MĀNOA — Cam Barfield knows a thing or two about breaking a drought. Once the University of Hawai‘i's redshirt junior running back got going on Saturday evening, so did the rest of the UH offense in a 23-3 win over Portland State on Saturday night at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.
Barfield, who entered Saturday without any collegiate touchdowns, served as the offensive catalyst in Hawai‘i's victory over a Portland State team it was heavily favored against with two receiving touchdowns in the second quarter. With the win, Hawai‘i improved to 3-1, its best start as a program since 2019.
As a high schooler at national powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, Barfield ran for 11 touchdowns as a sophomore and began his senior year with a five-touchdown performance against visiting Saint Louis in the fall of 2021. He then spent his first two seasons of collegiate ball at Boston College before transferring to UH.
Barfield's breakout was a welcome one for the Rainbow Warriors. He had entered Saturday with 50 rushes and 10 receptions in a UH uniform over the past two seasons, none finding the end zone.
"It was really good," Hawai‘i head coach Timmy Chang said of Barfield's performance. "Not only once, but he found (the end zone) twice. We gave the game ball to Cam. Cam is a really good player. We're gonna keep feeding him the ball. Whether they're in runs, whether it's in the pass game, Cam is special. He's a dynamic player that we have to find a way to get the ball."
For the second straight game, Luke Weaver got the start at quarterback in lieu of an injured Micah Alejado. After a scoreless first quarter, the Rainbow Warriors got on the board with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Weaver to Barfield with 13:09 left in the second quarter.
Barfield promptly put UH back on the board with a 31-yard touchdown reception on a screen pass, giving the 'Bows a 14-0 lead with 9:39 left in the first half. In total, he had four receptions for 50 yards to go with his four rushing attempts for nine yards. Meanwhile, Weaver completed 26 of his 42 pass attempts for 240 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, carrying the ball 12 times for 30 yards.
Perhaps it had been too long since Barfield reached the end zone, so much so that he forgot how to act once he scored. After his first touchdown, he accidentally headbutted a sidelined Alejado with his helmet on. After his second, he drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that set the Rainbow Warriors back 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff.
"First in line always gets the headbutt," Barfield joked in the postgame press conference.
"I think (with) God, it takes time. The last touchdown I scored was high school. It took a while. But I think this one, it was a good one. I can't thank God enough."
A defensive stand on fourth-and-goal kept Portland State scoreless in the first half, the first of two fourth down stops the UH defense had in its own territory in the first half.
Former Hawai‘i quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele got the start for Portland State. He began the first quarter an efficient 9-for-13 with 71 yards, one of his lone blemishes an interception thrown to Elijah Palmer. In addition to his pick, Palmer finished with a game-high seven tackles, including two for loss.
Portland State didn't get on the board until a 25-yard field goal from Mathias Uribe with 3:45 left in the third quarter.
Meanwhile for Hawai‘i, Kansei Matsuzawa stayed perfect on the year with a career-long 44-yard field goal in the third quarter. He then one-upped that with a new career-high in the fourth quarter, a 47-yard field goal that put the 'Bows up 20-3 in the fourth. For good measure, Matsuzawa was summoned upon again late, nailing a 35-yarder with 58 seconds left. In all, he exited Saturday 11-for-11 on field goals for the 2025 season while going 8-for-8 on his extra point tries.
"Kansei continues to be consistent," Chang said. "His mindset continues to be in the moment, and he forgets about everything that he's done and he just stays in the moment and tries to keep one at a time. He stays right there. He's in a good place, and we're fortunate and lucky to have him."
Next up for Hawai‘i is the start of conference play against Fresno State on Sept. 20. The game will kick off at 6 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.
"It's gonna be a great game," Chang said of the upcoming Fresno State matchup. "The fans, we want them to be loud, we want them to support us, and we're going to need them. We're going to need them in our corner for the next 60 minutes against a really good 3-1 team. And we might not be able to play Fresno for a while now, so it'll be fun."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
