LARAMIE, Wyo.  – The University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warrior football team fell into an early hole and couldn't recover in a 42-9 Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium. The Rainbow Warriors dropped to 4-8 on the season and 2-5 in the Mountain West.
 
The Rainbow Warriors entered the game with the momentum of two straight double-digit wins. But the Cowboys (7-4, 4-3) put a halt to that from the get-go, jumping out to a 14-0 lead just four minutes in to the game to set the tone for the day. Wyoming retained possession of the Paniolo Trophy with its second straight win over UH and its third in the last four meetings.  
 
UH was stung by the big play Cowboys. Wyoming's first four touchdowns went for 44, 89, 28 and 40 yards, respectively. John Michael Gyllenborg's 89-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the longest play from scrimmage by a UH opponent this year and is tied for the fifth-longest reception ever by a UH opponent. Wyoming racked up 345 yards in the decisive first half as UH trailed 35-0 at the break. Wyoming averaged 9.4 yards per play, the highest average by a UH opponent this year, while the Cowboys did not commit a single penalty during the game.
 
Meanwhile, the UH offense was stymied by the Cowboys in the red zone in the first half. On their second possession of the game, UH strung together a 13-play, 73-yard drive that took eight minutes. But the Warriors came up empty when they were stopped on a 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line. UH was also on the doorstep late in the second quarter, but was intercepted in the end zone.
 
In the loss, UH quarterback Brayden Schager finished with 278 passing yards to reach a pair of milestones. The junior became just the seventh Rainbow Warrior quarterback to surpass 6,000 career passing yards while moving into fifth on the all-time passing charts. Schager also surpassed 3,000 yards for the season, the 13^th time that has happened in program history.
 
The Rainbow Warriors return home to face Colorado State in their regular-season finale on Saturday, Nov. 25. More than a dozen Rainbow Warriors will be honored following the game as part of Senior Night festivities. Kickoff is 6:00 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.