Hawaii Bowl Summary: Cal Squanders 21-0 Lead in Loss to Hawaii

Backup quarterback Luke Weaver threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left and Hawaii upended Cal’s hopes for an eight-win season, claiming a 35-31 victory at the Hawaii Bowl on Wednesday.

Cal led 21-0 early and too a 31-28 lead with 1:57 left when freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele scored on a 1-yard sneak.

But the Bears (7-6) could not hold on and sustained the first defeat in four tries this postseason by an ACC team.

The game summary:

HAWAII 35, CAL 31

RECORDS: Cal (7-6, 4-4 ACC), Hawaii (9-4, 5-3 Mountain West)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Hawaii freshman quarterback Micah Alejado passed for 274 yards with three touchdowns, leading a comeback from a 21-0 deficit midway through the second quarter.

CAL PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Wide receivers Jordan King and Mark Hamper and starting tight end Mason Mini both missed the game due to injury. Running back LJ Johnson Jr. and Brandon High Jr. did not play, either.

HAWAII PLAYER AVAILABILITY: Wide receiver Jackson Harris, who caught 12 touchdown passes this season, opted out of the game after entering the transfer portal.

KEY PLAY 1: On a first-down snap, Sagapolutele play fakes and fires a 41-yard touchdown pass to wide open Jacob De Jesus down the middle of the field, capping an eight-play, 87-yard drive on Cal’s first possession for a 7-0 lead with 7:01 left in the first quarter. JKS was 5 for 5 for 64 yards on the drive.

KEY PLAY 2: Hawaii’s All-America placekicker Kansei "Tokyo Toe” Matsuzawa, who had made his first 25 field-goal attempts this season before missing his last one in the regular-season, was wide right from 50 yards with 2:57 left in the first quarter,

KEY PLAY 3: Running back Kendrick Raphael dashes 19 yards untouched for a TD on the first play of the second quarter to cap an eight-play, 68-yard drive that boosts the Bears to a 14-0 lead.

KEY PLAY 4: De Jesus returns a punt 34 yards from his own 17-yard line to the Hawaii 49 with 12:51 left in the second quarter.

KEY PLAY 5: True freshman running back Anthony League runs 8 yards to the end zone and Cal extends its lead to 21-0 with 9:38 left in the second period. League carried the final three snaps of the 8-play, 49-yard drive and earned his first career touchdown.

KEY PLAY 6: Hawaii QB Micas Alejado beats a Cal blitz with a 13-yard TD strike to Pofele Ashlock to put the Rainbow Warriors on the scoreboard with 3:57 left in the second quarter. Alejado was 7 for 10 for 70 yards on the drive including a 7-yard completion to tight end Devon Tauaefe on a fourth-and-1 play from the Cal 36. The Bears lead 21-7.

KEY PLAY 7: Hawaii blocks Cal’s first punt try of the game, setting up possession at the Bears’ 32-yard line with 1:45 left in the first half. Matsuzawa converted the opportunity for the Warriors, kicking a 29-yard field goal with 27 seconds left to pull within 21-10.

KEY PLAY 8: After the Hawaii field goal and kickoff, Sagapolutele completes a pair of passes to QuaRon Adams for 27 yards then scrambles 17 more yards to the Hawaii 30-yard line with 4 seconds left. But Abram Murray’s 47-yard field-goal try is wide left, ending the half with Cal leading 21-10.

KEY PLAY 9: Matsuzawa converts a 39-yard field goal with 5:58 left in the third quarter to cap a 13-play, 61-yard drive that included five first downs, and Hawaii creeps within 21-13.

KEY PLAY 10: Cal gambles on fourth-and-9 from the Hawaii 42, but Lesterlaisene Lagafuiana sacks Sagapolutele for a loss of 6 yards and the Rainbow Warriors take over at their own 48 with 2:31 left in the third quarter, trailing by just eight points.

KEY PLAY 11: Alejado, who came out of the game three plays early after banging his knee, fires a 5-yard TD pass to Ashlock with 13:50 left in the fourth quarter to pull the Warriors within 21-19.

KEY PLAY 12: Alejado delivers an underhand shovel pass to running back Cam Barfield for the two-point conversion and Hawaii completes a 21-point comeback run to tie the score at 21-21.

KEY PLAY 13: Chase Meyer kicks a 22-yard field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 4 with 8:56 left, putting Cal back in front, 24-21. A personal-foul for roughness on a late hit against De Jesus gave the Bears a first down at the Hawaii 48. Sagapolutele hit Trond Grizzell with a 22-yard completion to the 10.

KEY PLAY 14: Alejado throws to WR Brandon White, who outleaps All-ACC cornerback Hezekiah Masses to make a spectacular catch in the end zone for a 1-yard TD and a 28-24 Hawaii lead with 7:19 left. The initial call was incomplete, but the call was flipped after an official review. The Rainbow Warriors have scored on their past five possessions.

KEY PLAY 15: Sagapolutele sneaks in from the 1-yard line, capping a 9-play, 75-yard drive that gives the Bears a 31-28 lead with 1:57 left. Sagapolutele had completions of 30 and 12 yards to De Jesus and the Bears benefitted from three offsides penalties against the Rainbow Warriors.

KEY PLAY 16: Backup QB Luke Weaver, taking over after Alejado was shaken up on the previous play, throws a 13-yard TD pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, capping a 68-yard scoring drive that gives Hawaii the victory.

INDIVIDUAL STAT OF THE GAME: Hawaii WR Pofele Ashlock caught 14 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.

QUARTERBACK STATISTICS: Freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who threw eight touchdown passes and just two interceptions over the final six regular-season games, was 28 for 39 for 343 yards with a touchdown and also ran for a TD. He finished his rookie season with 13 straight games of at least 200 passing yards and wound up with 3,460 yards, sixth-most in program history. This was Sagaapolutele's third 300-yard game over the past four outings.

CAL OFFENSE SETS SEASON HIGHS: The Bears rolled up 487 yards and 31 first downs, both season highs. Their 144 net rushing yards were their high-water mark in a game vs. an FBS opponent.

RECORD QUEST: Senior wide receiver Jacob De Jesus, who entered the game with 99 receptions, caught nine passes for 137 yards to eclipse the single-season program record of 100 by Dameane Douglas in 1998. He has moved into the NCAA lead with 108 catches, passing Florida Atlantic’s Easton Messer, who has 104 receptions and is done for the season. UConn’s Skyler Bell has 101 catches and has one more chance to pass De Jesus on Saturday vs. Army at the Fenway Bowl.

TOUCHDOWN TOTAL: Junior running back Kendrick Raphael scored on a 19-yard run on the first play of the second quarter, giving him 14 touchdowns for the season. That moved him to fourth on the list of most TDs scored by a Cal player since 2000, trailing Jahvid Best (2008), Justin Forsett (2007) and J.J. Arrington (2004), each with 15 scores.

WHAT IT MEANS: Cal had hoped to enter the offside prior to Tosh Lupoi’s arrival as head coach with momentum. Instead, the Bears settled for a 7-6 final record after a disappointing outcome after building a quick 21-0 lead.

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