HONOLULU — Wearing No. 2 on the roster,
Luke Weaver rose to No. 1 on the depth chart this week and helped lead the University of Hawai'i football team to its second win of the season in a 37-20 victory over Sam Houston on Saturday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.
With
Micah Alejado sidelined due to injury, Weaver made his first start for the Rainbow Warriors (2-1) and completed 27-of-43 attempts for 294 yards and three touchdowns in the opener of a three-game homestand.
Weaver connected with
Pofele Ashlock for seven completions, starting with a 47-yard reception on Weaver's first throw of the evening. Ashlock finished with 125 receiving yards and two touchdowns, both scores coming in the second half as the Warriors avenged a loss to the Bearkats (0-3) last season in Texas.
Kansei Matsuzawa connected on three field goals to tie his season high and improve to 8-for-8 on the season.
The UH defense helped extend a first-half lead with linebacker
Giovanni Iovino scoring on a 41-yard interception return. Safety
Peter Manuma finished with a team-high six tackles and
Lesterlaisene Lagafuaina registered 2.5 tackles for loss.
On his first attempt as a Division I starter, Weaver went deep down the left side to Ashlock for a 47-yard completion. Two more completions moved the Warriors inside the Sam Houston 5 but a third-down fumble was recovered in the end zone by the Bearkats. UH retained possession after the runner was ruled to have been down before the fumble in a review. On fourth down, Weaver completed a swing pass to
Landon Sims for a 1-yard touchdown pass.
Sam Houston again forced a fumble and recovered at the Bearkats' 43. An eight-play drive yielded a 28-yard field goal at the 2:29 mark of the first quarter.
The UH defense added to the lead when safety
Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen broke up a pass over the middle. Linebakcer
Giovanni Iovino snagged the deflection and raced down the sideline for a 41-yard return and UH's first defensive touchdown of the season.
Sam Houston added a 29-yard field goal with 1:57 left and UH answered with a 10-play drive that ended with
Kansei Matsuzawa drilling a 38-yard field goal as time expired to send UH into halftime with a 17-6 lead.
Matsuzawa added a career-long 43-yard field goal on the opening possession of the third quarter. Sam Houston closed the gap to 20-13 on a 66-yard interception return by Emon Allen.
Weaver responded by leading a nine-play march and connected with Ashlock on a 6-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 14 again. Sam Houston, with backup quarterback Landyn Locke on the field, scored its first offensive touchdown of the game on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 8:15 left.
UH put together a 10-play drive taking just over 5 minutes and Matsuzawa made a 19-yard kick for this third field goal of the game. The Warrior defense then forced a turnover on downs and Weaver lofted a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ashlock to push the margin to 37-20 and seal the win with 1:47 left.
The Warriors continue the homestand with their homecoming game against Portland State on Sept. 13 at the Ching Complex.
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