HONOLULU — The debut of the newly expanded Clarence T.C. Ching Complex ended with the University of Hawai'i football team falling to Stanford 37-24 in the Rainbow Warriors' home opener on Friday.
 
UH quarterback Brayden Schager threw for a career-high 355 yards — passing his previous best of 351 set six days earlier at Vanderbilt — and three touchdowns. But Stanford (1-0) opened up a 14-point lead in the second quarter and kept the Warriors (0-2) at arm's length in the second half.
 
Schager also set career highs with 30 completions on 53 attempts and freshman receiver Pofele Ashlock went over the century mark for the second straight game with eight receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns, including a tying score early in the second quarter.
 
Wide receiver Steven McBride made a leaping catch for a 24-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter and slotback Koali Nishigaya had the most productive game of his UH career with six catches for 52 yards.
 
Stanford countered with an attack that generated 480 total yards, led by tight end Benjamin Yurosek's 138 yards on nine receptions.
 
The UH defense kept the Warriors within striking distance in holding the Cardinal to field goals on on Stanford's first three possessions of the second half. Linebacker Logan Taylor led the Warriors with nine total tackles and defensive back Elijah Palmer made a career-high seven stops, all solo.
 
The Warrior's enhanced home venue was part of the storyline entering the afternoon. Seating capacity was expanded from 9,000 to just over 15,000 since last season and the scoreboard previously housed in Aloha Stadium was relocated to the Mānoa campus and mounted to the facade of Les Murakami Stadium to overlook the Diamond Head end of the Ching Complex.
 
Hawai'i and Stanford last met less than a mile away from campus in the old Honolulu Stadium in 1972, and the Cardinal improved to 4-0 in the series with UH with Friday's win.
 
After Stanford opened the scoring with a 12-play drive midway through the first quarter, Schager jump-started the Warrior offense with a 21-yard scramble and went 6-for-7 for 54 yards in an 11-play drive capped by a 7-yard completion to Ashlock in the right side of the end zone.
 
Stanford answered with touchdowns on its next two possessions — a 32-yard reception by Yurosek and a 2-yard run by Bryce Farrell — to take a 21-7 lead.
 
The Warriors got the ball back with 1:03 left in the half and Schager connected with Alex Perry for a 13-yard completion on third-and-10. Facing third-and-9, Schager's throw on the run was deflected by a Stanford defensive back and UH receiver Karsyn Pupunu made a diving snag for a 33-yard gain to the Stanford 15 and his first career catch. Matthew Shipley hit a 32-yard field goal as time expired to cut the deficit to 21-10 at halftime.
 
The Warriors twice stopped Cardinal drives at the 7 to force field goals and the Warriors closed to 27-16 when McBride came down with his third touchdown reception of the season.
 
Stanford added its third field goal and a late touchdown to extend the lead and the Warriors put together a 15-play drive and Schager hit Ashlock on a post route for a 16-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal with 1:08 left. Dalen Morris found the end zone on the 2-point conversion run to account to the final margin.
 
The Rainbow Warriors return to the Ching Complex to face Albany on Sept. 9.