On this date in 1979, Junior Blane Gaison made his first start at quarterback since his freshman year and produced a victory. Gaison, a standout free safety, helped the fired-up ‘Bows beat the Sun Devils 29-17 in front of an electric crowd of 42,040 at Aloha Stadium. The victory gave Hawaii a win in its last game of a season for just the second time in 22 seasons. Quarterback Mark Malone and his Arizona State helpers went through the motions […]

Pete Noga used his head to get to the kicker and then used it again to block the kick. On this date in 1985, Noga blocked a 36-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give Hawaii a 10-10 tie with San Diego State in front of a small crowd of 23,664 at Aloha Stadium. Noga told teammate Mike Beazley before the play that if someone could clear the Aztecs’ tight end, he was sure he could […]

Raphel Cherry broke the records, but Rich Miano broke Pacific’s spirit. On this date in 1983, Hawaii defensive back Rich Miano made three big plays in the fourth quarter to lead the Rainbows to a 31-21 win over Pacific in front of 38,290 at Aloha Stadium. Miano intercepted one pass in the end zone, tipped a pass to teammate Vernon Gearring for another pick and swatted away a pass in the end zone. All of those occured in the fourth […]

On this date in 1978, Hawaii overcame a 19-0 halftime deficit to beat visiting Wyoming in front of 40,182 fans at Aloha Stadium. The Rainbow Warriors expected to have a huge home field advantage, with the second-largest crowd of the season for the Shrine Game and the luxury of sleeping in their own beds. Wyoming didn’t arrive in Honolulu until 1 p.m. for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff and had its return flight already booked for after the game. The jet […]

On this date in 1990, Garrett Gabriel threw three touchdown passes in the driving rain and Hawaii beat Wyoming 38-17 in front of a small crowd of 19,122. Gabriel’s three touchdown passes raised his season total to 21 and broke the school record of 19 set by Larry Arnold in 1968. Gabriel extended the record to 25 by the end of his senior season, but it wouldn’t even be top 10 on the school’s list now. By the time he […]

The Hawaii football team began the 1955 season with its biggest upset ever, a 6-0 victory at Nebraska in Lincoln, but a later victory might have been more important for some of the players. On this date in 1955, the Rainbows rallied for a 26-12 victory over the Hawaiian Rams in front of a crowd of about 5,500 at Honolulu Stadium. What made it special for Hawaii was the fact that the school beat the Rams for the first time […]

Down 13-7 and trotting onto the field for what seemed like the 100th time, the Noga boys had enough. Defensive tackle Al Noga and outside linebacker Petelo Noga combined to drop Bulldogs quarterback Kevin Sweeney five times and Hawaii beat Fresno State 24-13 in front of an Aloha Stadium crowd of 35,546. Al Noga had three sacks in the game, set Hawaii’s career sack record with his 17th to pass Alvis Satele. He had nine tackles in the game to […]

On this date in 1970, Hawaii needed every yard to beat tiny Linfield College in front of 17,181 fans at Honolulu Stadium. Running back Larry Sherrer provided just enough. Sherrer toted the load 33 carries for 172 yards, the most important being the last 10 to give the ‘Bows the lead for the first time with less than five minutes left. Quarterback Mike Biscotti started UH’s fourth quarter comeback with a five-yard passing TD to Dave Patterson. That pulled Hawaii […]