Hawaii, Cal players brawl as Rainbow Warriors pull off incredible comeback victory
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors’ comeback win in the Hawaii Bowl over the California Golden Bears on Wednesday night was marred by a fight near the end of the game.
Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele tried to answer Hawaii’s go-ahead score with one second left in the game. He fired a pass to wide receiver Trond Grizzell, who tried to pitch the ball back to a teammate but lost it.
Jacob De Jesus picked up the loose ball and tried to lateral the ball to another teammate but Hawaii defender Virdel Edwards II recovered the bouncing ball to end the game.
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Behind the recovery, California’s QuaRon Adams and Hawaii’s Brandon White began to mix it up. A fracas began as Hawaii players and coaches rushed to the field to celebrate the win. It took a few minutes for the brouhaha to end.
Hawaii won the game, 35-31, coming back from a 21-point deficit.
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left to take the lead. He came into the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play.
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Alejado was 32-of-46 with 274 yards and three touchdowns. Hawaii wide receiver Pofele Ashlock had 14 catches for 123 yards for two touchdowns. The Rainbow Warriors scored 22 points in the fourth quarter.
“These boys just keep continuing to fight through adversity and I love them for that. They learn the hard way, but they learn how to do it and that’s what’s important,” Chang said.
Cal’s Sagapolutele was 28-of-39 with 343 passing yards, a touchdown pass to De Jesus and a rushing touchdown. Kendrick Raphael and Anthony League each had rushing touchdowns.
Hawaii finishes the season 9-4 and Cal dropped to 7-6.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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