Two weeks ahead of the Aug. 26 opener, the Hawaii football team used a dress rehearsal to address concerns and situations Saturday at the Ching Athletic Complex.
Coach Nick Rolovich tried to simulate the game-day schedule. The Rainbow Warriors played the same pregame music and offered an identical pregame menu. Rolovich also choreographed where the Warriors would align before running onto the field, their placements during the ha’a, and where each player would stand on the sideline. Coordinators Legi Suiaunoa (defense) and Brian Smith (offense) wore headphones and called plays from the stands; they will be in the coaches’ booth during games. Freshman linebacker Penei Pavihi braided his long hair and tucked it into his helmet to comply with the NCAA rule prohibiting a jersey number from being obscured.
“The players approached it pretty well,” Rolovich said.
But there were glitches during the 76-play scrimmage. Ryan Meskell, an Australian who has never played in an American football game, missed two field-goal attempts, with one striking the left pole. Special teams coordinator Mayur Chaudhari said the strong Manoa winds contributed to the “targeting issue.” Chaudhari said Meskell had the range on both kicks, and that the accuracy is fixable. Chaudhari added the wind-hindered kickoffs helped the coverage unit focus on tightening the return lanes.
“It was a good situation for us,” Chaudhari said. The elements “are the things you can’t manufacture in practice. You’re not going to say, ‘We’re not going to kick today because it’s raining.’ We’re going to kick, and it may be ugly, but we’re going to learn a lot.”
The Warriors were penalized four times for delays. But two were a result of extra coaching on the sideline, situations that would not occur in games.
Both sides had their moments. Running backs Elijah Dale and Freddie Holly each had a 60-plus-yard touchdown run. Dale was injured as a City College of San Francisco sophomore in 2016. He joined the Warriors in January as a walk-on. “I’m happy to be here,” said Dale, who was with the No. 2 offense on Saturday.
Holly gained 10 pounds since the end of his redshirt season in 2016 — he now weighs 210 — and proved he still has the burst. Holly has adapted to the Warriors’ offense, which requires reading defenses. “It’s a different level of the game,” Holly said. “The mental part is a bigger factor.”
Starting quarterback Dru Brown and slotback John Ursua teamed on a 12-yard scoring pass. The play was set up when tight end Metuisela ‘Unga drew three defenders away from the middle. “Dru found me under,” Ursua said. “He ran up to me after we scored and said, ‘We peaked at the right time.’ I couldn’t agree with him more. I think our connection is going well, not only with me, but the starting unit.”
The defense, restructured under Suiaunoa, produced key plays. Ikem Okeke, who is competing at rover, intercepted one pass and dropped a sure pick-6. “I need to get my hands on those 50-50 balls and pick them off and take them to the house,” said Okeke, a sophomore.
Weakside linebacker Jeremiah Pritchard made two backfield tackles. “My freshman year,” Pritchard said of the 2016 season, “I got all the butterflies out. I’m working on my craft.”
Kaimana Padello, a 6-foot, 205-pound defensive end, made a sack and knocked down 6-4 Cole Brownholtz’s pass into the flat. “He makes all types of plays,” Rolovich said of Padello. “He plays the game the right way.”
The first-team offense also drove 84 yards but were stopped twice on rushes from the 1.
“And we miss the field goal — no points,” Rolovich said. “That’s a great job by the defense.”
The Warriors completed their third week of training camp. They will spend parts of this coming week’s practices working on calling the plays faster and quickening the substitutions. The quarterbacks were stopped seven times for losses — some on designed running plays, some on holding the ball too long.
“There were some good pockets,” Rolovich said. “They need to get rid of the ball.”
