UH turnovers lead to 49-17 loss to WKU
HONOLULU (AP) — The University of Hawaii turned over the ball six times overall — leading to 28 points for Western Kentucky — and the Rainbow Warriors fell to 0-2 with a 49-17 loss to the Hilltoppers on Saturday night at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex.
UH quarterbacks Brayden Schager and Joey Yellen combined to throw five interceptions — four by Schager — and the Rainbow Warriors were also hurt by 12 penalties for 109 yards.
Austin Reed threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score for Western Kentucky.
Reed capped a 10-play, 68-yard drive with a 5-yard TD toss to Dalvin Smith to put the Hilltoppers (2-0) up 7-3 early in the second quarter. On Hawaii’s ensuing possession, Juwon Jones picked off Schager and returned the ball 38 yards for a score and a 14-3 lead.
Western Kentucky capped off a 21-point second quarter with Reed’s 47-yard scoring strike to Joshua Simon and the Hilltoppers led by 11 at halftime.
WKU upped its lead to 28-10 after three quarters when Reed hit Jaylen Hall for a 17-yard score. Kye Robichaux pushed the Hilltoppers’ advantage to 35-10 with a 7-yard TD run early in the final period. Reed and Davion Ervin-Poindexter had short scoring runs after that.
Reed completed 22 of 31 passes for 271 yards with one interception.
Schager finished with 230 yards on 22-of-33 passing for the Rainbow Warriors. Backup QB Yellen completed 4 of 11 passes for 36 yards with a pick. Dedrick Parson and Nasjzae Bryant-Lelei had short TD runs.
Next up for the Rainbow Warriors is a trip to the Big House to take on No. 8 Michigan on Saturday.
W. Kentucky 0 21 7 21–49
Hawaii 3 7 0 7–17
First Quarter
HAW–FG Shipley 40, 11:46.
Second Quarter
WKU–Da.Smith 5 pass from Reed (Narveson kick), 13:23.
WKU–J.Jones 38 interception return (Narveson kick), 11:36.
HAW–Parson 9 run (Shipley kick), 7:40.
WKU–Simon 47 pass from Reed (Narveson kick), 2:52.
Third Quarter
WKU–Hall 17 pass from Reed (Narveson kick), 7:37.
Fourth Quarter
WKU–Robichaux 7 run (Narveson kick), 12:35.
HAW–Bryant-Lelei 1 run (Shipley kick), 9:18.
WKU–Reed 2 run (Narveson kick), 5:58.
WKU–Ervin-Poindexter 2 run (Narveson kick), 5:20.
A–9,346.
WKU HAW
First downs 24 20
Total Net Yards 412 360
Rushes-yards 29-141 35-94
Passing 271 266
Punt Returns 1-12 1-0
Kickoff Returns 1-23 5-90
Interceptions Ret. 5-100 1-0
Comp-Att-Int 22-31-1 26-44-5
Sacked-Yards Lost 0-0 2-11
Punts 3-41.667 4-43.75
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 7-72 12-109
Time of Possession 25:52 34:08
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–W. Kentucky, Robichaux 7-49, Reed 9-43, Ervin-Poindexter 9-42, Mathison 1-6, Moses 2-1, Sanders 1-0. Hawaii, Bryant-Lelei 13-64, Parson 15-29, Schager 1-17, Cooper 2-2, (Team) 1-(minus 1), Scott 1-(minus 6), Yellen 2-(minus 11).
PASSING–W. Kentucky, Reed 22-31-1-271. Hawaii, Schager 22-33-4-230, Yellen 4-11-1-36.
RECEIVING–W. Kentucky, Davis 5-78, Moses 4-22, Corley 4-12, Da.Smith 3-36, Hall 2-25, Simon 1-47, Burt 1-25, Beljan 1-19, Mathison 1-7. Hawaii, Parson 4-27, Walthall 3-53, C.Phillips 3-30, Murray 3-22, J.Phillips 3-22, Scott 3-18, Panoke 2-32, Johnson 2-26, C.Hines 1-16, Mokiao-Atimalala 1-13, Bryant-Lelei 1-7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–W. Kentucky, Narveson 26.