Photo credit: @BroncoSportsFB

By Ana Kieu

This year’s Mountain West Football Championship Game was a battle between the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and the Boise State Broncos at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday. For Hawaii, this was their first appearance in the title game, and for Boise State, this was their third consecutive and fourth overall appearance in the title game.

BSU won the toss and elected to receive. The UH defense had a strong start forcing a 3 and out, while its offense took the field with the Rainbow Warriors junior quarterback Cole McDonald behind center.

UH got on the board first, thanks to a 47-yard field goal from Ryan Meskell. The score was 3-0 Rainbow Warriors with 6:44 left in the first quarter.

BSU responded with a 34-yard field goal from Eric Sachse. The Broncos evened the score 3-3 with 30 seconds left in the first. The game was tied 3-3 at the end of the first.

Broncos redshirt senior quarterback Jaylon Henderson threw a 36-yard pass to Khalil Shakir, who ran for the go-ahead touchdown. Eric Sachse kicked the extra point. The Broncos took a 10-3 lead with 1:07 left in the second quarter.

Jaylon Henderson then threw a 36-yard pass to John Hightower, who ran for the touchdown. Eric Sachse kicked the extra point. The Broncos made it a 17-3 game with 14 seconds left in the second. The Broncos carried a 17-3 lead to the locker room at halftime.

BSU put the game out of reach. Khalil Shakir ran for a 4-yard touchdown and Eric Sachse kicked the extra point for a commanding 24-3 lead with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

BSU added to its lead. Jaylon Henderson ran for a 5-yard touchdown and Eric Sachse kicked the extra point to make it 31-3 with just 18 seconds left in the third. The Broncos led 31-3 after three.

UH refused to let the game slip away, but it was too little, too late. Just moments after the rain started pouring in Boise, Idaho, Miles Reed ran for a 21-yard touchdown and Ryan Meskell kicked in the extra point to cut the deficit 31-10 at the 12-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

Ryan Meskell attempted a 21-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, but it was no good. The score stood at 31-10 in favor of the Broncos. The final play of the game was declared a false start, but it didn’t matter to the Broncos, who became conference championships with a 31-10 win over the Rainbow Warriors.

With the win, BSU improved to 12-1, 9-0 MW. The Broncos are still in the running for a New Years 6 Bowl bid.

With the loss, UH fell to 9-5, 5-4 MW. The Rainbow Warriors are awaiting their bowl game destination.