Saturday, September 7, 2019 11:59 PM (ET)

Comeback gives Hawaii 2nd win over Pac-12 foe

Field Level Media
Sep 8, 2019

JoJo Ward caught all four of Cole McDonald's touchdown passes, and Hawai'i came back from a 14-point second quarter deficit for a 31-28 win over visiting Oregon State on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.

Ward, a senior, had 10 catches for 189 yards and tied a school record for most receiving touchdowns in a game. McDonald completed 30 of 52 passes for 421 yards with an interception for the Warriors (2-0), who won their second straight game over a Pac-12 opponent after a 45-38 win over Arizona on Aug. 24.

It's the first time that Hawai'i has beaten two Pac-12 teams in a season since 1994, when the Warriors got wins over Oregon and California. They will draw a third Pac-12 team next week at No. 14 Washington.

Hawai'i held the Beavers without a point in the second half and scored 17 unanswered points to take their first lead of the night with 2:17 left in the game. Ryan Meskell's 28-yard field goal made it 31-28 after he'd missed his three previous kicks, including two chances to go ahead earlier in the fourth quarter that resulted in misses of 27 and 48 yards.

Oregon State (0-2) had a chance to tie with Jordan Choukair's 52-yard field goal try with 1:15 to play, but missed wide. The Warriors kept the ball until four seconds remained in the game, and the Beavers didn't have enough time for another opportunity to score.

Oregon State took a 28-14 lead with 2:25 left in the first half on Artavis Pierce's 25-yard run, the second of two long touchdown runs in the first half for Pierce.

The Warriors answered with a well-executed two-minute drill, culminating in McDonald's 5-yard touchdown pass to Ward 12 seconds before halftime. It cut the Beavers' lead to 28-21.

Neither team was successful on special teams in the fourth quarter. Meskell missed two field goals and the Beavers tried a fake punt on fourth down late in the quarter and didn't convert.

The Beavers, who lost 52-36 to Oklahoma State at home in Week 1, took a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter on Jake Luton's pass to Isaiah Hodgins, a 13-yard play in which Hodgins dragged his toe inbounds and got the touchdown.

Hodgins had five catches for 82 yards in the first half, finishing with seven grabs for 96 yards. Jermar Jefferson had 94 of his 183 rushing yards in the first quarter for Oregon State.

The Warriors lost leading rusher Dayton Furuta to a lower leg injury in the second quarter.

--Field Level Media

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