Matthew Shipley does it again! The senior and Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award semifinalist, on senior night, drilled a 51-yard as time expired to give the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Rainbow Warrior football team a thrilling 27-24 victory over Colorado State on November 25 at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex. UH ends the 2023 season with a 5-8 record, while the Rams dropped to 5-7 on the year. Shipley also booted a game-winning field goal back in September to give the Rainbow Warriors a 20-17 victory over the New Mexico State Aggies.
MATT SHIPLEY YOU BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEING!!!
— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) November 25, 2023
After surrendering a stunning 70-yard touchdown and 2-point conversion with 54 seconds left, the Rainbow Warriors took five plays to drive to the Colorado State 34-yard line with eight seconds remaining in regulation. With the clock stopped momentarily for a first down and UH out of timeouts, the Warriors scrambled to rush the field-goal team onto the field as the seconds ticked away. Shipley, who earlier missed a field goal and had his previous attempt blocked, then hammered a line drive through the uprights to trigger a wild celebration that paused for an official review then picked up again when the call that the ball was snapped in time was upheld.
“What a game. That’s a good football team. I’ve been to a lot of battles with Coach (Jay) Norvell and his team,” UH Head Coach Timmy Chang said. “They’re going to be a good team. I know they wanted to win this game, and we wanted to come back home and send the seniors off right. What a battle of resiliency from both teams. That play that they made to tie the game with a 2-point conversion, and then with 50 seconds left on the clock and for us to go down and kick one. It was just a resilient effort by these guys, the energy that they bring, the energy that this crowd brings—pretty amazing.”
UH quarterback Brayden Schager closed his junior year by completing 30-of-43 passes for 320 yards and a touchdown. He ended the season with 3,542 yards and 26 touchdowns with a 63% completion rate.
Wide receiver Steven McBride caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown, his ninth of the season. He recorded the 24th 1,000-yard receiving season in program history, finishing the year with 1,024 yards on 63 receptions.
UH honored 16 seniors in the traditional postgame ceremony after winning its sixth straight senior night game and 11th of the last 12. The Rainbow Warriors are scheduled to open the 2024 season against the Oregon Ducks on August 24 at the Ching Complex.
For more, visit the UH Mānoa athletics website.
