Colleges
Hawaii steams by Rice to remain unbeaten


Spencer Honda | ScoringLive
September 8, 2018, 11:27pm

  


Sat, Sep 8, 2018 @ Aloha Stadium [ 6:00 pm ]

Rice

29

Hawaii

43

Final 1 2 3 4 T
Rice 7 3 3 1629
Hawaii 14 7 7 1543
Cole McDonald 319 yd 4 TD
Shawn Stankavage 299 yd 2 TD
Fred Holly III 100 yd 2 TD
Emmanuel Esukpa 104 yd 1 TD
John Ursua 133 yd 1 TD
Aaron Cephus 97 yd 1 TD

HALAWA — Much like it's been the case in each of the University of Hawaii's first two games, the Rainbow Warriors offense started hot, fizzled down and picked it back up again as they steamed past Rice University, 43-29, in a non-conference matchup Saturday night in front of a crowd of 21,954 at Hawaiian Financial FCU Field at Aloha Stadium.

The Rainbow Warriors jumped out to 14-0 lead on touchdown passes of six and 10 yards from Cole McDonald to John Ursua and Cedric Byrd, respectively.

Heading into the final quarter with a 28-13 score, the Rice offense looked to be unstoppable but was stuffed on fourth and goal at the "inch" yard line.

The Owls defense notched a safety on the next play and then followed quickly with QB Shawn Stankavage's 31-yard score to WR Austin Trammell to make it just a six-point game.

In the final three minutes, Hawaii picked up steam again to score twice on a 26-yard hook-up from McDonald to Byrd and then on a single-play scoring drive courtesy of Fred Holly III's 46-yard dash to close the game out.

"That Rice team gave us everything we could handle," Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich said. "We got a ton to clean up from this game, probably as much as any of the three (games) ... I'm glad our guys were able to stick together and finish this thing off right with a win."

The win gives the Rainbow Warriors a 3-0 record to make it the first time they've achieved that mark since 2007 when they went undefeated in the regular season.

Rainbow Warriors QB Cole McDonald has thrown 13 touchdowns through the first three games of the season and still has not had a pass intercepted. Jim Lebeau | SL    View image

Quarterback McDonald continued his hot streak throwing for four more touchdowns and 319 yards on 22-of-33 passing. He also added 58 yards on eight carries and still has not yet thrown an interception.

Kealakehe alumnus Ursua racked up 133 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions — six of which came in the first quarter with five of those on consecutive completed passes.

Cedric Byrd added 48 yards and two scores on five receptions. Marcus Armstrong-Brown was the recipient of McDonald's other TD throw on a 14-yard pass in the second quarter.

Running back Holly III carried the rock 17 times for two touchdowns and is the only player to break the century mark on the ground in a game this season.

Hawaii's defense also came up big with two takeaways, the first mid-way through the third quarter when linebacker Penei Pavihi shot through the box to knock the ball loose out of Owls running back Austin Walter's arms. Defensive lineman Zeno Choi (Kaiser '15) had the chance for a return but instead plopped to the ground for the recovery.

Four plays later, Holly III scampered in from five yards out for his first score of the game.

Defensive end Kaimana Padello (Mililani '16) zipped around the edge for two sacks on the evening, his second coming on the Rice offense's penultimate play of the game for a 10-yard loss. Defensive back Zach Wilson followed up with an interception to seal it with 1:09 left.

The Rainbow Warriors will travel to West Point, New York to take on Army Saturday morning at 6 a.m. HST and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.


Reach Spencer Honda at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


IMAGE GALLERY


MORE STORIES

Kohala's Kauka repeats as All-Hawaii Division II POY

Sophomore Layden Kauka led the Cowboys to a second straight state title, averaging 15.7 ppg in league...

Sepulona tops All-Hawaii Division I picks for second straight season

Junior forward Pupu Sepulona lead the Crusaders to second straight state crown; Saint Louis coach Dan...

Hawaii Prep's Samura leads All-Hawaii Division II selections

Brooke Samura averaged 34.6 points per game in her seniorr campaign, including seven games scoring over...

Lahainaluna's Donez earns All-Hawaii Division I POY honors

Senior guard Lola Donez averaged 26.9 points per game in MIL play and led Lunas to semifinal finish at...

Hirayama delivered in much-needed win for Trojans; Ho powering Buffanblu with prolific junior season

The Mililani junior LHP struck out 10 batters in six innings against Aiea Saturday, while the Punahou...

No. 4 Moanalua sweeps Roosevelt to cap undefeated OIA East season

Na Menehune were too much for the Rough Riders on senior night to finish the OIA East season unbeaten...