Recap: Late touchdown costs Cal in Hawai'i Bowl loss

Cal jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Hawai’i could blink. Then momentum changed.

The Bears needed every point to hold off a push from the home Rainbow Warriors in Wednesday’s Hawai’i Bowl. In the end, the Cal defense couldn’t contain Hawai’i enough to earn a victory. The result was a 35-31 loss in a game the Bears led with 1:57 left.

The defining play came with 10 seconds on the clock when UH backup quarterback Luke Weaver hit receiver Nick Cenacle in the end zone on a 22-yard connection. Cal’s final play came up empty dropping the Bears to 7-6 on the year.

Pass plays of 12 and 13 yards on the drive allowed the Rainbow Warriors to move down the field. Weaver entered the game when starting quarterback Micah Alejado had to exit because his helmet came off the play prior.

The Bears trailed for the first time in the game with 7:19 to play, 28-24, but then turned the game over to their freshman quarterback. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele guided an impressive scoring drive in the fourth quarter in front of his family and friends at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

He found receiver Jacob De Jesus on a 30-yard pass play before eventually scoring on a 1-yard run to give the Bears a 31-28 lead with 1:57 to play.

Cal closed the game with 487 total yards including a career-high 343 yards passing for Sagapolutele. De Jesus had nine catches for 137 yards receiving and ended the year as the new single-season receptions leader at Cal. The Manteca native, who transferred in from UNLV last winter, caught 108 passes this season for the Bears.

Sagapolutele makes return to Hawai’i

Sagapolutele opened the game perfect in his return home to Hawai’i. The freshman was 5 of 5 on pass attempts during his first drive, which was capped with a 41-yard touchdown throw to De Jesus.

The drive would open up an impressive stretch on offense for the Bears resulting in a 21-point advantage by the 9:38 mark in the second quarter. Everything was working early for the Bears offensively as Sagapolutele guided the offense to touchdowns on the first three drives.

A 19-yard rushing score for running back Kendrick Raphael helped the Bears go up 14-0 with 14:55 to play in the second quarter. An 8-yard rush for freshman Anthony League pushed the Cal lead to 21-0.

Two of the first three drives were longer than 60 yards for the Bears. Sagapolutele completed 12 of his first 16 passes in the game.

The Ewa Beach native finished the game with 28 completions on 39 attempts in his return to Hawai’i. He extended his streak with at least 200 yards passing to 13 games in the loss.

Sagapolutele finished his freshman campaign with 3,460 yards passing, which is the sixth-most in Cal program history in a single season.

Rainbow Warriors’ second-half surge

The game ended up being far from easy despite the 21-0 lead. The early three-touchdown advantage made it feel like the Bears would run away with the win. However, Hawai’i did enough to keep Cal in check after the initial onslaught. Alejado, who battled through an ankle injury Wednesday, showcased his talent late in the second quarter and into the second half.

Hawai’i tied the game with 13:50 to play in the fourth quarter after Alejado found receiver Pofele Ashlock for a 3-yard touchdown. A 2-point conversion on a shovel pass from Alejado to Cam Barfield evened the game, 21-21.

It was part of a stretch in which the Rainbow Warriors scored on four consecutive drives. Hawai’i scored on its final six drives of the game and had touchdowns on the final three.

It outscored Cal 25-10 in the second half. The Bears allowed Hawai’i to convert 8 of its 16 attempts on third-down plays in addition to going a perfect 3 for 3 on fourth-down tries.

Postgame press conference video

Video courtesy of Cal Athletics