Rainbow Warriors overcome scary moment to break through for first win

With the Hawaii football team needing a big play, it was "Tama Time."

Tama Uiliata , lining up as the wildcat, threw the dagger scoring pass to seal the Rainbow Warriors ' 29-19 victory over New Mexico State at the Ching Complex on Saturday night.

"That kid is a dynamic player," UH offensive coordinator Anthony Arceneaux said of Uiliata, who usually plays slotback. "That play that we scored was a play (offensive assistant) Coach Winterhawk (Leighton) came up with. We made it our own. (Quarterback) Micah (Alejado) actually called the play. Shoot, after that, it was Tama Time."

A crowd of 11,807 saw Sean Olvera-Harle connect on three field goals, DeVon Rice score two touchdowns, and Alejado rebound from a knockdown hit to help the Warriors win for the first time in 2026 after opening with consecutive losses. The Warriors improved to 12-1 in the inter-conference series, including 8-0 on Oahu.

The Warriors were missing key players on both sides of the ball. Slotback Pofele Ashlock has not played this season while recovering from a leg ailment. Running back Cam Barfield has missed the past 11 quarters because of an ankle injury. Defensive end Lester Lagafuaina also was sidelined because of a shoulder issue. And left guard Lipe Moala was in concussion protocol and not available.

But the Warriors proved to be resilient.

In a scary moment for the Warriors in the third quarter, Alejado was hit by Gabe Peterson , a 6-foot-2, 255-pound hybrid end, and lost the ball. As Alejado was on the turf in a dazed heap, De'Marcus Peters scooped the loose ball and raced 84 yards for the touchdown to tie it at 19-all with 13:15 left in the third quarter. Ilya Uvaydov missed the point-after kick.

But Alejado returned for the ensuing possession and led an 11-play drive that resulted in Olvera-Harle's 33-yard field goal for a 22-19 lead with 8:46 left in the third quarter.

"Hat's off to 12 (Alejado)," Uiliata said. "He's a ballplayer. He went down. but he got back up."

In the fourth quarter, the Aggies failed to convert on a fourth-and-1 play. The Warriors drove to the 6 but were stopped for a 1-yard loss on a third-down run. The Warriors headed toward the sideline, then sprinted to the line of scrimmage. The Aggies, who were not set to defend the fourth-down play, called timeout.

The Warriors then moved Alejado to the slot as Uiliata took the snap. Uiliata rolled to his right, then lofted the 7-yard scoring pass to tight end Frank Abreu in the end zone for a 10-point advantage.

"Micah actually called the play," Uiliata said. "That's trust. That goes a long way, having (Alejado) and Coach (Timmy) Chang trusting me to go back to the basics and play ball."

In the previous week's loss to UNLV, Uiliata did not catch a pass in two targets. On Saturday, he came up with 10 receptions for 107 yards.

"Just going back to the basics and having the coaches believe in me," Uiliata said. "Just having more minutes in the game helped me get back that groove."

Last week, Alejado came out twice for a play apiece against UNLV. This past Tuesday, Alejado was held out of contact drills. After being rocked by Peterson, Alejado was admittedly sore, particularly on his right side. But he rebounded to finish 33-for-45 for 346 yards.

"There are guys who are gamers and rise to the occasion," Arceneaux said of Alejado. "He's one of them."

Alejado and Audric Harris collaborated on four completions for 105 yards. With the Warriors struggling for consistency with the outside receivers, Harris moved from slotback to wideout this week.

For the second consecutive game, Rice started in place of Barfield. Rice scored two first-half touhdowns, finishing the latter with a somersault over an Aggies defender.

Fredia Rice said her son had mastered back flips in high school. "This was the first time he did a somersault," she said smiling.

The Warriors did not force a turnover in the first two games. But they came up with four on Saturday, including two in the second half. They also had a key fourth-down stop.

"It was an emphasis to get around the ball," nickelback Elijah Palmer said. "A couple got called back in previous games. At the end of the day, it was a great feeling to have guys all around."

It was the Warriors' defense that jump-started the scoring in the first quarter.

Mike linebacker Wynden Ho'ohuli punched the ball free from NMSU quarterback Trey Hedden on a scramble. Dime linebacker Jamih Otis recovered at the UH. 36. On the eighth play of the UH drive, Rice took the handoff and outraced two defenders around the right end for his third touchdown of the season.

Olvera-Harle's point-after kick was wide left.

On UH's ensuing possession, Alejado and Harris teamed on a 55-yard, catch-and-dash play to set up Olvera-Harle's 32-yard field goal for a 9-0 lead with 4:28 left in first quarter.

In the second quarter, Alejado and Harris collaborated on a 33-yard play to the NMSU 18. Two plays later, Rice scored his second TD of the half.