartans and has seen his team’s defense allow points to SJSU in all 12 quarters that the teams have played against each other.

The Rainbow Warriors will need to figure out a counter to the kryptonite that the Spartans have been in recent years if they want to get back on track in 2026. Down WR Pofele Ashlock once again, Hawai’i will continue searching for another dynamic weapon to awaken the offense in the islands.

The defense will also be down another starter as DL Luther McCoy misses his first game of the season after suffering an injury in the first quarter at Wyoming last week.

So, who needs to make the plays for Hawai’i at home if they want to win against San Jose State for the first time since 2019? Here are three guesses on guys who could have a big impact on Saturday for the Rainbow Warriors.

TE Devon Tauaefa

One of the major problems for Hawai’i’s offense has been a lack of bigger targets for QB Micah Alejado to throw to as the outside receiving options have failed to separate and teams have keyed in more on the multitude of slot receivers employed by the UH offense.

Enter 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior tight end Devon Tauaefa. The Saint Louis School alum snagged his first touchdown of the campaign last weekend at Wyoming and has been involved in the passing attack in three of the four games for the Rainbow Warriors this season.

The score was his first since 2023, coming in an exciting 27-24 win over Colorado State to close out the season. As HSRN’s Michael Lasquero pointed out, Hawai’i has won all three games in Tauaefa’s career where he’s recorded three or more receptions.

He won’t be the most targeted Rainbow Warrior on Saturday, but Tauaefa should be heavily involved in the offensive gameplan as UH tries to improve results, especially in the redzone. In UH’s shootout against SJSU last year, the big-bodied tight end had a career-high 40 yards receiving on two catches, including a 34-yard rumble on a trick play pass to set up points for the Rainbow Warriors.

LB Jamih Otis

Otis left injured after just 10 plays against Wyoming, but the senior linebacker was nowhere to be found on the availability report ahead of Saturday’s matchup with SJSU. That’s a good sign for the Rainbow Warrior defense, who leans on Otis from both a playing and communication standpoint.

An All-Mountain West honorable mention last year, Otis has been the team’s third-best defender this season, according to PFF, and has been the best coverage linebacker on the team (min. 50 snaps) through four games of action despite coming off of a major knee injury. He also is second on the squad with 30.0 tackles (15 solo) despite missing the majority of Week 4 at Wyoming.

If he’s a full-go on Saturday, it adds a key piece back to the UH defense that will be tasked with slowing down Luke Weaver, a potent passing attack and a surprisingly solid rushing game for the Spartans. Turnovers could be paramount to Hawai’i potentially putting the losing streak to SJSU to rest and Otis has been involved in two of the three takeaways by the defense this season with an interception and a fumble recovery.

DL Ozzy Pollard

The son of former NBA player Scot Pollard, sophomore DL Ozzy Pollard has done an impressive job doing the dirty work in the trenches for the Rainbow Warriors in his first year of Division I football.

A transfer from Marian University (NAIA), Pollard has graded out as the one of UH’s best defensive linemen through four games this season. At 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, Pollard eats up space in the middle of the trenches and has been productive in the pass rush with five pressures – tied for the most among all Rainbow Warrior defenders according to PFF.

With veteran DL Luther McCoy ruled out before the game, Pollard (and the rest of the defensive line group) only see their roles growing bigger to pick up the slack. It’ll be important for the Rainbow Warriors to control the trenches and make life uncomfortable for the SJSU offense and Pollard provides a run stopper and pass rusher in one single player.

HAWAI’I FOOTBALL COVERAGE ON HSRN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Campbell sweeps Pearl City for season series sweep

Campbell sweeps Pearl City for season series sweep

Sep 29, 2026

PEARL CITY — Campbell completed a season sweep of Pearl City with a 25-16, 25-16, 27-25 victory Monday night in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West girls volleyball match. The Sabers won their third consecutive match and improved to 6-2 in league play....

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

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Football provides the option to snatch souls or get your soul snatched. The University of Hawai’i football team experienced the latter of the two on Saturday, seeing their losing ways in Laramie continue as Wyoming (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) took...

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Hawai‘i heads to Wyoming looking to retain Paniolo Trophy

Sep 25, 2026

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Slow starts have continued dooming Hawai’i football

Slow starts have continued dooming Hawai’i football

Oct 1, 2026

Slow starts have continued dooming Hawai’i football

HONOLULU – The red light is flashing.

The alarm bells have not hit full blast and there might be many weekends remaining in the 2026 college football season, but an unexpected 1-3 start by the University of Hawai’i football team has put everyone on high-alert entering Week 5.

Hawai’i has had their fair share of bad calls and bad breaks already through just over a month of the campaign. A catch at the Farm that continues to confound, an Audric Harris touchdown snag snatched off the board after review and multiple punchout fumble recoveries called back as “incomplete passes” are just a few of the 50/50 plays that have gone against the Rainbow Warriors’ favor.

But there also has been an uncharacteristic anemic offense, brain farts on special teams and the defense running out of gas in untimely moments. Outside of the fourth quarter against Stanford and a first-half masterclass from DeVon Rice against New Mexico State, you can make the case that the offense hasn’t shown up at all this season.

Part of that falls on the departures from last year’s team, from Jackson Harris (LSU) and Brandon White (Kansas State) hitting the transfer portal to Nick Cenacle’s graduation to Pofele Ashlock’s lingering offseason injury taking away four of the best receivers previously on the roster.

Another part falls on the team not playing with enough urgency, failing to get out of the mud before they fall behind in a game and forcing the defense to get stop after stop when it’s in the middle of replacing plenty of starting pieces itself.

Hawai’i has spent 51 minutes and 37 seconds with a lead across four games this season. More than 49 of those minutes came in the team’s lone victory over New Mexico State while the other two minutes and 25 seconds with an advantage came in the fourth quarter of the opener at Stanford. The Rainbow Warriors have not held a lead in either conference game they’ve played.

The defense is not blameless, either. They’ve forced two turnovers in four games, and they both came against NMSU. They couldn’t get the stop needed after the offense magically clicked in the fourth quarter at Stanford. Wyoming’s offense (which struggled mightily in three games prior) posted season highs across the board and flat out was the more physical unit in Laramie this past weekend.

And of course, special teams has had another fair catch kickoff miscue, multiple shanked point-after attempts and the infamous “double No. 8” disaster from Wyoming weekend. The unit has also only seen one explosive return (which the offense failed to capitalize on against New Mexico State after a scrambling Alejado got lit up, fumbled and saw it returned for a touchdown the other way) across four games of opportunities.

The point? Cohesive football wins games. Forcing the defense to play from behind over 61% of the time is not setting them up for success and makes it more difficult to rush the passer and stop the run.

The offense becomes more predictable when trailing as well, forcing the team to look to the passing attack even more often than it already did. It also doesn’t help when starting field position comes inside UH’s own 30-yard line, which it has on 30 of the team’s 45 offensive possessions this year.

To be fair, the Hawai’i special teams unit has pushed other teams inside their own 30-yard line on 32 of the 45 opposing possessions that the Rainbow Warriors have faced. It’s just that other teams have scored touchdowns on six of those other 13 chances and kicked a field goal on another.

Hawai’i’s offense has scored on six of their 15 drives that started from their own 30 or beyond, but only four of those have been touchdowns and two came in the same game against New Mexico State.

That gets us back to the concept of cohesive football.

The one game that Hawai’i won? They dominated the field position battle, led for the majority of the game and forced multiple turnovers.

In the three losses? Surrendered better field position constantly, squandered more quality chances and couldn’t find a way to win the turnover battle.

It’s not as simple as “bad offensive play calling” or “special teams errors” or “the defense can’t get the big stop or make the big play” for Hawai’i.

It’s been ALL of those things.

The good news for the Rainbow Warriors is that plenty of season remains. If stories were written using only the first month of seasons, we would’ve never gotten the magical runs of the 2019 Washington Nationals, the 2007 New York Giants or 2001 Patriots, among many other great comeback stories.

It’s not to say that a Mountain West championship is still within reach or that this first month hasn’t been disappointing. Fans have every right to be upset with the results through four games for Hawai’i.

But 2026 doesn’t have to be a disaster season for the Rainbow Warriors.

They’ll get a shot to right the ship on Saturday night in the islands as old friend Luke Weaver comes to town with the San Jose State Spartans. Former Rainbow Warriors Ken Niumatololo and Craig Stutzmann will also be on the opposing sideline with hopes to hamper Hawai’i’s season even further.

But SJSU comes in at 2-2 and haven’t gotten a taste of conference play yet. It’s notoriously difficult to play as the road team in Hawai’i and the Spartans are coming off a bye week where they had to chew on a 26-10 home loss to Fresno State where Weaver tossed four interceptions for an extra weekend.

San Jose State has owned the rivalry lately, winning the past five meetings against the Rainbow Warriors to keep possession of the Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy. Last year, the Spartans more-or-less killed the hopes at a conference championship appearance for Hawai’i.

If there isn’t motivation and reason to start quick this weekend, then it’s a full five-alarm fire for Hawai’i’s hopes of making a bowl game. A road date at Arizona State awaits after this week, then Mountain West favorite New Mexico comes to town before UH takes the long flight to Illinois to take on NIU on the final leg of a five-game stretch without a bye.

But that’s down the road.

Football is focusing on the here and now. If Hawai’i can handle business on Saturday and swing Timmy Chang’s first win against San Jose State, it’ll make it easier for fans to find more positives for a team that slushed through a slow start at the schedule’s beginning part.

HAWAI’I FOOTBALL COVERAGE ON HSRN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Campbell sweeps Pearl City for season series sweep

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Sep 29, 2026

PEARL CITY — Campbell completed a season sweep of Pearl City with a 25-16, 25-16, 27-25 victory Monday night in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West girls volleyball match. The Sabers won their third consecutive match and improved to 6-2 in league play....

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

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Football provides the option to snatch souls or get your soul snatched. The University of Hawai’i football team experienced the latter of the two on Saturday, seeing their losing ways in Laramie continue as Wyoming (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) took...

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Hawai‘i heads to Wyoming looking to retain Paniolo Trophy

Hawai‘i heads to Wyoming looking to retain Paniolo Trophy

Sep 25, 2026

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Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

Sep 26, 2026

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

Football provides the option to snatch souls or get your soul snatched.

The University of Hawai’i football team experienced the latter of the two on Saturday, seeing their losing ways in Laramie continue as Wyoming (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) took back possession of the Paniolo Trophy with a comfortable 27-10 victory over the Rainbow Warriors.

The Cowboys racked up a season-high 387 yards as they handed Hawai’i (1-3, 0-2 Mountain West) an eighth loss in nine trips to Laramie since 1993.

QB Tyler Hughes had his best day of the young season, posting 204 yards passing while the rushing attack added 183 yards and all three of Wyoming’s touchdowns on the ground. The Cowboys also converted 6-of-12 chances on third down and won the time of possession battle by over four minutes.

Hawai’i gave up a score on the opening drive for the first time this year, seeing the Cowboys use a balance of runs and passes to the tight ends to drive 64 yards into the redzone before settling for a 28-yard field goal after five minutes of play.

The Rainbow Warriors responded in kind, kicking their own 28-yard field goal on the ensuing drive to knot the game at 3-3 through the opening quarter of play.

Wyoming re-took the lead with 10 more points in the second quarter, seeing K Erik Sandvik tack on a 23-yard field goal early in the frame before RB Markell Holman made it a 10-point lead for the hosts heading into the half with a 1-yard TD run.

Hawai’i’s offense sputtered after the game-opening 12-play field goal drive, running 15 more plays total in the first half while being forced to punt at the end of all three drives as they went into the half trailing, 13-3.

Hawaii QB Micah Alejado rolls to the left against Wyoming. | Photo Credit: Brian Bautista, HSRN

It marked the third time in four chances this season that the Rainbow Warriors went into the break without a lead, joining the slow starts from the Stanford and UNLV games.

Hawai’i’s offense took up most of the third quarter with their first drive out of halftime, taking over nine minutes to march all the way to the Wyoming 1-yard line before going for it on 4th-and-Goal and getting stonewalled to come away with no points.

The defense for the Rainbow Warriors looked as though they’d get the ball right back with good field position for the offense after forcing a punt, but two players wearing the same number on the UH return unit turned a fourth down into a fresh set of downs for the Cowboys instead.

Wyoming capitalized on the miscue from the visitors, draining the rest of the third quarter clock as they converted on a 3rd-and-15 to get into UH territory and moved into the redzone on the next play with the help of a targeting penalty against Zaden Mariteragi.

Holman opened the fourth quarter with his second touchdown of the day, taking the first snap of the final frame 18 yards to the endzone as he shook off a couple of would-be Hawai’i tacklers to make it a 20-3 lead for the Cowboys.

Hawai’i finally got a shot in the arm as tight ends Frank Abreu and Devon Tauaefa got involved offensively, helping the visitors drive 75 yards in under three minutes as Tauaefa hauled in his first touchdown since 2023 to make it a two-possession game with 12:11 to play.

Hawaii TE Devon Tauaefa celebrates after scoring his first touchdown since 2023. | Photo Credit: Brian Bautista, HSRN

The defense got the ball back for the Rainbow Warriors with just under eight minutes remaining, but a 54-yard field goal try by Sean Olvera-Harle sailed wide-right and left Hawai’i down by 10 with 4:36 left in regulation.

Wyoming drove home the dagger three minutes later as RB Samuel Harris nearly went untouched on an 18-yard dash to paydirt, putting the game out of reach to reclaim the Paniolo Trophy.

QB Micah Alejado completed 28-of-44 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown, taking three sacks in the loss for the Rainbow Warriors.

RB DeVon Rice had the most productive day for Hawai’i, posting a career-high 75 yards rushing on 12 attempts. The sophomore back also tacked on two catches for 11 yards out of the backfield.

Hawai’i returns to action next weekend to host old friend Luke Weaver and San Jose State on Saturday, October 3 in the islands. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. HT on K5 or the MW+ app.

HAWAI’I FOOTBALL COVERAGE ON HSRN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Campbell sweeps Pearl City for season series sweep

Campbell sweeps Pearl City for season series sweep

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PEARL CITY — Campbell completed a season sweep of Pearl City with a 25-16, 25-16, 27-25 victory Monday night in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I West girls volleyball match. The Sabers won their third consecutive match and improved to 6-2 in league play....

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

Wyoming whacks Hawai’i to reclaim Paniolo Trophy

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Football provides the option to snatch souls or get your soul snatched. The University of Hawai’i football team experienced the latter of the two on Saturday, seeing their losing ways in Laramie continue as Wyoming (2-2, 1-0 Mountain West) took...

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Hawai‘i heads to Wyoming looking to retain Paniolo Trophy

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Sep 25, 2026

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