HONOLULU  – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior football team made a resounding statement with a 59-41 win over Navy in its 2018 home opener Saturday at Aloha Stadium Stadium. 
 
A week after an impressive season-opening road win at Colorado State, the Warriors showed the first game was no fluke. For the second straight week, UH jumped out on its opponent and never trailed. Hawai'i, which won its fourth straight home opener, scored the first 28 points and the Midshipmen would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
 
Sophomore Cole McDonald was once again brilliant passing for 428 yards and six touchdowns, becoming the first UH quarterback since Bryant Moniz to throw for 400 yards in back-to-back games. For the season, McDonald has nine touchdowns to zero interceptions in 78 pass attempts for 846 yards.
 
Meanwhile the UH defense held Navy's rush offense to just 27 yards on its first three drives as UH built a 28-0 lead early in the second. The Warriors scored on all five possessions along with a blocked punt return for touchdown by Maxwell Hendrie to take a 38-14 lead at the break, its largest halftime lead in six years. 
 
Slot receivers Cedric Byrd and John Ursua and wideout JoJo Ward provided the firepower with a pair of touchdowns each, including fourth-down scores by Ward and Ursua in the first half. Byrd finished with 11 catches for 90 yards while Ursua had 10 catches for 167 yards. Ward's 75-yard catch and run put icing on the cake as the Warriors went ahead 52-35 with 11:05 remaining.
 
On a bizarre second half play with UH leading 38-28, Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry stopped and held the football after taking a snap thinking the referee blew his whistle. Sensing that play was not dead, Zeno Choi and Penei Pavihi alertly pounced on Perry to kill a crucial Navy drive. Then on UH's next possession, Byrd caught a 31-yard strike from McDonald, capping a seven-play drive for a 45-28 lead. 
 
The team returns to action next week when it hosts Rice on Saturday, Sept. 8. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.