WARRIOR FOOTBALL
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Lafu Tuioti-Mariner started up the haka for the green team yesterday. There was plenty of good-natured trash-talking as the team prepared for tomorrow's Warrior Bowl at Aloha Stadium that marks the conclusion of spring practice.
|
|
Fun and games
The Warrior Bowl means good times for all, but for many players, it's their last chance to impress
Sorry Keao Monteilh, but the secret's out.
"Don't say anything but we got a little plan going on," the Hawaii senior safety stage whispered, sharing a key bit of the Black team's gameplan for tomorrow's Warrior Bowl. "If you see a guy in black on the Green team, something's going on. He's a spy for us."
WARRIOR BOWL
Hawaii spring football scrimmage, tomorrow, 7 p.m., Aloha Stadium
|
That would be Inoke Funaki. He's the starting quarterback for the Black in tomorrow's Hawaii spring game at Aloha Stadium. But he's also the holder for both teams.
Black coach Ron Lee confirmed Funaki is under orders to botch a potentially decisive Green kick.
Call it Operation Tony Romo.
"My hands might get really slippery and the ball might slip out of my hands. Possibly," Funaki said.
Green coach Cal Lee said if that happens, the kicker, Dan Kelly, would just have to pick up the ball and make a play.
"That's OK, I'll tackle Kelly," Funaki said. "He's pretty fast. But I think I can chase him down. I'll do it for my Black team."
According to Monteilh and Cal Lee, it won't come down to a final kick.
"Just going by our little mock practice, we scored about seven times here just fooling around, so we'll get about 70," Monteilh said.
"The spread? Seventeen," Lee said.
There was plenty of light-hearted bravado at yesterday's dress rehearsal for Warrior Bowl I: Brother vs. Brother. And the fun and games won't be limited to the kiddie rides at Aloha Stadium's south concourse tomorrow. But there will be some serious stuff, too, since many players will be competing for depth chart position -- or their roster survival.
With the condusion of spring practice, coach Greg McMackin and his staff will evaluate players on the bubble and cut around two dozen to make room for incoming recruits.
Some will be brought back once school starts, but McMackin said it is like "cutting their hearts."
The spring game starts at 7 p.m. Parking is free and the lots open at 4, the stadium gates at 5.
