Ten Seconds, One Throw and a Christmas Miracle in Manoa
HONOLULU, Dec. 26 – The nightmare scenario for any football team is simple: the game is on the line, the clock is dying, and your starting quarterback is writhing on the turf. For the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors on Christmas Eve, this nightmare became reality. With the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl hanging in the balance and the clock ticking down to ten seconds, standout quarterback Micah Alejado was helped off the field after a punishing hit.
Enter Luke Weaver. Cold off the bench. zero warm-up throws. One play to define a season.
Coach Timmy Chang could have played for overtime. Instead, he signaled for the end zone. Weaver stepped into the pocket and launched a high-arcing prayer toward the goal line. Nick Cenacle, splitting two defenders, leaped into the humidity of the Honolulu night and came down with the ball—and the victory. The 22-yard strike capped a frantic 35-31 comeback over Cal, turning a potential tragedy into instant folklore.
Before the fireworks of the final seconds, the evening threatened to be a washout. The Rainbow Warriors looked listless early on, staring up from a daunting 21-0 deficit in the second quarter. The energy in the stadium was flat, the humidity heavy. But Alejado, before his exit, refused to let the season end in a blowout.
The starter orchestrated a methodical dismantling of the Cal defense in the second half, throwing for 274 yards and three touchdowns. His primary target, Pofele Ashlock, was a revelation, hauling in 14 catches for 123 yards. Together, they sparked a 22-point fourth-quarter explosion that turned a lopsided affair into a heavyweight brawl.
When Cal’s freshman sensation Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele punched in a go-ahead score with just under two minutes left, it seemed the “Golden Bears” had survived the scare. But Hawai’i’s final drive—marked by grit and ended by Weaver’s heroics—proved that momentum is a dangerous thing to bet against.
The sidelines told a story as compelling as the field. For Timmy Chang, this victory was a exorcism of sorts. The fourth-year coach, a legend in these parts for his own quarterbacking days, secured the program’s first nine-win season since 2019. The irony? That 2019 season was led by Nick Rolovich—the very man pacing the opposite sideline as Cal’s interim coach.
“It’s a program that is built out of faith, and these guys deserve it, man,” Chang said, visibly emotional after the win.
For Rolovich, the loss marks the end of a turbulent interim stint. Despite the defeat, he was gracious in passing the torch back to his former program’s current leader. “Timmy deserves a lot of credit,” Rolovich noted, acknowledging the fight in a team that scored on its final six drives.
“These boys just keep continuing to fight through adversity, and I love them for that. They learn the hard way, but they learn how to do it and that’s what’s important.” – Timmy Chang, Hawai’i Head Coach
Chang’s focus on “learning the hard way” references the 21-0 hole they dug themselves. It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was a perfect example of the culture Chang has instilled: resilience over perfection.
Hawai’i exits the 2025 season with nine wins and a narrative that will aid recruiting for years. They proved they could beat a Power Conference team, overcome a massive deficit, and win with a backup arm when it mattered most.
For Cal, the Justin Wilcox era is officially over, and the Tosh Lupoi era begins with questions to answer, though the commitment of quarterback Sagapolutele offers a bright spot. But this Christmas belongs to Luke Weaver, the backup who needed only one throw to write his name into island history.
