HONOLULU — Call it a Christmas Eve miracle in Mānoa.
A Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl matchup already brimming with storylines saved its most dramatic moments for last when a backup quarterback threw the game-winning touchdown pass with 10 seconds left to lift the University of Hawai'i football team to a thrilling 35-31 win over California on Wednesday at a sold-out Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.
After UH quarterback
Micah Alejado orchestrated a comeback from a 21-point deficit, backup
Luke Weaver wrote himself into program lore by lofting a 22-yard touchdown pass to
Nick Cenacle in a holiday wish come true to provide an emphatic punctuation on a breakthrough season for the Rainbow Warriors.
The Warriors (9-4) faced their largest first-half deficit of the season when Cal scored on its first three possessions to jump out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. UH stormed back by scoring on four consecutive drives and tied the game early in the fourth quarter after Hawaii Bowl MVP
Pofele Ashlock caught his second touchdown pass of the game. After a Cal field goal, UH took its first lead of the game when
Brandon White pulled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Alejado.
Cal see-sawed ahead on a quarterback sneak just after the 2-minute timeout, and the Warriors delivered once more with Alejado leading the Warriors deep into California territory before having to go to the sideline with an injury with 15 seconds left. Weaver, who had stepped in for Alejado twice earlier in the game, then connected with Cenacle to electrify the sellout crowd.
The Warriors tied the largest comeback in program history — matching rallies against Michigan State in 2004 and Washington in 2007 — in UH's ninth, and perhaps unlikeliest, bowl win.
Alejado completed 32 of 46 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. Two scores went to Ashlock, who tied the game record with a career-high 14 receptions covering 123 yards. After UH's first three drives ended in two punts and a missed field goal, the Warriors scored on each of their last six possessions with the final three going for touchdowns.
Cenacle finished with eight receptions for 59 yards, the last 22 coming on the game-winner from Weaver, who completed two throws in place of Alejado on the final drive.
Safety
Peter Manuma and linebacker
Wynden Ho'ohuli tied for team-high honors with eight tackles each and the UH defense recovered from the rough start to open the way for the comeback.
UH's collective heroics outshined the production of Cal freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who went 28 for 39 and passed for 343 yards and a touchdown for the Golden Bears (7-6).
The Warriors reached the nine-win mark for the first time since 2019 and the 16
th time in program history.
Timmy Chang, who led UH to the 2004 comeback against Michigan State, has been part of four of those seasons, three as a player (2001-03) and now as UH head coach. The only two-time MVP in Hawai'i Bowl history, Chang prevailed in Wednesday's coaching duel with former UH teammate and interim Cal head coach Nick Rolovich.
The bowl win capped a breakthrough season in Chang's four-year tenure as head coach. After rebuilding the roster since taking over in 2022, Chang led the Warriors to their highest win total since UH went 10-5 in 2019 in Rolovich's final season as UH head coach.
The Warriors opened the season with a walk-off win over Stanford and Wednesday's comeback provided a bookend win over another Bay Area member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in UH's first bowl appearance since 2020.
Cal forced a UH punt to start the game and took the lead on a 41-yard touchdown pass from Sagapolutele to Jacob De Jesus. The Bears opened the second quarter with a 19-yard scoring run and added an 8-yard score on their next drive to open up a 21-0 lead at the 9:38 mark of the second.
Ashock sparked UH's next possession with a one-handed catch while being blanketed by a Cal defender for a 30-yard completion. The Warriors drove to the Bears' 13 and Alejado stepped up in the pocket before firing a strike to Ashlock for UH's first touchdown of the afternoon. The touchdown was the 22
nd of Ashlock's career moving him into a tie for eighth in program history.
After UH safety
Matagi Thompson tipped away a third-down pass to force Cal's first punt of the game,
Riis Weber stormed in to block the kick and the Warriors took over at the Bears' 32 with 1:45 left in the half. The Warriors advanced to the 11 and
Kansei Matsuzawa converted on a 29-yard field goal.
Cal's final drive of the half ended with a field-goal attempt that drifted wide left and UH trailed 21-10 going into the locker room.
Matsuzawa extended his UH record by hitting his 27
th field goal of the season on UH's first possession of the third quarter to cut the deficit to eight. A sack by
Lesterlaisene Lagafuaina on fourth down ended Cal's next drive and Alejado led the Warriors on an eight-play march. Ashlock snagged a 12-yard pass to the Cal 3-yard line then latched onto a pass to the right side for his 12
th reception and reached the ball over the goal line for his second touchdown. The Warriors tied the game when Alejado flipped a shovel pass to
Cam Barfield for the 2-point conversion.
Cal answered with a 22-yard field goal to reclaim the lead with 8:56 left and Barfield returned the ensuing kickoff to the UH 41. After a penalty moved the ball to the Cal 17, Alejado threw a fade to the right corner and White made a catch while falling backward. The play was initially ruled incomplete, but was reversed after a review and UH moved ahead with 7:19 left.
Cal put together a time-consuming drive and Sagapolutele scored on a quarterback sneak to give Cal the lead again with 1:57 left.
Alejado again directed the Warriors into Cal territory and Barfield turned a short throw into a 13-yard gain to the Cal 22 with 15 seconds left. Alejado went to the sideline with an injury and Weaver delivered the game-winning throw to Cenacle.
Alejado completed 15 of 18 passes for 142 yards and the two fourth-quarter touchdowns in the second half. UH improved to 9-6 all-time in bowl games, including 6-4 in the Hawai'i Bowl, and claimed the program's third straight postseason win.
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