Warriors’ Santos
leaves teamThe lineman has not been
at Hawaii practices this week
Hawaii junior backup offensive lineman Ryan Santos has left the team for personal reasons.
It is not known if Santos -- who has not attended the team's Hawaii Bowl practices this week -- will eventually return. But offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh said Santos will not suit up when Hawaii (8-5) plays Houston (7-5) next Thursday at Aloha Stadium.
"It's a personal situation," Cavanaugh said. "(Head coach) June (Jones) was going to talk to him, so I don't know if there's a possibility of him coming back for next year."
Santos played in two games this season, and none since Oct. 11 against Fresno State, the sixth game of the season.
The 6-foot-5, 320-pound Mililani graduate went into spring camp of 2002 atop the depth chart at right tackle. But he ended up as a backup last season. He played in six games and started the Hawaii Bowl.
Santos played in four games at right tackle as a second-year freshman in 2001.
He was also recruited by Washington, Washington State, Colorado State and Oregon.
Sophomore Brandon Eaton and freshmen Dane Uperesa and Tala Esera started at right tackle for Hawaii this season.
Others missing at least part of practice yesterday -- but expected back -- included receiver Chad Owens, defensive lineman Travis LaBoy and running back West Keli'ikipi.
Owens has been held out of practice with an injured foot. But Jones isn't worried -- yet.
"As long as he has three practices, he'll be all right," Jones said of the Western Athletic Conference's top receiver. "If he's not ready, we go to the next guy. Britton Komine was our leading receiver last year and can go in without missing a beat."
Meanwhile, LaBoy, the WAC Defensive Player of the Year also missed practice again. The difference this time is the senior end was not at the field. He had a good excuse, though.
"He's busy writing two papers (for classes)," defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said.
A combination of schoolwork and a tender knee kept running back West Keli'ikipi off the field yesterday.
"He stayed up all night writing a paper, but I anticipated him being here. I don't know how his knee is," Jones said.
Keli'ikipi is working his way back from arthroscopic surgery last month.
Free tickets for military: Anyone with a military ID -- active duty, reserve or retired -- can get a free ticket to the Hawaii Bowl at the Aloha Stadium ticket office on the day of the game. Children under 12 with someone with a military ID can also get a free ticket.
"We had a request from a civilian group that supports the military to provide tickets and ESPN (which owns the game) approved it," Hawaii Bowl executive director Jim Donovan said. "We're happy to acknowledge the military for what they've done and continue to do for our country, and this system assures they all get tickets and the tickets are used."
Ticket sales have lagged behind last year's pace, when 35,513 were distributed. Fewer than 21,600 have been distributed so far, Donovan said.
Donovan said the game needs to average 25,000 fans (in actual attendance) for the next three years to maintain its NCAA certification.
Short yardage: Purchasers of Hawaii Bowl tickets from yesterday to game day get a Papa John's coupon card good for 2-for-1 pizza for an entire year, Donovan said. ... The Hawaii athletic department is bidding farewell to two long-time employees. Business manager Mike Nagafuchi (32 years) and ticket-office manager Edith Tanida (28 years) are retiring this month.
