Saturday, March 24, 2001
UH players to JUNE JONES may not be at tomorrow's spring fling at Cooke Field, but it meets with his approval.
interact with fans
on Sunday
Football won't be all the
Warriors take part in at
Spring ChallengeBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinPrior to his one-car accident on H-1 that forced him to miss all of the spring practices, the University of Hawaii head coach and the UH marketing team devised a plan -- code name Spring Challenge -- that allows the fans to interact with the players in a variety of games guaranteed to entertain.
The event, still 1,500 tickets shy of a sellout, begins at 4 p.m. and will be limited to 3,000 tickets sold.
Granted, selling tickets to a spring game borders on the Washington Redskins charging admission for summer camp, but in case you haven't noticed, the athletic department isn't exactly flush with cash.
Tickets (sold at the game) GAMEDAY
Adults, $8; children 4-18, $6; children under 4, free;
UH students with I.D., free;
Na Koa members, $7; fans with same day baseball ticket stub, $4.
Schedule
4 p.m. -- Gates open
4:30 p.m. -- Autograph session with coaches and players
5:40 p.m. -- Quarterback Throwing Challenge
5:50 p.m. -- Linemen Tug-O-War
6:10 p.m. -- Obstacle Course
6:15 p.m. -- Kick for Cash -- (Kickers vs. fans)
6:30 p.m. -- Spring Game
7:30 p.m. -- Papa John's Pizza Eating Contest
7:45 p.m. -- Concert (Kahiau & Sean Naauao)
Tickets are a healthy $7 for those adults who don't belong to the Na Koa Club, $6 for those who do and $5 for children. Those who are 3 and under or have a current UH student ID get in free for what Jones envisioned as a combo carnival and spring game.
Just what time the spring game begins is anyone's guess. But if you aren't in your seat by sometime after 6 p.m., you might miss the first phase of the controlled scrimmage. It will begin with seven-on-seven drills, similar to how the two previous spring games kicked off.
There are no down linemen in this part of practice, but it's often entertaining with the wideouts going head-to-head with the defensive backs.
Once completed, UH associate head coach George Lumpkin will conduct at least six 10-play drives that begin on the 35 and will end if the offense isn't inside the red zone.
"We're going to make it like a game, so if they don't score, they don't score," Lumpkin said. "If they get inside the 35 and stall, we'll kick a field goal. If they're outside the 35, we'll punt. We won't run any special plays inside the 20. If the offense doesn't get there in 10 plays, then they don't get there."
Quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison figures sophomore quarterback Tim Chang will be in for no more than two of the six scheduled sessions in the scrimmage phase of the Spring Challenge. Backups Nick Rolovich and Shawn Withy-Allen will see more action as the coaches take a hard look at the underlings.
"This scrimmage will probably be more for the younger guys and the backups," Morrison said. "We know what the veterans can do. So we'll probably look at a lot of the younger players at running back and wideout. Same with the offensive line. This is a learning tool that will give us an idea where we are and where we're headed for fall camp."
Most of the experimenting has been on defense. Second-year coordinator Kevin Lempa wants to bulk up to stop the run.
To achieve that, he shifted defensive ends Chris Brown and Joe Correia to linebacker.
Transfers Wayne Hunter and Travis Laboy slide in at end with returnees Laanui Correa and Houston Ala, giving Hawaii more size on the forward wall.
In the three-man fronts, Correia will shift to end from linebacker as the designated pass rusher.
It should make the Warriors more formidable in the front seven.
They will need to be, considering the inexperience in the secondary. Senior safeties Nate Jackson and Jacob Espiau provide the leadership up the middle, but inexperience rules at cornerback. Hyrum Peters is the only one of the top four with any real Division I experience. Lempa figures Gary Wright, Abraham Elimimian and Kelvin Millhouse will grow under the lights.
"You take out Nate and Jacob, and we're very inexperienced in the secondary," Lempa said.
"We've got to find some suitable backups at safety in case either one of those guys goes down."
Look for former offensive players Robert Grant, Sean Butts and Matt Manuma to get a hard look at safety. So will David Gilmore and Keith Bhonapha. Secondary coach Rich Miano also likes Josiah Cravalho at cornerback.
The freshman from Maui shows a lot of potential, and should get a chance to prove himself tomorrow.
"We think it's going to be a lot of fun," Lumpkin said. "But we'll be all business on the football field. This has been a great spring for our coaches and players. We want to end it on a high note."
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