'Road Warrior' / Central Arkansas / Keahi Watson

Ferd Lewis writes about the "Road Warrior" ticket plan UH Athletics will roll out this season.

Members of the 'Ahahui Koa Anuenue booster club, corporate sponsors and season ticket holders have been able to purchase tickets for road games in a UH priority area. Beginning this season, non-season ticket holders and Mainland fans may also purchase tickets in the priority areas under the "Road Warrior" program.

For a $50 donation, which will go to the athletic scholarship fund, UH said non-season ticket holders and Mainland fans may purchase up to four tickets per game in a priority seating area ahead of the general public.

"There has definitely been a growing demand for these seats," said Vince Baldemor, president of the booster club.

UH said it will have at least 2,250 tickets for the game at Qwest Field against the Cougars and 8,000 tickets for the UNLV game. But Baldemor said the home schools "have told us we can have what we need."

Lewis takes a look at Hawaii's first opponent of the season, I-AA Central Arkansas, which has been a very good team since ascending from Division II, but are ineligible to play in the post-season due to some strange NCAA rule.

Here it is more than two months before the start of the football season and despite being ranked as high as No. 8 in the preseason polls, the University of Central Arkansas knows that even with another 10-2 — or better — finish it won't be conference champion or play in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) playoffs.

But the Bears will be coming to Hawai'i.

To head coach Clint Conque, who engineered the trip, that means plenty.

To the 16 returning starters and 48 returning lettermen who have, practically to a man, been sweating through unsupervised workouts in the Arkansas humidity, the Sept. 4 season opener has been something to rally around.

Even though they're I-AA (or FCS), it sounds like they're gonna be a tough season opener for UH.

And Stephen Tsai writes that Keahi Watson is no longer on the team.

It was disappointing to hear that defensive tackle Keahi Watson's UH career has likely ended. He is not on the 120-player active roster.
He is best known as being the younger brother of former UH defensive tackle Keala Watson.
I'll remember him as a good guy who harbored a dream of playing for the Warriors — so much so that he relinquished a scholarship at Saint Francis University to transfer to UH a few years ago.

Best of luck to him.