On the final night of the regular season, the University of Hawaii football team paid off its IOUs in a 31-30 overtime victory over San Diego State in chilly SDCCU Stadium.
It was payback for:
• Quarterback Cole McDonald, who came from last week’s benching to throw for a career-high 452 yards and three touchdowns, including a 10-yarder to wideout JoJo Ward in the extra period. “I didn’t even see him catch it because I was on the floor,” McDonald said. “I got knocked down. But the guys went over and frickin’ mopped me up off the floor, and we’re just celebrating like crazy.”
• Cornerback Rojesterman Farris II, who shook off a pass-interference penalty on the last series of regulation to deny tight end Kahale Warring from catching the 2-point conversion pass on the game’s final play. “I was just thinking, ‘Make the play,’” Farris recalled. “If the ball came my way, I had to make a play on the ball, and the game’s over.”
• And the resilient Rainbow Warriors, whose last victory in this stadium was two name changes ago, in the 1992 Holiday Bowl. The Warriors had not beaten the Aztecs in San Diego since 1988.
“Rolo talked about it,” McDonald said of coach Nick Rolovich. “We knew this was the bully of our league for some time. To rally the troops and rally the team like this in such a way … it was just a blessing. You can’t write a better story.”
The Warriors improved to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the Mountain West, the first time they finished above .500 in league play in seven years of membership.
They prevailed against an SDSU team that entered sixth nationally in total defense and traditionally featured a power running attack that drains the clock and opponents’ spirits. The Warriors also had to overcome two fumbles — one in the red zone, another on a punt return that set up a 5-yard touchdown to give the Aztecs a 14-3 lead.
But McDonald led the way in the first half, directing a 21-point surge for a 24-14 lead at the intermission, and the Warriors’ defense made timely stops when the offense stalled.
“It was definitely a credit to our defense,” McDonald said. “They kept us in that game. There were times it was bleak and the defense pulled it out. They kept us alive.”
The Warriors twice stopped the Aztecs on fourth-and-short. They also forced out starting quarterback Christian Chapman, whose inconsistency (9-for-19 for 149 yards) led to Ryan Agnew’s summons in the second half.
The Aztecs tied it at 24 with 6:07 left when Agnew, on a play-action pass, threw to 240-pound fullback Isaac Lessard for a 13-yard touchdown.
On their next possession, the Aztecs drove to the UH 15, a drive extended when Farris was called for pass interference on a third-and-8 play. The Aztecs allowed the clock to whittle to three seconds before calling a timeout. John Baron II, who earlier connected on a field goal from 53 yards, lined for a 32-yard attempt that would have been his fourth game-winner of the season. But the left-footed Baron hooked his kick wide right, prompting overtime.
After winning the coin toss, the Aztecs deferred, forcing the Warriors to have the first possession, from the 25.
On third-and-11 from the 26, McDonald threw to left wideout Marcus Armstrong-Brown on a slant pattern. The officials ruled Armstrong-Brown had made the sliding catch. Before a replay review upheld the on-field call, Armstrong-Brown had declared it a catch.
“Are you kidding me?” Armstrong-Brown said when asked whether it was a reception. “I told the corner, the safety and the middle linebacker … ‘You’re about to lose money. I bet you all it was a catch.’ Absolutely, it was a catch. I went back to Rolo in the huddle (and asked), ‘What”s the next play?’ It was a good ball — only I could get it.”
Three plays later, from the 10, McDonald took the shotgun snap, scrambled, stepped back into the pocket, and, with his toes just inside the line of scrimmage, threw to Ward for the go-ahead touchdown.
Ward, who was aligned on the right side, ran a post route.
“I knew I wasn’t open,” Ward said of his initial route to the middle, “and I immediately went to the opposite side. Cole was there to hit me.”
McDonald said it was “just a feel thing” of his foot placement.
“I didn’t even know where I was in the pocket when I threw that, to be honest,” McDonald said. “I saw the guys run the routes. The pocket collapsed. I stepped up. (The offensive line) made a great pocket for me to step up and I saw Jo turn out and that’s when I threw it.”
Ryan Meskell’s point-after kick made it 31-24.
The Aztecs did not take long to respond. Juwan Washington dashed 25 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 31-30.
The Aztecs then opted to leave their offense on the field and go for two points. A few years earlier, SDSU coach Rocky Long did the same thing against Nevada, when Rolovich was the Wolf Pack’s offensive coordinator.
“He’s a go-for-2 guy,” Rolovich said. “I had a hunch he might go for it.”
Off-setting penalties — the Aztecs’ illegal formation and the Warriors’ interference — led to a do-over. But because of the call, the ball remained on the left hash, making it a difficult angle if Baron were asked to attempt a point-after kick. The Aztecs decided to go for two again. This time, Farris made the play.
“They didn’t want to go into overtime again with us,” Farris said. “They couldn’t hang that long, which is why they went for it.”
In the postgame celebration, defensive end Zeno Choi was lost in emotion.
“Just amazing,” Choi said. “The last time I came here when I was a sophomore, we lost 55-0. (The victory is) a life change. It changes Hawaii football.”