Warriors tri-captains named

There are some rare times when a football team can be a democracy. Even those occasions have their limitations though.

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Hawaii coach June Jones invoked his executive privilege yesterday. He judged senior left guard Hercules Satele worthy of being a tri-captain, joining senior quarterback Colt Brennan and senior defensive tackle Mike Lafaele. Brennan and Lafaele received the most votes of teammates. But Satele was not far behind.

"It was such a close vote," Jones said. "And Herc also has the respect of his teammates and is a great leader."

Jones said all three lead by example. They organized offseason workouts that are providing dividends now as the No. 23 Warriors complete the final prep work for their season opener against Northern Colorado at Aloha Stadium on Saturday.

"Colt has all the intangibles. He's very competitive, and the players play for him," Jones said. "Michael works as hard as anyone and does a great job with everything. He's a coach on the field."

Lafaele said the Warriors are just as excited about playing Division I-AA Northern Colorado as they were about opening at Alabama last year.

"It's about the same," he said. "This year we have a lot more talent, and people worked 10 times as hard as last year (in the offseason)."