Ground game takes Rainbow Warriors past Nevada

13

Nevada
NEV

3-6, 0-3

34

winner

Hawaii
HAW

3-5, 1-2

13

34

winner

Points by quarters

team	1	2	3	4	F
NEV Nevada	0	0	7	6	13
HAW Hawaii	14	3	7	10	34

Match Review: Football | October 26, 2024

HONOLULU – A quarterback-led ground push Brayden Schager helped the University of Hawai’i football team to a 34-13 homecoming victory over Nevada on Saturday at the Clarence TC Ching Complex.

Schager rushed for a career-high 120 yards and four touchdowns – tying the program record for rushing scores by a quarterback – and the Rainbow Warriors (3-5, 1-2 Mountain West) earned their first conference win of the season by taking one Snapshot snapped a three-game losing streak.

The UH offense tallied 242 rushing yards, breaking the 200-yard mark for the first time since November 12, 2022 against Utah State, and finished with 395 yards of total offense.

UH entered the game with three total rushing touchdowns this season and averaged 83.9 rushing yards per game. Schager scored on a quarterback sneak to punctuate UH’s first two possessions, and the Warriors had 94 rushing yards by the end of the first quarter and 132 yards by halftime.

Schager added TD runs of 3 and 6 yards in the second half and went on a career-high 46-yard dash in the fourth quarter. In doing so, he became the first UH quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards since Chevan Cordeiro’s 116-yard performance against Fresno State in 2020. Schager’s final rushing total was the most for a Warrior quarterback since Cole McDonald on October 26, 2019 against New Mexico 140 ran.

Run back Landon Sims initiated the ground attack with a 20-yard strike on his first run of the game and also set a career high with 82 yards on just nine attempts.

The UH defense stopped Nevada (3-6, 0-3) three times on downs and recovered a fumble and an interception in the fourth quarter. Nalu Emerson filled the stat sheet with a sack, an interception and a pass breakup while recording five tackles. Cornerback Cam Stone had five solo tackles, broke up a pass and forced a fumble Meki Pei recovered in the fourth quarter. Linebackers Logan Taylor finished the game with a team-high eight tackles, including five solo tackles.

Schager tied the UH record for QB rushing touchdowns, first set by Ivin Jasper in 1993 and set by Glenn Freitas in consecutive weeks in 1995 (September 23 vs. UTEP and Sept. 30 vs. UNLV) during the triple-option Era of the UH was established. Schager also became the first UH player to score four touchdowns since running back Alex Green scored four touchdowns at Utah State on Oct. 23, 2010. In his more usual role, Schager completed 14 of 25 passes for 153 yards.

The Warriors received the first kickoff and leaned on the ground game to produce a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Sims, who set a career-high 65 yards in last year’s matchup with Nevada, broke up the middle for a 20-yard run and later rolled 19 yards to the Nevada 1. After a penalty, Sims again put the Warriors on the ball at five and Schagers Quarterback sneak gave UH its first rushing touchdown since the fourth quarter of a win over Northern Iowa on Sept. 21.

The UH defense got its first fourth-down stop when Emerson Chubba sacked Purdy at the UH 33. The offense benefited from a nine-play drive that was complemented by two third-down conversions, including a 17-yard completion Jonah Panoke. Schager hit his second touchdown and UH took a 14-0 lead with 29 seconds left in the first quarter.

Another stop on fourth down in UH ​​territory gave the Warriors possession with 1:20 left in the first half. Nick Cenacles 30-yard catch-and-run sparked an eight-play drive to the Nevada 10 and Kansei Matsuzawa A 27-yard field goal gave UH the Warriors a 17-0 lead going into halftime.

Nevada broke the shutout 31 seconds into the second half with a 63-yard touchdown pass from Purdy to Marcus Bellon. The teams exchanged punts before UH put together a 13-play march that ended with Schager’s 3-yard run on a quarterback draw.

UH stopped the Wolfpack on downs for the third time by gaining possession at the Nevada 28, and Schager tied the quarterback rushing record with a 6-yard dash to the end zone. His 46-yard run set up Matsuzawa’s 30-yard field goal for the final score.

The Warriors hit the road to face Fresno State on November 2nd at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California.

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