Warriors struggle offensively in 37–27 season-opening loss to Stanford

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STANFORD, Calif. — Pardon the interruption.

The Hawaii football team was set for a storybook scenario when Stanford rewrote the ending.

Micah Ford scored on a 2-yard run for the lead and Tevarua Tafiti raced 31 yards on a fumble return for the dagger in the Cardinal’s 37-27 victory over the Rainbow Warriors at Stanford Stadium.

“We were up and down all day, including the last drive, and we didn’t play up to our standards or cover to our standards,” UH defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said. “We didn’t tackle to our standards when we needed to. It was hit or miss. You play football like that against a good football team, they’re going to figure out how to attack it.”

For three quarters, the Warriors were out of sync offensively and on special teams. At one point, they had five consecutive three-and-out possessions.

“They had a glassy look on them,” said offensive coordinator Anthony Arceneaux, whose Warriors were outgained 390-122 and down 23-7 after three quarters. “We had to wake them up.”

Led by quarterback Micah Alejado and a rotation of slotbacks — Tama Uiliata, Blaze Kamoku, Kainoa “Kaikai” Carvalho and Titan Lacaden — the Warriors scored 20 unanswered points to take a 27-23 lead with 4:06 to play. The go-ahead play was an inside screen to running back DeVon Rice, who then sprinted around the right side and found the end zone. Sean Olvera-Harle’s extra-point kick was wide right.

“That’s the biggest thing about Hawaii football,” Alejado said. “We don’t stop until the game’s over. Keeping that same chip no matter what happens.”

But the Cardinal also were not ready to call it a night in the season opener. Stanford’s 62-yard drive was kept alive when Liam Thorpe was ruled to have secured an 18-yard third-down pass from Davis Warren at the 15. After a review, the officials upheld the catch, although the UH coaches suggested the football had touched the ground before being secured.

“That’s the way it goes,” UH head coach Timmy Chang said.

Four plays later, Ford powered his way from the 2 for the TD, bringing his total to 99 net rushing yards.

“He’s a tough runner,” UH defensive end Ka‘eo Akana said of the 6-foot, 200-pound Ford. “It was tough to bring him down.”

The Warriors regained possession with 1:41 to play. But on second-and-15 at the UH 32, Chang called for a quarterback draw against a thinned tackle box playing in a pass-prevent scheme. Zach Rowell, who had moved to defensive tackle in coordinator Kris Richard’s new scheme, separated the football from Alejado’s grasp.

“That was bad ball security by me,” Alejado said. “Totally my fault. He wrapped around and just got me. Not much to be said. It’s on me.”

Tafiti, a Punahou School graduate, scooped the ball and raced 31 yards the other way for the two-possession lead.

With the outcome all but decided, backup quarterback Bjorn Jurgensen entered and played the final 1:10.

For the second year in a row, the matchup between UH and ACC member Stanford provided a dramatic fourth quarter. UH opened the 2025 with a walk-off field goal against the Cardinal. This time, in the Warriors’ first game on Stanford’s campus, the Warriors had self-inflicted glitches on special teams.

In a disastrous start to the second half, offset returner Lacaden caught the kickoff and took a knee at the UH 6. But instead of a touchback, the ball was placed at the 6 because the main returner, Uiliata, had signaled for a fair catch. By rule, a fair catch is granted only to the one making the signal.

After the drive netted only a yard, the Warriors set up for a punt. Charlie Eckhardt broke through and blocked Gehrig Heil’s punt out of the UH end zone for a safety and a 16-7 lead. On the ensuing possession, the Cardinal drove 75 yards on eight plays to increase the margin to 23-7.

“When you play good teams, and you play them on the road, you have to execute,” Chang said. “The team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win the game.”

UH’s defense made two big stops on fourth down — one that resulted in Akana’s block of Emmet Kenney’s 33-yard field goal attempt, another that turned the ball over on downs. Kona Moore, who was elevated to starting UH safety, made 14 tackles.

But the Cardinal rushed for 173 yards and Warren threw for 310 and a touchdown.

Warren, who transferred from Michigan in January, sat out the 2025 season because of a knee injury. But he showed no mobility issues. He dodged Hawaii’s pass rush, and managed a 25-yard scamper on a bootleg. In the final two minutes of first half, the Cardinal had three possessions.

“Look at what they did and what we didn’t do,” Thurman said. “You give a good football team extra possessions and let them run for close to 200 yards on the ground and throw for 300 yards more, you’re not going to beat too many teams. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

In turn, the Warriors struggled to calibrate after running back Cam Barfield suffered an ankle injury during the first UH drive.

Rice, who transferred from Kansas State in January, amassed 60 yards on 16 touches.

“It’s really about stepping up,” Rice said. “When a guy goes down, it’s about stepping up and making plays.”

Rice and Alejado were teammates at Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School. Rice expressed confidence in Alejado.

“I’ve seen him in many predicaments,” Rice said. “I told him: ‘They left too much time for you.’ I knew he would finish strong.”

Alejado was 12-for-18 for 161 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

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