HONOLULU – The University of Hawai`i Warrior football team held its second “Warrior Bowl” with Makai beating Mauka by a final of 28-26 in front of a crowd of 3,726 at Aloha Stadium Saturday.

 

After a first half that saw 48 combined points, the only score in the second half came on a trick play, when Jon Medeiros threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Jovonte Taylor after getting the lateral from Bryant Moniz. The score, which turned out to be the game-winner, came with 10:46 left in the third quarter.

 

Moniz led the Makai team, going 12-for-18 with 149 yards passing and a touchdown, while also scoring on a rushing touchdown. Taylor finished the day with five catches for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Dustin Blount had four catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Brent Rausch started a quarterback, going 8-for-12 with 143 yards and a touchdown.

 

Spencer Smith led defensively with 6.0 tackles and one pass broken up. John Fonoti added a sack and three tackles while Art Laurel had two tackles and an interception.

 

Shane Austin led the Mauka team, going 13-for-24 with 183 yards and a touchdown, also scoring a rushing touchdown, while starter Greg Alexander was 10-for-15 with 152 yards and a touchdown. Inoke Funaki rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown on five carries while Billy Ray Stutzmann had three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown in his Warrior debut. Rodney Bradley added three catches for 69 yards and a touchdown while Corey Paclebar led all players with seven catches for 51 yards.

 

The game started with a bang as Rausch hit Blount for a 70-yard touchdown play on the first play from scrimmage. Blount also caught the scoring pass on the two-point conversion, giving Makai the 8-0 lead.

 

Mauka bounced right back with a 10-play, 70-yard drive, ending with a three-yard TD pass from Alexander to Bradley, tying it at 8-8. Funaki then gave Mauka the lead, scoring on a six-yard TD run, capping an 80-yard drive. After failing the conversion, Mauka held just a 14-8 lead.

 

Makai scored twice to start the second quarter, on a Moniz four-yard pass to Blount and a three-yard TD run by Moniz, giving them a 22-14 edge.

 

But Mauka responded with two touchdowns in the last 3:01 of the half, first on a 58-yard pass from Austin to Stutzmann, then on a one-yard TD run by Austin. But both conversions failed, giving them a 26-22 edge at the half.

 

Offensive coordinator Ron Lee has now won both Warrior Bowls over his brother and defensive coordinator Cal. The “Warrior Bowl” concludes spring camp for Hawai`i. UH opens the season on Sept. 4 vs. Central Arkansas at Aloha Stadium.