By Scott McDonald
Deputy Night Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A wide array of college football all-stars reignited an old all-star flame in Hawaii on Sunday night with the rekindling of the Hula Bowl. And it was the final college football game to exclamate a rather entertaining season.
Team Kai defeated Team Aina, 23-7, at Aloha Stadium in the Hula Bowl, which went on a 12-year hiatus before Sunday's game. The Hula Bowl in Honolulu had been a staple among college football all-star games for many decades—from 1947-2008—before the game got shelved.
With a rebirth of the bowl game, and a new title sponsor with Newsweek, college players got one last chance to play the game and perhaps one more shot to show off in front of professional scouts. These included the NFL, CFL, the upcoming XFL and, well, even World Wrestling Entertainment.
Read More
Hula Bowl Live Stream, TV Channel: Everything You Need to Know About the Game3 min read
Who Is the Best College Basketball Team? The Betting Lines, Combined With Polls, Help Sort Out This Strange Season5 min read
Patrick Mahomes Much More Popular Now Than His First Real Super Bowl Party4 min read
Heck, Dwayne Johnson was a college football player before he became wrestling's "The Rock" and eventual blockbuster actor.
The Hula Bowl game got out to a somewhat slow start, with Team Kai taking a 3-0 lead when Louisiana Tech's Bailey Hale drilled a field goal to give his blue squad a 3-0 lead.
Cameron Mayberry of the Colorado School of Mines scored on a touchdown run to give Kai a 10-0 lead. Another Hale field goal gave the blue a 13-0 lead.
Michael Dean of Idaho State University caught a touchdown pass to chip away at the lead for Aina, slicing the lead to 13-7.
Dean's story might have been the most interesting of all players in the rebooted Hula Bowl. The California kid is only 5-foot, 6 inches tall, and he was a late addition to the Hula Bowl. While traveling to Hawaii, his luggage got lost and he had to practice without a helmet while getting ready for the game.
But after Dean's touchdown catch for Team Aina's only score of the game, it was all Team Kai from there on out.
Hale tacked on another field goal and the Kai defense had an interception return to make it 23-7.
The Kai defense had seven sacks in the game, including one with 1:30 remaining in the game to ice the victory.
Not surprisingly, the MVP of each team came from defense. Ironically, both were defensive ends. Niko Lalos of Dartmouth was the MVP of the red Aina squad while Reggie Walker of Kansas State was the MVP of the blue Kai team.
Rosters included players across all divisions of NCAA football, from promising Division III schools to the D-I national champion LSU Tigers, which had three players in Sunday's game.
...
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines