Sports Notebook Star-Bulletin staff

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Estes OK to play at LaTech, UH says

It's not good when your starting center is sitting on a cooler with a bandage on his leg at the last practice before a two-game road trip.

But it wasn't as bad as it seemed, either.

John Estes did not take any reps yesterday at the 2-hour workout prior to the Warriors' departure to the mainland. But Estes, head coach June Jones and offensive line coach Dennis McKnight all said the sophomore should be OK to play Saturday at Louisiana Tech.

Estes has an infection for an ingrown hair in a cut on his right leg.

"I didn't take care of it the way I should've," Estes said. "I drained it after the game and cleaned it out and I'm taking antibiotics."

Estes and left guard Hercules Satele are the only returning starters on the offensive line. They allowed no sacks in Saturday's 63-6 win over Northern Colorado.

Starting right guard Larry Sauafea -- who has been flawless snapping the ball -- took the first-team reps at center yesterday, with Lafu Tuioti-Mariner moving in at right guard.

"Larry, for his first start, did a solid job inside, no missed assignments," McKnight said. "He had a couple of blocks that weren't the best in the world, but he didn't dwell on it, came back on the next play and did good."

Mr. Versatile

Cameron Allen-Jones has shown he can play tackle and tight end. Yesterday he got some work at right guard behind Tuioti-Mariner while Sauafea was at center. Allen-Jones has also worked out at tight end.

"We know he can play tackle and now we'll give him some work at guard," McKnight said. "He's athletic, he's really quick, a good trapper, so we'll give him some work in there."

Good start

LaTech cornerback Tony Moss said it was good for the Bulldogs to open with a win. They beat Central Arkansas 28-7 last Saturday as Moss had three interceptions.

In recent years, LaTech has often opened on the road against a big-name opponent. It lost 41-3 at Florida in 2005 and 49-10 at Nebraska last year.

"We gained some confidence last weekend, winning our home opener," Moss said. "It was good for the fans and definitely for the team."

Weather report

The extended forecast for the Ruston, La., area calls for mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and a high in the upper 80s on Saturday.

"It's (usually) humid and hot. The crowd gets into it if you give 'em a reason to," Jones said. "So hopefully we'll play well right out of the box and neutralize that part of it. But they got a lot of good athletes and they'll make plays and it's gonna be a battle."

Fruean for Fonoti

Sophomore defensive end John Fonoti was a late scratch from yesterday's team flight. Fonoti, who has been bothered by bruised heels for three weeks, did not play in the opener and was not at practice yesterday.

Sophomore safety B.J. Fruean replaced Fonoti on the 64-player roster for the LaTech game. Fonoti will join the team for the UNLV game, Jones said. There is no roster limit for the non-conference game vs. the Rebels.

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