Purcell’s father
called to duty
The father of the UH defensive end
will be deployed to Iraq
Melila and Sauimoana Purcell of Pago Pago, American Samoa, planned to spend a lot of time this fall traveling and watching their sons, Melila and Amani, play college football.
That changed, though, when Melila, the father, was called to duty. He is a U.S. Army Reserves staff sergeant in the 29th Brigade. Members of the unit from throughout Hawaii and the Pacific Rim reported to Schofield Barracks on Tuesday for training in preparation for deployment to Iraq.
"He's got two months of training, getting ready to go to Iraq," said Melila, the son, a starting junior defensive end at the University of Hawaii. "There were a lot of plans this year, me, my brother (Amani, who plays at Penn State), the rest of our family. That's all changed now and I'm down a little about it. But we just have to hope everything will be OK."
His father is a 30-year veteran of the Reserves, but Purcell said he will still worry about him as he prepares for war.
"I'm kind of scared a little. Our family's working through it. It was a surprise. We have to support him, pray for him and hope everything goes well," he said.
Purcell said he is trying to arrange to meet with his father before he leaves for Iraq.
"He can't leave base, so I have to go to Schofield and see him," he said.
UH senior receiver Britton Komine is in the Army ROTC program. While some cadets are members of Reserve and National Guard units, his status is unaffected. He will be commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army upon graduation next spring, Komine said.
"Then I probably train for a year," said Komine, who plans to be a helicopter pilot. "So if I am deployed, it's probably two years from now."
Komine, the most versatile of the Warriors' receivers, injured his left hamstring yesterday morning and sat out most of the three-hour practice.
"It's mostly fatigue. Today was real hot and I pushed it too much," Komine said. "I'll rest this afternoon and see how it feels tomorrow. Right now I have to think about the first game."
Komine came into camp second on the depth chart at right wide receiver behind sophomore Ross Dickerson. But he is capable of playing all four receiver spots, and he has caught 111 passes for 1,488 yards and 15 touchdowns the past two years.
Another senior receiver, slotback Gerald Welch, sat out yesterday with an aching back.
"I hurt my lower back in drills last week. It went away, but I woke up the next morning tight. Today I just couldn't do it. Hopefully I'll be back by tomorrow."
Welch caught 43 passes for 462 yards and four TDs last year. He is listed as the first backup to starting "H" receiver Chad Owens.
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Moenoa returns: Starting senior right guard Uriah Moenoa practiced for the first time in fall camp yesterday. He tweaked a knee while running last month.
"I'm getting back into it slowly. Not really doing too much yet," Moenoa said. "Obviously, when you're out for a while it can get rusty. So I'm just trying to get used to it."
Moenoa lost 40 pounds in the offseason, and reported at in the best shape of his UH career last week, and he's down to 330 pounds.
Short yardage: The Warriors worked on kickoff return and kickoff coverage in yesterday afternoon's practice. Sophomores Nolan Miranda and Tim Wright alternated kicking off, as senior Justin Ayat continued to nurse a groin pull. ... Sophomore cornerback Kenny Patton made two outstanding interceptions in yesterday morning's drills. ... Coach June Jones said it is not likely the Warriors will scrimmage tomorrow, but they do plan to have two full-contact sessions before the Sept. 4 season-opener against Florida Atlantic. ... Tickets are still available for tonight's Pigskin Pigout fund-raiser at Murphy's Bar & Grill. Call 531-0422.
www.hawaiiathletics.com
