StarBulletin.com

Personal fouls a no-no


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POSTED: Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Personal foul penalties cost Hawaii a bunch of yards Saturday, and they'll cost a few Warriors some extra sweat this morning.

Hawaii was flagged for five personal foul calls in its 20-17 loss to San Jose State and UH head coach Greg McMackin said he plans to submit two to the Western Athletic Conference office to be evaluated. The others will result in three players being punished at practice.

“;That's something that won't be allowed - you can't play like that,”; McMackin said yesterday at his weekly press conference. “;We haven't had problems with that in the past, but there were too many in this game and it cost us. They were at crucial times and they're going to be dealt with severely.”;

Hawaii was called for a season-high 11 penalties, with the personal fouls accounting for 70 of the 115 yards the Warriors were docked (one occurred with UH at its 20, resulting in a 10-yard penalty).

A second-quarter flag came on fourth and 10, resulting in a San Jose State first down. Another came in the third quarter on a second and 15, also leading to a first down.

Hawaii had been called for three personal fouls in its first three games, and nearly doubled that in an emotional WAC opener.

“;There was a lot of talking going on in the game,”; McMackin said. “;Games in the past, other coaches have told me how good our guys are, that they're not chattering out there. I think they got into some of that.”;

McMackin also addressed the possibility that the Warriors are being baited into calls by their opponents.

“;We've got to be stronger than that, we've got to have discipline,”; McMackin said. “;This hasn't been a problem until this ballgame. ... If guys are baiting us into that, we've got to be tougher than that.”;

Hawaii's 35 penalties for 326 yards are the highest totals among WAC teams.

 

Addition by subtraction?

Hawaii's 17-2 turnover deficit again dominated McMackin's comments after UH gave up six while taking away none against SJSU.

He said the Warriors defense will emphasize forcing takeaways in practice drills and the offense may remove certain plays from the game plan in an effort to reduce the losses.

“;There might be a couple of plays we're not going to call anymore, because if we're getting a couple or three turnovers vs. a certain play then we've got to get away from that until we get our timing down,”; he said.

The Hawaii defense, now 54th nationally in total defense, has just two interceptions this season, both against Weber State. UH averaged 2.2 takeaways per game last year with 20 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries.

“;They come in bunches, but this is quite a dry spell,”; McMackin said. “;We teach the first guy makes the tackle, everybody else goes for the ball.

We're playing teams that don't turn the ball over, but that doesn't matter, we've got to create turnovers.”;

 

QB watch

Inoke Funaki is slated to become the first UH quarterback to start back-to-back games this season, backed up by Tyler Graunke. As for No. 3, McMackin said he wants to get Greg Alexander or Brent Rausch more work in practice.

“;We have to make a decision on the two JC guys,”; McMackin said. “;Not because we're playing for next year, but we've got to get the guy some reps. They are both pure run-and-shoot quarterbacks with strong arms and just for our future, whether they play this year or not, we need to get them reps.”;

McMackin said the staff felt Graunke's injured throwing hand had healed enough to play against San Jose State, but “;it affects his velocity on the ball and he can't shake your hand right now. But he's a competitor and he wants to play, but I think we have to be smart about that.”;

Funaki was given the starting assignment again after passing for 173 yards and running for 36.

“;We did do different things with him. We sprinted him out, we ran option with him,”; McMackin said. “;He made a couple of bad decisions on the interceptions, which comes with experience. He needs to keep himself up the entire ballgame, he needs to be a leader. The players love him.”;

 

Injury update

With the exception of defensive tackle Rocky Savaiigaea (triceps), McMackin said the Warriors injured against San Jose State are expected to play against Fresno State. Running back Kealoha Pilares (concussion) and receiver Malcolm Lane (concussion) took part in yesterday morning's conditioning session. Linebacker Adam Leonard hurt his hamstring and Ryan Mouton played through a painful rib injury.