{"id":222733,"date":"2025-09-27T15:46:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T01:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=222733"},"modified":"2025-09-27T15:52:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T01:52:30","slug":"uh-football-defeats-air-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/09\/27\/uh-football-defeats-air-force\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> offense erupts for 535 yards in 44-35 road win over Air Force"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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The Rainbow Warriors defeat Air Force and maintain possession of the Kuter Trophy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In an offensive shootout, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa football team<\/a> pulled away from Air Force, 44-35, on September 27 at Falcon Stadium. With the win, the Rainbow Warriors (4-2, 1-1 Mountain West), picked up their first conference victory of the season while maintaining possession of the Kuter Trophy.<\/p>\n

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Wide receiver Tama Uiliata finished with six receptions for 42 yards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The UH<\/abbr> offense exploded for 535 yards and the team’s highest point total in the Timmy Chang Era. Micah Alejado went 35-of-47 for 457 yards and three touchdowns while leading a UH<\/abbr> offense that flipped the script on the Falcons. Air Force (1-3, 0-3 MW) entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in time of possession, but UH<\/abbr> went a remarkable 14-of-19 on third-down conversions and won the time of possession by nearly 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Amongst UH<\/abbr>‘s possessions, was a 24-play, 80-yard drive that ate up more than 12 minutes in the second quarter. The drive resulted in a 31-yard Kansei Matsuzawa field goal that helped put the Rainbow Warriors up 17-7 at halftime. Matsuzawa finished with three field goals on the day to move to a perfect 16-of-16 and set new UH<\/abbr> and Mountain West marks for consecutive field goals to start the year.<\/p>\n

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The UH<\/abbr> defense closes in on Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Falcons cut the deficit to 17-14 after its opening possession of the second half. The ‘Bows, however, answered back with the next two touchdowns of the game. Cam Barfield’s 27-yard scoring scamper—set up by Matagi Thompson’s first career interception—gave UH<\/abbr> its biggest lead of the game, 31-14, early in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n

The Falcons, however, continued to employ a quick strike attack that saw them cut the deficit to just six points twice in the fourth quarter. But Jackson Harris’ 74-yard scoring reception with five minutes left and Kansei Matsuzawa’s 25-yard field goal in the final minute helped keep Air Force at bay for good. Harris was one of 10 different players with a reception on the day and finished with career highs in receptions (7), receiving yards (144) and touchdowns (2).<\/p>\n

The Rainbow Warriors will now enjoy a bye before returning to action with a home contest versus Utah State on Saturday, October 11. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.<\/p>\n

Read more on the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Athletics website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Micah Alejado went 35-of-47 for 457 yards and three touchdowns while leading a UH<\/abbr> offense that flipped the script on the Falcons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":222734,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362],"tags":[58,83,714,9,550],"class_list":["post-222733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","tag-athletics","tag-football","tag-student-athlete","tag-uh-manoa","tag-manoa-athletics","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t