UNLV sneaks out of Hawaii with 7th straight road win

HONOLULU -- UNLV retained the Golden Pineapple Trophy after beating Hawaii 29-27 in the classic “Ninth Island Showdown” on Saturday night. 

The Rebel offense was led in both phases by quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, who completed 13-of-27 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 122 yards and another TD.  

Running back Jai’Den Thomas also reached the 100-yard rushing mark, finishing with 109 yards and a TD himself. The Rebels collectively rushed for 290 yards, as freshman Greg Burrell chipped in 51 yards on six carries. 

Wide receiver Ricky White III caught seven passes for 128 yards and a touchdown that allowed UNLV to retake the lead in the third quarter. It’s his fifth game this season over 100 yards. 

The UNLV defense started the game off strong, as Johnathan Baldwin intercepted Brayden Schager’s pass on the second play from scrimmage, leading to a Caden Chittenden field goal. 

After going up three early, the Rebels followed up with a stop and then a three-play drive that ended with Williams finding the end zone on a 23-yard run. 

Schager responded for Hawaii with a 74-yard bomb to Dekel Crowdus for a TD. 

Before the half, special teams came up huge once again as White blocked his fourth punt of the season – the most of any FBS player. The Rebels were unable to fall on the ball as it rolled out of the end zone for a safety, and they entered the break up 12-10.

Chittenden cashed in another field goal after the half to put UNLV up 15-10, but the Rainbow Warriors answered back. Schager capped off a quick four-play drive with a 49-yard TD pass to Jonah Panoke to take their first lead of the day, albeit short lived. 

UNLV marched down with a four-play drive of their own that ended with White’s touchdown catch to establish the decisive lead. 

Hawaii stayed in it with another field goal, entering the fourth quarter down 22-20. The trend of quick drives continued, as Thomas capped a three-play drive with a 32-yard TD run, breaking multiple tackles at the line of scrimmage. 

Schager followed up with his third bomb of the game, this time 62 yards to Nick Cenacle. On the next play, Schager found Panoke open in the corner of the endzone to, yet again, close the gap to two points. 

Receiving the ball with four minutes to play, Thomas carried it three times for a first down that took the clock down to the 2-minute warning. Thomas followed up with two more short runs before Williams escaped for 40 yards and a first down to seal the game with a kneel-down. 

Though UNLV fans may not have anticipated this level of sweat, the circumstances showed blaring warning signs of a trap game. The travel to the islands can trip teams up, as the flight length and change in timezone often disrupts rhythm. In addition, the Rebels were coming off their bye week having not played a snap since Oct. 25. 

UNLV returns home this week to take on the San Diego State Aztecs on Military Appreciation Night. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.