HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i football team ushered in a new era in emphatic fashion with a 49-35 win over Portland State in its 2021 home opener. Playing its first-ever on-campus game at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex, UH raced out to 28-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back to snag its first win of the year.   
 
UH scored on its first four possessions of the game, produced up a multitude of explosive plays (11 plays of 20+ yards) and finished with 49 points, its largest output in 11 games under Todd Graham, and 573 yards of total offense. 
 
The Rainbow Warriors (1-1) racked up 246 yards and 12 first downs in the opening quarter alone, including five plays of 20 or more yards, three of which were touchdowns. Nick Mardner scored the first-ever touchdown in the history of the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex with a 23-yard catch from Chevan Cordeiro in UH's opening possession of the game. Those were followed by touchdowns by Calvin Turner Jr. (34-yard rush), Jared Smart (20-yard catch) and Dedrick Parson (17-yard rush)
 
After a few miscues by UH, the Vikings came within 42-28 late in the third quarter but UH got a 59-yard touchdown run by Dae Dae Hunter to shut the door on any comeback hopes. Hunter finished with a career-high 128 yards on 16 carries. 
 
Meanwhile, Cordeiro threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-25 passing. It was the third 300-yard performance of his career. The Honolulu native also rushed 18 times for 66 yards.
 
Defensively, lineman DJuan Matthews forced two fumbles, recovering one of them, and had one sack and two tackles for loss. Fellow lineman Justus Tavai led the team with six tackles, including 1.5 for loss and Pita Tonga picked off a first quarter pass.
 
The Vikings, who totaled 477 yards of offense, pulled with two scores with 1:13 left on Davi Alexander's third touchdown pass of the night. PSU recovered the ensuing onside kick but Hugh Nelson's pick put the game away. 
 
The Warriors will next head for the road where they will meet their second Pac-12 opponent of the season when they take on Oregon State on Saturday, Sept. 11 in Corvallis. Kickoff is at 8:00 p.m. PT/5:00 p.m. HT.