Rainbow Warriors fall to Spartans at home, 20-16

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors are winless in conference play after falling to the San Jose State Spartans Saturday night.

Read more Kauai man ‘very grateful’ after surviving debris-clearing accident, loses leg

The now 1-4 ‘Bows were off to a slow start in the first half, with the Spartans scoring twice and shutting out the ‘Bows in the first half, 14-0.

Warriors wide receiver Carson Brown had a hard fall on the gridiron and was later ruled out for the rest of the game. He was later seen wearing a sling across his left shoulder.

The ‘Bows showed some life after placekicker Sean Olvera-Harle kicked a 44-yard field goal.

Alejado connected with WR Devin Alves for UH’s only TD of the night. Head coach Timmy Chang elected to kick the extra point, bringing the match within one point, 14-13.

“Very early in the game, you’re going to get more possessions, and when those more possessions come, you got to make them count and so when you get the possessions, that’s what matters,” Chang told Hawaii News Now’s Cienna Pilotin after the game.

Between a pair of SJSU field goals and a missed kick that went wide right, the Spartans maintained their lead.

With three seconds left in the game, Alejado and the ‘Bows loaded up for a hail mary to the end zone, but it was batted down by the SJSU defense. Final score: 20-16.

Read more Critics question quick sale of bank after Maui fires

The Spartans have won their sixth match-up in a row against UH, retaining the Dick Tomey Legacy Trophy.

“There’s no use beating them up,” Chang said during his post-game press conference. “They already feel down already. So, message is how do we get better? How do we stop the things that hurt us?”

‘Bows quarterback Micah Alejado threw for 338 yards, 1 touchdown and was picked off twice. Alejado is now the 11th QB in UH program history to throw for 5,000 yards.

Alejado said the loss stings, and there’s a lot of film to watch, but he believes the team can turn it around.

“Obviously this one stings, this one hurts a lot, and you know we gotta go take this and watch the film and figure it out. But at the end of day, we got to go figure it out. We play Arizona State on the road next week, and schedule doesn’t get easier, so it’ll be tough, but I think our team has it,” Alejado said.

The ‘Bows head to the desert to face Arizona State on Saturday, Oct. 10. The game will be televised on FS1.

Read more Police identify man killed in single-vehicle crash on North Kulani Road