Football

On this date in 1947, Hawaii obliterated a town team and it prepared it for a big meal at the end of the season. The Roaring Rainbows outclassed the Olympics of the Senior League 40-15. Hawaii rushed for 303 yards despite coach Tommy Kaulukukui employing a healthy dose of second and third stringers. Thirty-Seven Rainbows got playing time in the rout. Hawaii won despite fumbling 10 times, losing half of them, and struggling with their passing game with four completions […]

Daunte Culpepper and Central Florida were no match for a Hawaii team racked with emotion. On this date in 1995, the Rainbows rallied around teammate Daniel Ho-Ching‘s lymphoma diagnosis and blew out the Knights 45-14 in front of 24,383 fans at Aloha Stadium. Ho-Ching, who was 18 years old, got the bad news earlier in the week and wrote a letter to his teammates the Tuesday before the contest and gave an impassioned speech before the game. “He told us […]

The Hawaii football program won a recruiting war that bore fruit on this date in 1984. Keith “Junior” Lopati ran for 66 yards on 13 carries and caught four passes for 92 yards and Hawaii beat Utah 20-17 before a crowd of 40,000 at Aloha Stadium on this date in 1984. All of Lopati’s yards were crucial in the contest, catching a 58-yard touchdown pass from Raphel Cherry in the third quarter to give UH at 13-10 lead. After the […]

On this date in 1975, the Hawaii football program got its first win at the expense of a former UH quarterback and future head coach. Norris Birdsong (132 yards) and Arnold Morgado (94) controlled the ground game and Larry Price’s Rainbows turned back Portland State 24-7 before a wet Aloha Stadium crowd of 20,157. Price worried all week how he would contain Portland quarterback June Jones, who led the team to a 5-1 record and 43 points per game. Price […]

Hawaii coach Luke Gill promised a wide open style of play on this date in 1940, and his team delivered. The Rainbows fell to the Hawaiian Polar Bears 35-28 in front of a huge crowd of 15,000 at Honolulu Stadium, but Gill’s offense had Star-Bulletin Sports Editor Don Watson gushing. Watson made note of the many errors by Gill’s crew and was quick to point out that it cost them the game but was smitten by the unheard of 183 […]

On this date in 1981, Lee Larsen kicked five field goals and Hawaii beat New Mexico 23-13. Larsen’s kicks were from 40, 38, 40, 34 and 32 yards. Larsen, who prepped at Campbell and transferred from San Diego State before redshirting, tied Reinhold Stuprich‘s UH record set in 1974. The output helped Hawaii to its eighth consecutive victory. Larsen actually missed his first kick of the game, a 50-yarder that he said he should have converted. An extra point also […]

On this date in 1983, Dick Tomey broke the biggest slump of his career by siccing Niko Noga on Randall Cunningham in a battle of future NFL players. Noga started at nose tackle after playing previously as a linebacker, and Hawaii beat UNLV 23-0 at the Silver Bowl. Noga was named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts, which included six tackles, two assists and two fumble recoveries. Rich Miano forced one of those fumbles with a […]