Hula Bowl Today

If I'm not overwhelmed with chores and errands, I will try to liveblog the Hula Bowl today. Brandon Masuoka writes that Reagan Mauia is proud to represent Hawaii out on the field.

When Reagan Mauia straps on his helmet for today's Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl, the rugged running back will do so with his beloved Hawai'i on his mind.

"I don't put on this helmet just to protect my head," said Mauia, who played for the hometown University of Hawai'i. "I put on this helmet to represent the 'H' on the side of it."

Mauia is one of seven Warriors who will suit up for the Kai team in the 61st Hula Bowl. The senior all-star game is Hawai'i's longest running sports attraction, and will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and be shown on ESPN.

"Hawai'i has done a lot of good for me," said Mauia, who endeared himself to fans with his hard-nosed running and blocking. "This is just me giving thanks back to the people of the '808' state that have shown me so much love out here."

Mauia's Hawai'i teammates are safety Leonard Peters, running back Nate Ilaoa, offensive tackle Dane Uperesa, wide receiver Ross Dickerson and defensive ends Ikaika Alama-Francis and Mel Purcell.

Looking forward to seeing a great game on both sides of the ball.

In an article from yesterday, Billy Hull writes about what to look for before the game.

As practice ended yesterday, the Kai team gathered around midfield and watched as Leonard Peters and the rest of the Hawaii players selected for the game starting teaching the team a version of the popular Polynesian dance the haka.

"They look good, man -- all of them are digging it," Peters said. "I thought for sure that some of them wouldn't want to do it, but they all wanted to do it. They approached me and asked me about the haka, so I tried to put something together that didn't have that much words."

Peters, Mel Purcell, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Nate Ilaoa, Reagan Mauia, Dane Uperesa and Ross Dickerson spent about 10 minutes leading the team through the first half of the dance, and they plan on teaching them the second half of it after practice today.

"The custom stuff being over here in Hawaii is one of the best parts about coming here, and it's an honor to be able to do, or try to do, that dance," Colorado's Bryce MacMartin said.

Even Kai coach Pat Hill plans on giving it a try.

"I might be the slowest guy out there, but I'll be doing it," Hill said. "I think it's a real neat deal what the University of Hawaii does with that."

Whether or not they actually perform the dance on game day remains to be seen.

"We'll see how many people buy tickets to the game," Peters said. "If we have a big crowd, we might do it for them."

Ilaoa, though, says it's a done deal.

"Hey man, we don't practice plays out here we're not going to run," he said. "Of course we're going to do it."

That should be... interesting!

Dave Reardon and Billy Hull give a preview of what to look for during the game.

Today's game is an opportunity for Ilaoa and Hawaii teammate Reagan Mauia to play together in the same backfield. They rarely did so in the Warriors' mostly one-back offense.

"He's at fullback, I'm at tailback," Ilaoa said. "He's out there plowing away and I'm just taking advantage of it. He's right there in front of me smashing on the guys," Ilaoa said.

Both are intriguing prospects, since at 250 pounds Ilaoa is a fullback-sized tailback and at around 280, Mauia is a center-sized fullback.

The tutelage of Hill and practicing with Fresno State tailback Dwayne Wright and fullback Roshon Vercher should help them get used to the two-back set favored by the pros.

"A lot of guys haven't had a chance to run this offense or called it different things, but they've done a really good job of putting themselves out there and running the plays," Hill said.

UH defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis, projected as a second-round NFL Draft pick, turned in an impressive week of practice. Any doubts about his ferocity because of his pleasant off-field personality were erased Thursday. That's when he wrestled with a frustrated offensive lineman long after the whistle. The coaches and scouts loved it.

It'll be good to see Reagan and Dane blocking for Nate, Mel and Ikaika rushing the QB from either side, Leonard putting in a few good knocks and Ross taking it to the house on a kickoff return! Be there!