Warrior Beat: Warriors won opener the hard way
FORT COLLINS >> When a considerable underdog pulls off an upset, the way the Warriors did yesterday, it would be easy to blame the oddsmakers for getting it wrong.
The thing is, the oddsmakers got it right. The Warriors deserved to be underdogs.
They faced survivor’s guilt when they departed the islands while a hurricane approached.
They were squished in the back third of a commercial flight. Any other Division I head coach have a seat in the 39th row?
They started a quarterback who was playing a system he began learning at the beginning of the year. Their starting offensive line featured two blockers who were in high school three months ago. Their best offensive playmaker did not know if he would play until the middle of pregame warmups. Their best defensive player did not play at all.
And yet, the Warriors return to Hawaii today atop the Mountain West’s West Division with a 1-0 record. That’s significant. Colorado State is a good team that will have a bad record as it faces three Power-5 schools in the next month. But that belies their talent. The Rams have Power-5 talent on their roster … because some transferred from Power-5 schools. The Rams have a quarterback who can throw far — and often — and a dynamic duo at receiver. But for one night, the Warriors were better. And with all their self-inficted mistakes — all correctable — they vowed to get better.
It was one game in first week of a very long season. But the underdog had its day.
Congrats to the Rainbows from Portland.
Awesome job, we have a great QB which means we always have a chance in every game!
I know this was just the first game…
But It was great to see Hawaii having WR’s that were not afraid to catch the ball in traffic and can juke/shake/dance for YAC. I got to give it to the WR’s JoJo Ward, Cedric Bryd, John Ursua and Marcus Armstrong-Brown.
It was amusing to watch CSU LB and Safeties in coverage against speedy WR’s JoJo Ward, Cedric Bryd, John Ursua then get ankle breaking juked.
McDonald was record breaking and money, a true dual threat Colin Kapernick-like QB! I knew McDonald could run but the accurate throws and the deep ball accuracy surprised me!
The shovel pass is back! Oline and RB’s played awesome. And I have to give it to the Hawaii kickers for an outstanding job! Clutch FG and Punting!
The Hawaii team needs to clean up the penalties, false starts/holding/delay of game/offsides. But no unsportsmanlike penalties is a positive.
Defense- The secondary needs help from the D-line. The D-line didn’t get much pressure on the CSU QB Carta-Samuels. The Hawaii LB’s and DB’s can only cover those WR’s for so long. To be fair the CSU WR’s did push off a lot against the Hawaii DB’s to get separation. And it did look like the secondary got gassed by the end of the 3rd quarter, from the lack of a pass rush by the D-line.
The Vader Black Helmets with the Island sticker on one side and H logo on the opposite side is a keeper. Those black helmets will look even better with the black jerseys and black pants. Nothing against the nostalgic green uni’s… However, if you dress and look good, you feel good, and the black just looks menacing and has swag.
Go Warriors!
Great Morning All!
One…
…not done
Adding in to the chorus,
Terrific job by the offense. The HC was spot on: they got an O-line; the shovel is back…looking forward to seeing the oddah stuffs get used next (shhh…seekret 😎 )
Like before, I can see that the defense (especially da front seven) going take a lillo bit fo’ catch on to what da new coach like dem do but once they do, wach out!
The CB’s get good talent but they going be “boom or bust” all year so as a fan, I just gotta try not fo spill my beer…
The Safeties….buggahs can bring it! :twisted
Spesho teams is spesho again. 😉
Hang on fo’ da ride, gang.
Talent makes coaching easier.
Pomai,
56 – 14 Akamai Okole
#3 ~ what’s up –
You said it all. Mahalo for an excellent fan’s-eye-view of the game!
The best of the team brings out the best of the sports writer. Nice post Stephen. And, your articles in today’s SA truly inspire!
Congrats to the team on a win for the ages. If the RnS gets better with reps, imagine what’s coming? Not sure how deep in the playbook you went, but a well oiled machine is what we saw. The thin air took its toll on defense, but you played with a lot of heart. The RnS calls for a hammering defense. Be the hammers!
I watched the Spring Fling and I knew there was something special about this team. So proud and happy for you and the coaches. Back in black, representing the isands of Hawai’i like the real Warriors you are!
GO WARRIORS!!!
Pomai –
45 – 27 DPK.
Congrats to the Warriors! That was a fun game to watch.
I watched the game and my take on the defense was…they were gassed in the 3rd quarter and I would not be worried about them as the season progresses. If the defense plays like they did in the first half this may be a wonderful season.
DPK, there were condolence messages on a previous blog for Pomai’s passing.
I agree the defense by the quarter end of the third quarter were feeling the effects of the altitude and looked disoriented but a terrific win to over come so much adversity. This team will continue to improve. Yes this was a fun game to watch….welcome home run and shoot.
This is the kind of football we’ve grown to love. Exciting to the end! It makes so much sense for us to have this identity. It was a great effort all around. I want to say the o-line made me very happy. Young and disciplined with lots of upside. Those shovel passes were magic too….Good job coach Weber. Good job coach Batoon. And the special teams..OMG!!
Confidence, discipline, swag.
A bit of deja vu for me watching the game yesterday: Reminded me of my experience when JJ took over from VonAp. All of a sudden the football was flying around the yard, points were being scored and the game was entertaining. After these last years of boring, boring and more boring it was a relief to see an offense that can score at any time, plays with intensity and creates excitement. I think the D will improve. I am very much looking forward to being at Aloha Stadium next Sat…….for the first time in years.
Pomai.
Listening to yesterday’s game while I was engaged in my long-delayed house purging activities was a complete joy. Yelling at the radio stream and sharing scores on facebook put a smile on my face. Mahalo, Ke Akua for all your blessings. It was the candle on the cake celebrating the slow Lane that avoided west Kauai.
GO, RAINBOW WARRIORS!
The only thing more impressive than Cole’s performance was the young Oline, they stepped it up, and are gamers. They need to clean up some penalties, but still a grade of A minus with some extra credit work this week. Running back was a solid B, could have been a B+, except for the crucial fumble. Wide receivers were an A-. The threat of Ursua really opens the field for everyone else, and what I would love to see is a consistent 3rd receiver threat.
Defense was solid til the 3rd quarter. I think Tavai not playing limited their packages and left the corners on an island most of the second half. Clearly they need more pressure and I think with some tweaking of their packages (e.g. help over the top) and Tavai ‘s presence will really help the D overall. Grade C….remember C is passing and allows you to win, all things being equal.
Kicking game, no big plays allowed and 3 for 3, nuff said….total improvement.
” UH ended a string of five straight losses on national TV and picked up just its third win in its last 39 national TV games. ”
The defense only gave up 7 pts in the 1st half. But good thing the offense was scoring. The offense has to run up the score when they can because the other team may catch up in the 2nd half.
Its been a while since Hawaii won a game on National Television, great win! Even better road win in high altitude.
Now that Hawaii offense has been seen on National Television in a live game action. Hawaii will not be able to sneak up on a team like CSU with that hybrid RPO/RnS offense anymore.
While I have no doubt Rolo and his staff will add winkles and trick plays. I do share in everyone excitement and optimism after a great win at CSU. but I still keep in mind teams will be somewhat more prepared to play Hawaii this season.
Nice game yesterday. So nice to see the offense scoring again.
Only 1 other road game at altitude this season. Hehehe.
GO WARRIORS!
GO WAHINE!
I am not a robot.
Congrats, again, for a great win and on national TV!! Getting mention in mainland media outlets, too. Just like 1992’s win over AFA at their house after Iniki (picked for 8th in old WAC). UH won 3 of 4 quarters and I give the D some slack as they were gassed in the 4th quarter, given the 5,000 feet altitude. Shortcomings on D can be fixed, no doubt. CSU has a number of P5 transfers and their QB senior transfer from UW was a 4 star recruit coming out of high school.
I’m sure that Coach Kenny N was watching the game with interest, as were the midshipmen. An opening game’s win or loss shouldn’t determine the season, but enjoy the win for another day, then move on to Navy!
These stats were surprising given CSU was expected to run the ball and try to keep Hawaii’s offense off the field:
Time of possession:
UH 34:43 CSU 25:17
Yds Rushing:
UH 199 CSU 116
Leading rushers:
UH McDonald 13/96 Holly 16/68
CSU Matthew 15/63
UH getting ahead early took CSU out of their game plan, and CSU had problems adjusting to the RnS until UH tried to eat up the clock in the 4th quarter.
Penalties were also a factor:
UH 10/65 yds (no personal fouls!)
CSU 12/120 yds (Williams was pushing off our DBs all night but got flagged only once, the refs also missed a face mask call)
To me, CSU had more athleticism but UH outcoached and outplayed them without going deep into the playbook. Coach Rolo and his assistants had the team ready to play, and it looked the offense, defense and special teams played for each other. Can’t wait for the home opener against Navy!
Regarding our defense, I believe most defenses on teams with the RNS offense suffers from this kind of breakdown because the offense either scores quickly or the drives fizzles out quickly. Either way, the defense have very little rest.
Ball control and time consuming offenses are defenses best friend because they keep them off the field.
I still believe this offense will always be an offense for UH because we just cannot get the talent to run pro style or conventional offenses. Our successful teams in the last 25 years have either been the Paul Johnson’s triple option or JJ’s RnS. Got no probably with both these offenses because they are fun to watch.
Hope this win is a sign that we are back. Nothing better for the University than to have your football start winning again. Good for morale, good for UH bank account and good for the UH athletic program as a whole.
Good game…fun to watch. I like what I’ve seen so far with room for improvement. I give the team overall a B+…and that’s only because I know what the team is capable of. Once all cylinders on the engine are timed and firing, boomshakalaka….
One game does not make a season but again I like what I see so far. Now for the fans to do our part and show up next week.
As an FYI. We still do Tsaiko tailgates at the Rainbow Bay Cabanas and I’ll post more info later. All are welcome. Come down for food, friends, family, football, and fun.
POMAI 31 – 14 us. 🤙
#12 HMAN… Howzit bruddah. Yes. Blog regular and good friend of the Tsaikos Don “Pomai” Patton passed away yesterday. He was a staunch supporter of UH sports…especially with Women’s Softball…but Warrior Football was his first love…and bruddah wasn’t even from Hawaii…he just married a woman from Hawaii. He was an all aroundmgood guy but he could be a pain in the okole at times…LOL.
I think us guys who’ve being with this blog from the start are just paying tribute to Pomai by posting scores…LOL. I know he was yelling and screaming and laughing watching the game yesterday from the best seats in the house… 🤙
Jesse James –
Exactly. We honor our friend in the picks.
Pomai was a straight-shooting, getting-things-done kind of guy. But to see what he did for Wahine Softball showed his heart and aloha. I’m going to miss him. He would have been very proud of the Warriors yesterday.
GO WARRIORS!!!
Thanks Jesse James for the feedback.
The concerns over the defense’s less effective second half should be an easy adjustment. The burden on the secondary was caused in part by the scheme. Batoon got a good look at a lot of different facets of his defense. It will give him a better perspective of personnel and pressure packages. So valuable to get that info as early as possible, especially in altitude, with what was a big lead, without your best defender, and in the end under duress. So lucky for Batoon. I remember seeing similar numbers early in Dave Aranda’s defense. I doubted his abilities (Aranda) but he was a tinkerer finding his way back then. I feel like Batoon is on a similar track. I’m not going to worry too much.
Yippeee!
Honolulu Little League win!!!
1 of 2 for the day.
Come on Wahine. Make it 2 of 2 tonight!
My opinion says that if the offense keeps playing like this and gets better as the season goes on than look to have at least a 10 plus win season. This team could be on a win streak based on what I see. I think the only teams Hawaii has to worry about on the schedule is BYU and Fresno, but everything else looks winnable. The defense needs to step up and help the offense. This years team looks good and has a lot of talent.
Howzit Tsaikos!
Great win Warriors!
Not too worried about the D, think they were gassed in the 4th because of the altitude.
Interesting to hear that the LB for CSU was telling the linemen to pick on Ilm Manning because he was slow. Guess he showed them. Great OL play yesterday.
Great game, so many highlights! For me here are 2 way out props that stand out. One is that there were NO selfish or stupid penalties! Second is how Meskell has come so far in getting better!
Well written blog game summary!
Macdonald is a legit dual threat QB.
Props to Coach Weber for the job his O-linemen did vs CSU. Two true freshmen and a fall JUCO transfer, to boot! Still have work to do, but no personal foul penalties compared to years past.
My recollection of the game was this year’s o-line making the downfield blocking to continue the play for the RB’s on the shovel pass plays. #72 is the Beast.
Some random thoughts….
What a weekend!….Lane was gonna crack us upside the head…in the end not as bad as advertised but our ohana on the Big Island and Maui got some spankings. Prayers go out to them.
Our Little Leaguers went and an “Just Did It!” Played some really major league baseball! World Champions!
Our Warriors went and dominated for a few…then held on! Good win!
Our Lady Warriors got some spankings but…will bounce back.
We lose a honorable senator. On who had some guts to say…NO to some stinky politics.
We have another mass shooting…when do we stop the madness?
We lose a true Warrior…Brother Pomai. He had green blood. RIP
In Hawaii nei…we are fortunate to have a united nations of people who help and care for one another. Storms bring out the best of Hawaii’s people!
Congratulations UH Football Rainbow Warriors! That was a fun and exciting game to watch. It was nice to see the run and shoot clicking. At times looking unstoppable.
It was like old times. This is who we are.
It felt great. Now is a good time to support the team by attending this weeks Home Opener against Navy.
This game has an early start at 5pm.
Hope to see you all there.
Go Bows!
@36 NSF
!00% on your notes. Hope to see you at this week’s tailgate.
Ecstatic that the Warriors were so far beyond my wildest imaginations. I know it’s crazy to say this on a board where intense fans lurk, but I would have been ok if CSU had come back and won…very disappointed but ok because the team so obviously played with togetherness, passion, and focus. They made me proud they were representing Hawaii.
Pomai: UH 34 Navy 31
Pomai . . .
34 – 33 us, of course!
I thought it was ironic that Cole McDonald, at 6′-4″, looked a lot like the QB that Norm Chow would have liked to have been able to recruit. For the Navy game, my guess is a win for UH 52 – 42. And the NCAA worked overtime to figure out how to mess with non-Power 5 women’s volleyball. For preseason (e.g. non-conference) matches, they only allow a 5 minute break between sets 2 and 3. So no games / entertainment to engage the fans. I can’t see them doing this with football halftime or men’s basketball, but then that would impact TV contracts. I hope if this ends up adversely impacting the wahine volleyball program, it gets looked at from a Title IX perspective.
good wins for the state but sad for the wahines!! recruiting has not been good from the looks of the roster. 0-2 not good!! lucky to be 500 for the season. maybe wearing collard shirts might of helped. GOOD THING FOOTS IS LOOKING UP!!! Revenue will be up. Imagine if they beat Navy!! EEHHH!! 30,000 plus next week and if they win 35000+. Fix up Aloha Stadium already and double decker parking would help attendance. That’s one of the reasons why I gave up my 4 season tickets not to mention getting parking tickets mauka of the stadium. Sorry Pearl harbor but sink the ship!!
Navy’s efficiency bothers me a lot — what scheme will Batoon use – – 4 D and 4 LB? 4 D, 3 lb with a “rover” behind the LB to track the ball carrier — DL pinches in with OLBers covering the perimeter and ILB covering the guard/tackle gaps? UH safety must be ready to cover either sideline
DEs will have to “contain” or it will be a bad time like we saw at Navy 4 or 5 years ago — UH DEs crashed inside leaving the perimeter wide open for the QB who scored a record 6 rushing TDs
Pomai: us 37 — USN 34
miss you, “bro”!
Does anyone know if @uhsports808 an official recruiting rep for UH? Interesting tweets regarding Cedric Byrd.
Hi Tsaikos. It’s been so long since I’ve been on this blog but the football boys got me all excited.
The UH boys played well. Keep it up big guys, especially up front.
Sorry to hear about Pomai’s passing. RIP Pomai and condolences to his family.
Hi Akamai Okole and DPK…long time no see. Now if only my cuz would show up.
Not sure why Hendrie does’t get more playing time? He looked good in the limited playing time he got. With all the new DEs we brought in the only DE getting consistent pressure was Padello. Would like to see Keene and Mataafa out there as well
☝🏽For Pomai☝🏽
Replay of our huge upset at CSU from my buddy chopsueyboy:
https://youtu.be/xxys1jXhJPA
Thanks to ChopSueyBoy! The link doesn’t feature the Ram Band Channel. Could actually hear the commentary.
Happy for da boys – good year coming, yeah
Hopefully they play all 4 quarters next game especially after the half!
I think the defense was just gassed by the altitude in the second half.
Mind wants to, but body won’t comply.
During a softball webcast, I noticed a Kanani blogging. I asked Mr. Pomai if this Kanani was “The Kanani”, as in Pu’u Warren. He responded, “Yes, Cappie, this is Kanani Pu’u Warren.
It was a lot of fun communicating with somebody from the program.
Anybody who supports women’s athletics(that’s not just volleyball) is a great person.
Oh, cool.
There is some sort of safety net that deletes your post when you accidentally reveal your actual name.
I just wanted to reiterate my appreciation for the softball webcasts.
Anybody who supports women’s athletics to that extent is a great person in my book.
Defense should be improved this week with Tavai back in the mix. We started zero seniors on the offensive side of the ball which is really exciting.
I still don’t get the 2 point conversation thing.
Tom-…seaweed?
@Inyoface – agree, I thought it was going to be a fake fake. That one point was crucial in the closing minutes of the game.
New post: http://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/?p=46552