UH vs Louisiana Tech Wrap-Ups

HawaiiAthletics.com has a game summary with links to notes, quotes and a box score. Here's one of the quotes, from Greg McMackin:

“Inoke Funaki played very good again tonight. He brings so much to the table. I think Ron Lee is doing a great job at fitting his ability into the offense. Nick Rolovich has really helped Inoke with his throwing and it is showing. He is throwing the ball as well as he ever has. Inoke is starting to realize his potential and he is getting better and better.”

Here's a game summary and stats from Jason Kaneshiro.

Here are some quotes from Stephen Tsai's wrap-up.

"I think we all played together as one defensive group," UH outside linebacker Solomon Elimimian said. "We all believe in each other. We wanted to go out there and make plays. In order for us to win, we have to be close. When we play together, we can play with anybody."

"We said we were going to come out and try to blitz them," Mouton said. "We said we had to get at (Bennett), try to rattle him. He was moving around, trying to make plays."

Lane, who suffered sore fingers during the game — X-rays did not show any fracture — said of Funaki: "He can throw it."

Tsai's article also has links to photo galleries. Here's a slideshow from the Star-Bulletin.

A couple of quotes from Jason Kaneshiro's wrap-up.

"It's good to get back to .500," UH coach Greg McMackin said after the Warriors posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season. "With all the adversity we went through to start the season, I think it's helped us get better as a team."

"(Funaki's) settling down and getting used to the spot being the starter," said Salas, who caught three passes for 87 yards, including a one-handed over-the-shoulder grab in the third quarter.

"He's putting the ball on the money now. He's letting us make plays, he's trusting us, and he's trusting his reads and that's what this offense is about."

Michael Tsai highlights how Inoke Funaki's play has changed jeers to cheers.

"It's definitely a lot better feeling walking off instead of disappointed like we did after San Jose State," Funaki said. "The O-line really dug deep tonight and our receivers pulled off some big plays to get us the lead."

"Inoke is a different breed of quarterback," said running back Leon Wright-Jackson. "What he used to do at Kahuku was unbelievable, from what I've heard. He's a dual threat, and what our coaches are letting him do now, I think that's great for our team. He can throw the ball and run the ball, and we're all running behind him because we believe in him."

Leila Wai writes about the dual threat that is Kealoha Pilares, who caught 5 passes for 52 yards and ran 9 times for 54 yards.

"We need to keep him on the field," Lee said. "And we don't want him in the backfield all the time. We want him to get the ball down the field so he can run. And we also want to give the other backs some time. Leon (Wright-Jackson), Daniel (Libre) and David (Farmer) are all good backs, but it's hard to get them in if Kealoha stays in. So we try to move him around."

Dave Reardon writes about how the Warriors tried to put the game away early.

UH nearly frittered away a 16-point halftime lead at Fresno State last week, but there was no let-up this time, no mercy.

"It's taking the heart out of a team," said safety Desmond Thomas, a big playmaker in 2007 but a forgotten man this fall until coming up with two turnovers last night. "We have to finish. When they're down we can't let up."

In an article highlighting the play of the defense, Stacy Kaneshiro has the line of the day:

Hawai'i's defense is like a pastry chef: It keeps making turnovers.

Billy Hull writes how the swing in turnover margin in the past two games has triggered UH's turnaround.

Hawaii's sudden ability to earn takeaways is a direct correlation to the amount of practice time it has spent on it. Every practice since the San Jose State loss, the defense has been put through a series of turnover drills that has translated into game-day success.

"The last two weeks we've spent time doing everything." Thomas said. "Batting balls, recovering fumbles, you name it. It's really paid off."

And from that article, the quote of the day:

Satele, who's played through pain two weeks in a row, has become an inspirational leader for the Warriors while filling in for Blaze Soares at linebacker.

"Last year, if you stepped on (Satele's) toe, he'd be out for a week," McMackin said. "(Defensive coordinator) Cal (Lee) has made him a tough guy."

Ouch!

The Star-Bulletin's Notebook has news about Oceanic offering refunds for last week's Fresno game glitch, the Warriors blocking field goals, C.J. Allen-Jones playing well, injury news, etc.

Nick Abramo writes about all of LaTech's mistakes.

And Ferd Lewis writes about Greg McMackin's fury.

With 4 minutes, 38 seconds left in a second quarter of a must-have game tied at 7-7, McMackin and the Warriors were confronted by what was, at first appearance, a blown pass interference call for the second consecutive week, this time a "no call" after UH receiver Malcolm Lane was hit by cornerback Stevon Howze.

"That was a time to play with heart and this team has heart," Kealoha Pilares said. "When Coach Mac gets angry like that, you know something is wrong and we want to play for him."