HONOLULU – In the McDonald’s offense, everybody has a nice day.
Cole McDonald threw for 428 yards and six touchdowns — two of them launched on fourth down — to serve Hawaii a 59-41 football victory over Navy at Aloha Stadium.
The Rainbow Warriors rolled up 552 yards — an average of 7.5 yards per play — to improve to 2-0.
“We’ll have fun tonight,” slotback Cedric Byrd said in the postgame celebration, “but tomorrow’s another day.”
In the interview area, as he was in the pocket the entire night, McDonald appeared to have Freon in his veins.
“Nothing special,” McDonald said. “We’ve got 11 more (regular-season) games to play. That’s how I look at it. Eleven more chances to play with the boys this year. That’s what I’m going to do, and take advantage, and enjoy every moment of it.”
Once again, McDonald guided the run-and-shoot offense inside-out, targeting slotbacks John Ursua and Byrd before working his way to wideout JoJo Ward. In last week’s opener, Ward had one reception for 8 yards. On a calm Saturday night, Ward caught six passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns.
After Navy navigated its way to a 45-35 deficit — the closest it would get in the final quarter — the Warriors sent Ward on a go route. Facing man-to-man coverage, Ward sprinted past the last layer of the Midshipmen’s defense and secured a pass from McDonald for a 75-yard touchdown.
“It was a pretty ball,” Ward said. “Man coverage, I felt I could beat him. The result was a touchdown.”
McDonald said: “We do that all the time in practice. The game isn’t something different.”
Ward also turned a 15-yard pass into a 34-yard touchdown in boosting the Warriors to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter.
“The plays we ran, the reads just took me to him,” McDonald said. “He made plays when I got him the ball. You can’t ask for anything more.”
Byrd had 11 catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns, including a 31-yarder that he suctioned with his left hand.
Ursua caught 10 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Ursua’s only two deterrents were himself (two drops) and the referees (he was sent to the sidelines twice for being in violation of a rule requiring his pants to cover his knees).
Last week, Ward assisted an Ursua touchdown when he ran a rub route that forced two defenders to collide. On Saturday, Ursua and Byrd were determined to draw coverages away from Ward.
“We knew what he was capable of,” Ursua said of Ward. “But he didn’t get to showcase it the first game against Colorado State. But we knew since he came in, day one, he has speed and he could do some things in space. He showed that tonight.”
McDonald, who was 30-for-41, was afforded protection up to “three Mississippi” behind an offensive line featuring two true freshmen. McDonald was sacked three times — the first game he absorbed a sack in his two-season UH career — with one resulting in a fumble. The Midshipmen parlayed that turnover into one of Zach Abey’s three touchdown runs.
But UH’s line did not commit a penalty, and opened the way for Fred Holly to rush for 82 yards and a touchdown.
“It showed how much discipline we had,” Holly said, referring to the Warriors’ lone penalty for 5 yards. “They had more penalties. The past years we were known for having a lot of penalties.”
The Warriors were able to dominate Navy’s triple-option before the intermission, then contain the Midshipmen in key second-half drives. Navy’s first three drives resulted in two punts and a fourth-down stop. UH stopped Navy five times in 11 possessions.
“I thought our defense played great,” UH coach Nick Rolovich said. “You’re hoping for one stop going into the game. You get that many … I don’t know how many times we punted. But we knew we had to put the ball in the end zone and get a couple stops and almost dictate how the game would go.”
A week earlier, the Warriors opened with a 4-2-5 defense. On Saturday, they bracketed three down linemen with linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Manly “Pumba” Williams to create a five-man front. Linebackers Solomon Matautia and Penei Pavihi were aligned in the second level. But when Navy was in a tight formation, safety Ikem Okeke and a cornerback — Eugene Ford or Rojesterman Farris II — advanced into the tackle box. In certain situations, the Warriors displayed a unique 5-5-1 look, with Kalen Hicks as the roaming last defender.
It was a scheme defensive coordinator Corey Batoon introduced early in training camp. UH is scheduled to play two more run-option teams — Rice and Army — in the next two weeks.
“We adjusted and tweaked,” Batoon said of the evolving defensive strategy.
Navy appeared to reach deep into its playbook. It opened with a traditional triple-option, which was directed by speedy quarterback Malcolm Perry. When the Midshipmen fell behind, they turned to the first option — the dive. Later, they ran plays out of the shotgun, used reverses and double reverses, and went with an option pass. Navy, which attempted only one pass in last year’s Military Bowl, threw 13 against UH.
Batoon likened the game to a boxing match. “We landed a few early, and they battled back like I knew they would,” Batoon said. “That Malcolm Perry is so dynamic. He has the ability to take it the distance, and he did that one time. Just being able to contain him and their going for it all the time, it was hard to close out.”
Perry rushed for 108 yards, including a 75-yard scoring sprint. But Perry’s legs could not match McDonald’s arm. Entering this season, McDonald earned a reputation as a running quarterback. That has changed following his first two performances this year.
“He makes great reads,” Ward said. “He tries to get everybody a good look. He tries to get the ball in playmakers’ hands. … He’s a quarterback.”
McDonald said: “I like to take the title. Hopefully, the title sticks this time instead of being a running quarterback.”