The UNLV Rebels beat the Hawaii Warriors 44-20 to win the Golden Pineapple trophy on Saturday afternoon. It was the third straight game the Rebels have scored 40 or more points.
The Golden 🍍 Trophy belongs to @unlvfootball #UNLVFB pic.twitter.com/bqz9apUr6u
— Tony Cordasco (@TonyDasco) September 30, 2023
“This game was not only important to our team and to our university but also to Las Vegas,” Rebels head coach Barry Odom said. With conference play starting, the ability to continue the momentum we have built so far in our program and the importance of every single conference game are huge for where we are trying to get to. This is the first time we have scored 40 points in three straight games; that’s tremendous. We had a great offensive performance. We had six sacks and didn’t give up any on the other side. That’s complimentary football. When we can do that and play well in all three phases together, we’ve got an opportunity to continue to play winning ball … I’m proud of this team for what we’ve done now through five weeks.”
The Rebels were led by an outstanding rushing attack that netted 307 yards. Six different Rebel runners finished with more than 30 yards on the ground, led by Donavyn Lester’s best day with UNLV (98 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries). Courtney Reese added two rushing touchdowns on 32 yards.
“We just enjoy being around the team, the players on a team, running back Donavyn Lester said. “We just try to build each other up every day. We have many selfless guys who don’t care who gets the ball.”
UNLV’s defense played well; they held the Warriors to 46 yards rushing and had six sacks on the day. Safety Johnathan Baldwin finished with nine tackles, including two for a loss and a sack.
Pineapple Express: Running Rebels Roll To Trophy Win, Improve To 4-1 🍍🏆
📰https://t.co/w8Awnd0L4O pic.twitter.com/tXNzFKhELV— UNLV Football (@unlvfootball) October 1, 2023
Quarterback Jayden Maiava completed only 11 passes, but two were touchdowns, including a 16-yarder to running back Vincent Davis Jr. to open the scoring as the Rebels built a 20-3 halftime lead and never looked back.
The Rebels played aggressive man-to-man defense and gave up some long passes; once they clean that up, their defense would be even better. Rebels defensive coordinator Mike Scherer brought in a new scheme that works for the Rebels.
“The Scheme he brought in allows us to play fast run and make many plays. His motto is run and hit,” Rebels safety Johnathan Baldwin said.
