Warrior Beat: A statement-making win
The Warriors had just put away Navy, 59-41 and the doom-and-gloomers were doing their dooming and glooming. “They started 2-0 last year, too,” they gloomed.
Well, last year was different because the Warriors’ first two 2018 opponents (Colorado State and Navy) are way better than last year’s opening twosome (UMass and Western Carolina). And next week’s game is at home against Rice. Last year’s third game was at a little place called the Rose Bowl against UCLA (and its NFL first-round QB Josh Rosen).
This year’s Warriors — after two games — are better than the 2017 version. Consider:
> Better discipline: In the first two 2017 games, the Warriors committed 20 penalties. This year, UH was assessed 10 penalties in the opener but only one last night. And this was with Navy’s Malcolm Perry trying to coax a UH twitch with his irregular cadence.
> Passing interest: On Saturday mornings, former UH QB Bryant Moniz held tutorials in the spring. The sessions were free and open to everyone but … c’mon, it was the offseason and very early. Cole McDonald showed up. McDonald always showed up — for player-run practices, for McDonald-run practices, for anyone interested in just playing catch. That mattered to newcomers, such as slotback Cedric Byrd. Bonds are developed in the offseason. McDonald and Byrd are now housemates.
> By the numbers: It is way, way, way too early to make comparisons. So, let’s make a comparison: In 2006, Colt Brennan had one of the best statistical seasons in NCAA history. His pass efficiency rating was 182.8. McDonald’s efficiency rating is 200.98. McDonald has not thrown a pick in a UH uniform.
> Speed & Quickness: In an extraordinary act of generosity, the 2007 All-WAC included a “best receiving unit” honor. It went to the Warriors’ quartet of slotbacks Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins and wideouts Jason Rivers and C.J. Hawthorne. They were very deserving, of course, and they did well. But as unit, the 2018 receivers are faster than the 2007 group. Bess was a superior talent who had a nice little run in the NFL. But Bess was not a blazer. John Ursua, JoJo Ward and Byrd are blazers. The trio would make a terrific 6-foot-and-under relay team, but they also are fearless. They have taken some hits, and still managed to hold onto the football.
> Unbreakable D: Eyebrows are arched when discussing the quality of a team that is relinquishing 37.5 points per game. But there’s an old theory — OK, it’s June Jones‘ theory — that it’s a plus when a defense can stop an option team four times in a game. Navy had 11 possessions last night; they had to forfeit the ball through downs or punts five times. DC Corey Batoon has proven to be resourceful and innovative. Last week, UH opened in a 4-2-5 and got a strong play from unheralded D-end Kaimana Padello. Last night, the Warriors went with something that could be described as a 5-5-1. This time, defensive end Manly “Pumba” Williams started, providing an at-the-point attack. It was his first start. Williams finished with six tackles, including two sacks.
> Well coached: Mark Weber has done an outstanding job with an offensive line that starts two true freshmen. Michael Ghobrial has been wonderful with the special teams. Ghobrial helped develop Ryan Meskell into a dependable kicker. He taught — and taught — the new rules, such as it’s OK to fair catch a kickoff. And he got a blocked punt when defensive end Jeffrey Keene soared for the rejection.
> Respect: After the game, Nick Rolovich ordered his players to join the Midshipmen in the playing of their alma mater. Classy move.
a Win is a Win!
11 mo to go as Cole put it.
Bring on Rice…
It’s a beautiful Sunday!
I got to watch the game again.
Great win, Go Warriors!
Once Coach Rolovich figures out the production issues with the opposite wideout the offense will be unstoppable. That guy going to be overlooked everytime. So unbelievably good now. Terrific.
The naysayers pessimists and cynics need some Kool Aid. Numbers do not lie. All the knocks and crap about this team these coaches and the new systems employed are now negated. Join the fun get to the stadium and support this program, you will feel better all week!!!! GoWarriors!!!!
Since Hawaii had no personal fouls in their opening game against Colorado State, when Tavai hit the Midshipmen player late, the referee gave him the benefit of the doubt.
The yellow flag for unsportsmanlike conduct would have been an automatic in other years.
Congratulations to Nick Rolovich, his coaching staff, the players, the season ticket holders, the people on the blog, and even the blog’s troll.
If Hawaii stays undefeated, at some point in the season, I’ll have to root for Central Florida to lose.
Hawaii just trounced my default team, my favorite 2010 head coach candidate, and offensive system.
I look at the 77 points the Buckeyes put on Oregon State and shake my head.
Hawaii is winning with integrity.
Great Morning All!
It’s so nice to be back to a place where 3rd and 8 doesn’t seem like such a dead end anymore! (or for that matter, neither does 4th and 6! heheheh)
😎
Pomai,
56 – 14 Akamai Okole
(I know you enjoying da ride, bruddah)
Lost in all the offense is the masterful job Coach Batoon etc all is doing with personnel on defense. I figure he uses about 20 different players or more all based on situation and ability to contribute. That is a great way to keep full throttle engagement. Congrats to the defensive staff for game plan and engagement. Anybody finding fault with stats is not looking big picture. Regarding Tavai hit-clearly the officials were not sure if the player was down or rolled over a body without making contact with the ground. Watch the replay and it clearly bears out that the whistle had not blown when Tavai made contact. Thank goodness for some seasoned officials who went to his aid for no foul! If you are local and can get to games Hopefully you see what I see……this has all the makings of a magical comeback season. This team is so young it will get nothing but better. In my opinion Navy and Colorado State are as good if not better than over half of the teams we have yet to play! I envy those that can go to the stadium-GoWarriors!!!!!
Disciplined. Confidence. Respectful. Efficient. Those are traits that the service academy teams are known for, but we saw these qualities in both teams last night despite different offensive philosophies. It’s great to see a UH team be so explosive and confident they can convert on 3rd and 5 or 4th and 1, or they can get the yards back after a dropped pass or stuffed run.
But the chicken skin moment came after the game when the warriors lined up in straight lines, locked arms and sang the UH alma mater, then went over by the Navy players to watch respectfully as they sang their alma mater. Winning is good, but winning with CLASS is the mark of a great team.
The entire state is proud of the Hawaii Little League team not only for winning the world championship but for winning while living the Aloha spirit.
This year’s UH football team has the same qualities and showing the state the meaning of “Live Aloha. Play Warrior.”
Overall, an impressive win and performance. What’s a tad curious and interesting, is that at this stage of the season, is that our O is clearly ahead of our D—which is usually the opposite.
I still attribute much of this, not just to execution, but the lack of film on the offense, Cole, Holly and several of our receivers. It’s hard to replicate speed—damn near impossible—and well, obviously the R n S, is giving, even really competent disciplined coaching staffs, sheer fits.
I’m looking to next week a lot!
The receivers coach, Andre Allen, must be good.
Attendance was 27,284, but it seemed like it took more than a quarter for the stands to fill up to that. With this team and offense, that means missing 20+ points. For me, the first quarters have been the most exciting and enjoyable. Great offensive and defensive plays, lots of Hawaii scores, and no worries about last minute comebacks by the opponents. I hope folks show up early for the Rice game. It would be great to have the stands more full at the kickoff.
Chicken skin…this is shaping up to be a special season.
Bring on the Owls ! Go Warriors !!
Attendance, which must be tickets issued, was 29,702. Turnstile 27,284.
One Navy scoring drive was only 9 yds due to a UH fumble
#11 … To me, huge leads that UH built in both games seem to come from both the offense and defense performing very well during the first several minutes of play. Looking at the scoring summaries on the UH Athletics site, for the CSU game, the score was 37-7 with 3:35 left in the 3rd quarter. And for the Navy game, the score was 35-7 with 4:17 left in the 2nd quarter. It looks to me that the offense and defense are both clicking at the beginning of the games. In the CSU game, CSU then scored 3 times in under 3 minutes of possession, but the UH offense was silent for CSU’s 20 points. In the Navy game, the turn around wasn’t as rapid, with the defense delaying CSU scoring and the offense doing some scoring.
Tsai’s pretty much covered it.
McDonald is very special. Such a genuine, humble and appreciative guy when I’ve encountered him.
This team has it all. The bar has been set. It’s going to be fun watching the rest of the season!
GO WARRIORS!!!
Defense playing pretty good. Consider this that in the 2 games their were a turnover in the 2nd half that they had to come back out for. If those 2 turnovers are tds then i dint think those scores be as close as they were.
any one know the severity of Armstrong’s hand injury?
I don’t know what happened, but his left hand went to grasp the right as the ball sailed by — other wise he would have caught the ball — from my view from the north end zone, I could not detect any contact with the defender
great game! still perplexed about the seemingly drop in overall intensity by both offense and defense beyond the half — a UH coach mentioned retaining the intensity to beat Navy on Friday — yes, I know that UH scored mucho points in the 2nd half, but for brief moments the OLine seemed confused and allowed the NG and LDE near clear path to McDonald
before the first game, I briefly thought of a 6 – 0 start in 2018, but was most apprehensive about Navy — now that’s put away, the 6 – 0 is a strong reality and even 7 or 8 – 0!
would not mind going to a 1/1/2019 game — which means reducing my spending habits to come up with big “bucks” — Orange or Fiesta would be nice.
Speechless. Glad I was wrong about my skepticism going into this season.
Warriors will win ar least, what, 3 of the next 4 games, guaranteed?
So what, EPSN? How the heck did Hawaii get to 2-0 if the college football season starts last week?! 🤔
WARRIORS*
___________________
* Time to get rid of the 🌈 already. UH is NOT just Mānoa.
Cole has the perfect mentality to be a great leader. Love the game, love to compete, love the team, and works damn hard. If anyone deserves to start and play well, it’s Cole.
I’m hope Chevan doesn’t get discouraged. He will get his shot to be the man in the future. This is a position(qb in a RnS offense) worth waiting for. Not too many teams run this offense and fun to watch like this team.
Chevan just need to continue to battle. Work with those on the second team(who will likely be his primary receivers when he take the helm) and work on the chemistry. When the times come for Chevan, Jonah Panoke, James Green, Nick Mardner, Eric Rooks, Kahale Huddleston to play, their connections and chemistry will be there and will not miss a beat.
Kudos to CBS Sports Network, too, for (at the end of the game) showing the entire Hawaii alma mater with our guys standing nicely and somewhat more organized than in years past and, yes, showing a wide shot of the Warriors Walking over to join Navy with their alma mater.
I also stood up in my living room while all that went on too! Hope you all did also.
Special thanks to the small group of volunteers that helped support the tailgate for the Naval Academy Alumni Assn. It was hard and rewarding work to prepare food. A month ago, the estimated attendees were about 100. Then it went to 200. Then 300. I was floored when told that about 650 people were there and having a fabulous time. More than a few of them were wondering why these people sporting UH wear and gear were in their midst! And roaring out “Go Warriors” every time they shouted, “Go Navy”. Not to mention how they were drinking the free Navy wine and beer (hahaha).
All kidding aside, it was gratifying to walk around and engage some of the visitors. Just welcoming them and making sure they were having a good time (they all were). I only met a couple of rarities with a side order of arrogance. To those, I just smiled and encouraged them to enjoy the local hospitality, and asked them to not get too upset when the Warriors beat their team. Little did I know what was going to happen!
Out of the hundreds of things I like about the staff and players, I truly and deeply appreciated their respect and class when they delayed their well-deserved celebration and stood with Navy for the Academy’s alma mater.
Rolo’s play calling and the team’s execution has brought anticipation and excitement back to Aloha Stadium. Together, let us support and enjoy it! History has taught us what a rare thing it is.
Imua
Great win for the team. Congratulations! The defense should pretty much know what to expect from Rice and Army’s triple option in the next two games. Go get ‘um. I honestly haven’t had this much confidence in the offense since Colt’s days. You just knew Colt, like Cole, was somehow going to find a way to come through. It’s like magic. Keep it up, boys! Didn’t see Pritchard’s name in the official box score on UH site. What’s up with that? He’s still listed on the official roster. Oh well……….
Hope ESPN updates its stats properly because according to them we don’t exists in their stats for the NCAA week.
I was one of those doubters going into this season. Glad I was wrong. I will never soubt the run and shoot again. Hope we can maintain the personnel on the coaching and playing side to keep this going on!!!!
ESPN had their early morning (at least here) predictions on the day’s games. LO AND BEHOLD, they mentioned the Hawaii game (probably becuase Navy was the opponent).
“Another/2nd head won’t help you” Corso and Herb”rah-rah-Ohio-State-but-I-won’t-mention-Urban-shhhhhhhh-don’t-talk-about-Urban!”streit chose, you guessed it, the Midshipmen.
There was another predicter. Forget who it was but he chose Navy too.
The only guy who chose Hawaii (albeit citing having surfed there when he was in concert here not too long ago)? Show guest Luke Bryan.
Country music celebrity more of an expert than the so-called experts (six figures, are they getting). Go buy his music.
Just beautiful to watch how these Rainbow Warriors play
It makes hard for Vegas line to make the point spread.
Warriors all the way till the end of the season.
Has it been 10 years since staying up late in So Cal to watch the ‘Bows was what you did on Saturday night for real entertainment? Feels like old times again and I will be on Island to join the Tsaikos in November. and the QB is from the OC! Thanks for the fun!
Amen, BG
Tailgating with 600+ Navy fans was a trip for the Tsaikos!!
One Navy fan said that I was brave to be there in my UH black and green, but I just smiled, playing the role of good host that the Tsaikos were to the crowd.
Kudos to the crew of hard working Tsaikos on the grill.
Especially moving was the moment of silence for Pomai.
From Bleacher Report, hope the link works..
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2793495-winners-and-losers-from-week-1-of-college-football?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial#slide0
A-House: If I were Armstrong-Brown, I would blame my equipment too (fingers), for missing a certain catch. Word is, he went to the sidelines and the training staff tried and couldn’t remove the butter. But for the drops, Cole may have had a 100% completion ration in the 1st half.
All kidding aside, from where I was sitting, it looked like one of his fingers was pointed in the wrong direction.
Is there a replay of the game today on tv. Looked all over and can’t find one.
Wahine soccer team knocks out Pacific 5-0 today. They have many good freshmen.
Navy game photos are up:
https://www.nakoa.org/portfolio/navy-game-photos/
@#13 oneseason September 2, 2018 8:23 am,
There would have been more and they would have come in at the start if the game has started later. 5pm is too early a start for many.
You really got to give it Niumatalolo and Navy Football. Down 28-0, mismatched against the speed of Hawaii’s receivers, and unable to perform with their base package offensively, they did not panic. They re-focused. They also came prepared with an alternative (without having to throw to comeback) play calling package. All while sticking to their game plan. Way easier for Colorado St. to comeback but for Navy it seemed impossible. But the did it for a while. So poised, amazing. They were eventually overcome by Hawaii’s speedy receivers, not so much by the scheme. Just athletically. That’s something for UH needs to discover for themselves. To re-focus and stay composed, while way ahead (or behind when it occurs) and finish off opponents while sticking to the game plan. They can do it. And I’m glad they joined Navy after the game. We are family after all. So good now. New sets of challenges and expectations every week from now on. Don’t panic. Stay composed and just play. Follow (“Trust”) the process. Step by step….. Terrific.
How can I watch this week’s game I don’t have cable subscription only internet stadium app. ?
There was some fixable stuff like dropped passes, fumble and errand passes that could have been interceptions. It did rain during the game and that might have contributed to the dropped passes and errand passes.
The Hawaii players need to stay hungry and not get over confident. The National media and other teams are taking notice after this big win over a really good Navy team.
Rolo has taking over calling the plays on offense and made a great decision to bring back the Hawaii Warrior RnS. Rolo, Brian Smith, Craig Stutzman played and coached the RnS. It’s fair to say they are experts in the RnS and adding the RPO element just like the 2010-2011 Hawaii Warrior offense is smart. And Rolo, Smith and Stutz know the type of recruits that will excel in the RnS.
Having experts like Bryant Moniz and Mouse Davis drop by and to consult is very beneficial. Kudos to Moniz for offering a open to the public instruction on the 2010-2011 RnS offense… Moniz is a true Hawaii Warrior! Kudos to the ones that took advantage of Moniz’s instruction.
The whole team played great and played with swag, fun and joy. It’s been so long since Hawaii has had a block kick for a TD (Kick-six).
Seeing the Hawaii in all black uniforms with that helmet gave me chicken skin and tearing with pride!!! They looked good, felt good and played good… Hawaii swag has returned! Thank you Rolo!
Live Aloha/Play Warrior
Go Warriors!
So, equipment issues twice sent Ursua to the sidelines. No wonder he was often seen trying to pull his pants down below his knee pads. Hope the issue is resolved by the next game; it shouldn’t be a season-long problem.
The offense continues to be dynamic and the defense steps up when it has to. Going forward, still a concern about a few (key) players who have not seen action in the first two games: a linebacker, a receiver and a defensive lineman. Hope they’re still on the team as they would surely provide valuable depth.
I was at the game standing or sitting at the Orange section of the South End-zone section. It was a great game. Someone gave me the tickets for free. Those seats are very expensive. That is a great view of the field I was on. I noticed that the quarterback was smallest guy out there. While Cole McDonald was a big guy. Automatic I thought Hawai’i will win the game. 27,284 attended the game. Fairly big crowd. Weather was hot or humid.
I know its early. But our Warriors are now favored by 17.5 against Rice.
Go Warriors!!!
Beat Rice!!!
No cable. You can watch future games at Mai tai’s on the 4th floor of Ala Moana shopping center, Macy’s side of the mall. You’ll have to eat something though.
Warrior Swag returns, just wondering if there was a match up issue or a reason we didn’t see Dayton Furata more in this game?
Hawai’i’s defenders were good college players. They weren’t crap players, like some times count some players as crap. And yet the player goes into the game.
If not by MORE points. I can’t think of a surer thing for next week—same time my promotion is scheduled to be formally announced haha! 🤗
Gonna overdo it on rice next week! 🍚 🦉
Pretty difficult to be critical in any way about how the ‘Bows played, but maybe Cole could learn to throw the ball away in a hopeless situation rather than taking a sack. Go Bows!
It was especially fun to watch special teams score a touchdown – Max Hendrie no less!
Great pic of our big Ozzy with the ball in today’s online SA.
GO WARRRIORS!!!
Congrats to all the UH players, coaches, and support staff!! Still things to improve upon and work on, but I like the fact that 2-0 is way better than 0-2 and calling for the coach to be fired. Scoring over 40 points in two games is def a positive trend. No shovel pass vs Navy, which they were expecting. Keep the opponents guessing.
I think many UH fans are kind of at a loss at what to do or how to react with the team being 2-0 against teams they were expected to lose to. Some even can’t find something to complain about because that’s what makes them happy.
Friend on the mainland did question why the UH band is dressed like the fishermen on the “Deadliest Catch”?
# 34 madeinhawaii … Yes, I forgot about the early start. I was thinking it was due to folks having to divert to alternative parking lots once the Halawa lots filled up.
Regarding throwing the ball away…..Its a difficult call for Cole to decide in the heat of the battle. Remember last week when he threw the ball away and people got on him for throwing it away and stopping the clock. Now, fans want him to throw it away.
As a QB, so much go through your mind and you cannot expect to make perfect decisions all the time. What if he threw it away and the ref called intentional ground? Fans going then grumble that he should have just held on to it and play another down.
Always always always easy for us arm chair QB to question decisions. Dude played great. Let him make some mistakes. No one in the history of football ever played a game with no mistake.
Good afternoon Tsaikos. Awesome win. Good times yesterday at the Navy Alumni Association tailgate.
Big mahalos to all the Tsaiko grill crew peeps for prepping, cooking, cutting, and serving over 300 lbs of meat for what I was told was 600+ people. You guys rock!!!
Navy guys were good sports as we had shouting matches everytime they yelled “Go Navy” we all responded “Go Warriors”…and they were solid guys. When we asked if we could do a small toast to Pomai, they allowed me to speak for a minute. The MC, a local boy, 85 Annapolis grad, takes the mic and tells all the Navy personnel and their families and guests to stand, raise their glasses, and have a minute of silence for our friend.
BTW. Next week’s tailgate is back to normal. As always, ALL TSAIKOS are welcome. If you haven’t been to one or if it’s been a while, come out. Always good fun, food, football, and friends. Details to follow.
Did my weekly dose of CFB. Probably some parts or all of several different games. Rice is a good sound hungry team, Army will be as good as Navy if not better UNLV, Nevada, Fresno, and Wyoming all good solid teams. Warriors have tons of work ahead of them.
Turnovers, penalties, missed assignments etc all part of the game will rear its ugly head as we battle through this schedule. SDSU and BYU also loom in the distance. The strides have been immense and the task at hand daunting-we are not the doormats predicted, but we will have our setbacks, as all good teams do. Stick with these guys thru ups and downs, gonnabe way more good than the other thing. Only one way to go-over the rainbow! GoWarriors
Jesse James – you and all the Tsuper Tsaiko Grill Team were awesome. Mahalo! You folks are the very embodiment of aloha!
Navy fans were really fun. It was cool to see and visit with them.
Great memories made!
I hope we get 30K+ in the stadium to see the boyz in action. The run n shoot is back baby.
JessieJames:
Thank you for your tribute to our friend Pomai.
Pomai always took the time to print out for me a season pass to the Wahine softball games!
God bless and keep him!
I hope the Warriors can win again. I was wondering why they couldn’t hire a paratrooper to land into Aloha Stadium 50 yard line. This would have been great to watch.
Cole took the sack in the 4th quarter rather than scrambling away from the line of scrimmage and fumbling as he did in the 3rd quarter. It took Colt several games to learn not to do that.
recalculate to having to score 48+ pts / game. 40+ not enough perhaps. Our ‘D’ needs some time to develop as well as more depth to give the guys a breather. UH just gotta outscore the other guys for now as its not rocket science.
Heading East on the freeway there was a long line of cars trying to get to the offramp to go down to the stadium at 445. Double Decker parking? I think also maybe over 30000 this week, 33,000 is my guess. Now the bettors are going to have a harder time to figure things out- I think itll be around 20
Traffic congestion and parking are interrelated at Aloha Stadium. That’s because there are only two entrances. The ones at Kahuapaani St and Salt Lake Blvd. Fans heading for the public parking area need to access at Kahuapaani St. More people are headed to the public parking area, so naturally there’s a bigger pileup and backlog along Kahuapaani and on to the H1/Moanalua Road off-ramp. Conversely, VIP access is less congested simply because they’re handling less vehicles. So, traffic congestion simply results from the Stadium Authority’s decision to continue to keep the two areas separate and to squeeze as many vehicles into the public parking area. This limitation also discourages fans from attending games at Aloha Stadium. So much easier to stay at home to watch the game with friends and family. The objective is not to maximize the number of fans attending games, but to increase the Stadium Authority’s revenue. They’ll take the money up front for VIP parking. The fallout is PPV revenue increase for Spectrum, less money for UH. UH would be better off with an on-campus stadium where they would keep all revenue from ticket sales, stadium advertising, parking and concession sales. An on-campus stadium would also offer many jobs to students needing financial aid.
I don’t think I saw Furuta play against Navy. Was it because of his fumble the previous week? Also I heard on the radio that the parking lot was sold out at about 4:15 on my way home. I think they need to give back some of the parking that the rail is using. The radio advised those who couldn’t get parking that Radford High has parking and even some other place a little outside of Radford. 15-20 minutes walk just to reach the stadium. Must have been a lot of late comers.
Mahalo, Ke Akua.
Mahalo, Ka Kou
IMUA!
Pass this along via the other blogs Facebook Twitter etc. if you are not in Hawaii-go to the MW site and download the Spectrem app or go to app directly. You can watch all Warrior home games outside of Hawaii via Spectrem on mobile devices only! Believe it or not I actually watched a little Nevada/Portland State-Fresno/Idaho prior to our National broadcast. Don’t have an IPad? Borrow one from family member or friend somebody very close to you has one, it’s just a matter of “how bad do you want to see the game”. Good luck hope help out some Warrior fans!
The post above where Spectrem is mentioned I meant STADIUM Just trying to help-just too early for this!
Bigger picture on the mainland Nebraska and Iowa State had games postponed due to lightning. Looking at their schedules, it does not appear that the opponents can be easily rescheduled. Hawaii has a game available since it has only 13 of a possible 14 scheduled. I hope the stars are in alignment for a potential big payday and marquee matchup on national TV the first weekend in December. UH should be in a great position if they come calling.
New post: http://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=46635