University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics

Post-game Notes
Stanford at Hawai‘i
Aug. 23, 2025
Clarence T.C. Ching Complex  –  Honolulu 

GAME CAPTAINS

• Peter Manuma, Zhen Sotelo, Landon Sims, Karsyn Pupunu, Jalen Smith

 
SERIES INFORMATION

• Hawaii defeated Stanford for the first time in five meetings. 
• Stanford still leads the series, 4-1, with all five games played in Honolulu.
• The teams are scheduled to meet again in 2026 and 2030, both at Stanford.

 
UH VERSUS THE ACC

• The game marked UH’s first-ever against an ACC opponent. Hawai‘i previously played five current ACC teams prior to their ACC membership with a 7-9 all-time record against those teams.
• UH’s last win over a current ACC team was against SMU in 2002, while both were members of the Western Athletic Conference.

 
UH VERSUS THE POWER CONFERENCES

• UH gained its first win over a Power Conference team since 2019 when they defeated then-Pac-12 squads Arizona and Oregon State in back-to-back weeks to open the season.
• Since that win over Oregon State, UH had dropped its last nine games against Power Conference teams. (UH defeated BYU in 2019 and Houston in 2020 when both were non-Power Conference teams)
• Since 2003, UH has 13 wins over Power Conference teams, 12 of which have occurred at home.
• Timmy Chang recorded his first win against an Autonomous Four conference team. He was previously 0-6.

 
TEAM STREAKS/TRENDS 

• Hawai‘i ended a 15-game losing streak on national television dating back to 2021.
• UH won its second straight season opener after dropping its three previous openers. 
• UH is 6-3 in its last nine season openers.
• UH has won eight of its last 10 home openers.

 
INDIVIDUAL STREAKS/TRENDS 

• Pofele Ashlock has caught a pass in all 26 games he has played in.
• Kuao Peihopa saw a team-high streak of 25 straight starts come to a close when was sidelined for the season opener. He had started every game in 2023 and ‘24.

TEAM NOTES

• The Rainbow Warriors enjoyed their third walkoff win at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex and first since the 2023 season. UH defeated New Mexico State and Colorado State in the season finale, also on field goals as time expired. 
• UH improved to 5-4 all-time record in Week 0 including a 2-1 mark at home. 
• Hawai’i improved to 65-39-5 all-time in season openers, including a 32-29-1 mark against collegiate opponents.
• UH’s all-time record in the month of August moved to 9-11 (Division I era).
• UH began its fifth season at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex and improved to 16-12 all-time in the on-campus facility. 
• UH surrendered a defensive touchdown on its first play from scrimmage when Wilfredo Aybar recovered a fumble in the end zone, following a sack. The last time a UH opponent scored a touchdown off a fumble was in 2022 by UNLV (Elijah Shelton, 3 yds)
• Luther McCoy blocked a Stanford 34-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. It was the first field goal block by UH since 2022 vs. Utah State (John Tuitupou).

 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• Redshirt freshman Micah Alejado finished 27-of-39 for 210 yards and two touchdowns while leading both the game-tying and game-winning drives on UH’s final two possessions of the game.
• In five career games, Alejado has thrown for eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions while completing 70 percent of his passes. 
• Pofele Ashlock scored UH’s first touchdown of the season on a 3-yd pass from Micah Alejado with 2:19 left in the first quarter. It was the junior’s 16th career receiving touchdown.
• Ashlock finished with a team-high nine catches for 69 yards. 
• Jackson Harris, a Stanford transfer, scored his first career touchdown as a Rainbow Warrior on a 19-yard catch from Alejado with 42 seconds left in the first half.  
• Harris was targeted a team-high 11 times before finishing with six catches for 59 yards. 
• Kilihane Mendiola-Jensen recorded his first career interception that snuffed a key fourth quarter drive by Stanford with six minutes remaining and UH trailing. 
• Senior safety Peter Manuma led UH with eight tackles, including a sack. 
• Virdel Edwards returned to the field after missing the entirety of the 2024 season. The senior made his 23rd career start at cornerback and finished with two tackles and a pass breakup. 
• Kansei Matsuzawa converted a career-high three field goals including the game-winning 38-yarder as time expired. 
• He also nailed a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter. It was one yard short of his career high as Matsuzawa improved to 3-of-4 in his career on attempts of 40 or more yards.
• Luke Weaver saw his first action as a Rainbow Warrior when he replaced Alejado on UH’s opening drive of the second half and had his sole pass attempt broken up.
• Freshman punter Billy Gowers played in his first career football game. The 29-year-old freshman booted four punts that averaged 55.2 yards. Three of his four attempts exceeded 50 yards, including a 67-yard punt in the first quarter.  
• Five players made their first career starts as Rainbow Warriors. They included Brandon White (WR), Dean Briski (OL), Lesterlaisene Lagafuaina (DL), Carsen Stocklinski (DL), De’Jon Benton (DL).