LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior football team got back on the winning track with a 41-21 road victory over New Mexico State Saturday night at Aggie Memorial Stadium. The Warriors improved to 2-3 on the season while snapping a two-game skid.
 
The former Western Athletic Conference rivals met for the first time in 10 years with UH continuing its domination of the Aggies (1-4). The Warriors remain undefeated in nine all-time meetings against New Mexico State with four of those wins coming in Las Cruces. The win was  also just UH's second against a non-conference opponent on the road in its last 21 tries, spanning back to 2010.
 
UH racked up 494 yards of offense, including 215 yards on the ground. Meanwhile the UH defense forced three turnovers, two of which led to UH touchdowns.
 
UH used a pair of huge plays to stake a 17-13 lead at half. The Warriors scored on their very first play from scrimmage when Chevan Cordeiro found Nick Mardner for a 74-yard scoring strike. The UH defense also came up with an impact play when Quentin Frazier deflected a backward pass by NMSU, which Cameron Lockridge honed in on for a 5-yard scoop-and-score early in the second quarter.
 
After a lethargic stretch in the second and third quarter,  the Warrior defense again gave the team a jolt when Khoury Bethley's strip sack gave UH the ball in Aggie territory. UH promptly marched 38 yards, capped by a Cordeiro 1-yard touchdown rush to give the Warriors a double-digit lead once again.  
 
An  electrifying run by Calvin Turner Jr. who zig-zagged across the field for an eventual 14-yard score, gave the Warriors a comfortable 18-point lead early in the final quarter and they were not threatened again.
 
Mardner led UH in receiving yards for the fourth straight game with 120 yards on four catches. Meanwhile, Dedrick Parson led UH's ground attack with a season-high 89 yards rushing, including a 19-yard dash late in the game to cap the UH scoring.
 
Darius Muasau tied his season high with 11 tackles to lead a UH defense that posted a season-best nine tackles-for-loss and four sacks. The junior linebacker contributed 3.0 tackles-for-loss and two sacks.
 
UH and New Mexico State will meet again Oct. 23 in Honolulu as part of a rare in-season home-and-home series.
 
The Warriors next return home  to host nationally ranked Fresno State in a Mountain West match-up on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Homecoming Game is set to kickoff at 5:00 p.m. at Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.