Warrior Beat

In an emotional post-practice ceremony today, Army Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton awarded a UH football scholarship to running back Keli‘i “KK” Padello. “I thought (Fenton) was here just to visit, to just see the team,” Padello said. Padello is an ROTC cadet and a specialist in the Army National Guard. Head coach Nick Rolovich felt it would be fitting for Fenton to deliver the good news. “I was honored to be here,” Fenton said. “Coach asked me to come by […]

To fringe fans, defensive end Fanupo Peapealalo‘s name is not one of the first to be answered in a UH game of word association. He grew up in Riverside, Calif., went to NAIA Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, for two years, and then joined the Warriors in 2017. Since then, he redshirted in 2017 and logged one game in 2018. But then at every practice, he was pounding away, either on the scout team or in the regular defensive rotation […]

Lyn Nakagawa has been named UH’s head athletic trainer. Nakagawa succeeds Eric Okasaki, who retired last week after serving as head trainer for more than 35 of his 46 years at UH. Nakagawa is a highly regarded trainer who has worked with several UH teams. She also serves on the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s board, as well as being the District 8 director. Nakagawa, who grew up in Pearl City, is a Punahou School graduate and former soccer standout. She […]

For the third time in the past four practices, the Warriors worked out at an off-campus site. Today’s practice was at Punahou School’s Alexander Field because 1) the concern about inclement weather, 2) UH’s only football field with artificial surface was unavailable because of construction at the Ching Athletic Complex. The practice proved to be productive in: 1) Adjusting to a different venue, 2) bonding, 3) practicing on artificial turf. This season, every UH football game will be played on […]

Three former walk-ons and a grayshirt have been selected as the Hawaii football team’s captains. After today’s practice in Manoa, head coach Nick Rolovich announced the selections of slotback Jason-Matthew Sharsh, running back Dayton Furuta, rush end Kaimana Padello and nose tackle Azia Se‘ei. Rolovich said the picks were made in voting by the UH players. Each of the captains is a senior. Sharsh, a 2015 Moanalua High graduated, redshirted in his first UH season in 2017 while recovering from […]

What happens when a Ford and a Froooot truck collide? The result is a thumping takedown and rousing cheers from the defensive sideline after 200-pound nickelback Eugene Ford‘s open-field tackle of 250-pound running back Dayton Furuta. That was among many highlights of the Rainbow Warriors’ controlled scrimmage at Aloha Stadium. Also: >> ALOHA STADIUM SCRIMMAGE PHOTO GALLERY > Ford had a 55-yard pick-6 to end the 62-play scrimmage. > Noa Kamana — son of Carter Kamana (Michigan State) and grandson […]

“I just woke up like this,” said pass-game coordinator Craig Stutzmann, who was dressed in his high school alma mater’s apparel. “I don’t know what happened. I had a Saint Louis shirt and a Saint Louis hat right out of bed.” It was a fitting attire for Stutzmann, whose football worlds met when the Rainbow Warriors practiced on the Saint Louis campus today. The Rainbow Warriors had to move practice sites in anticipation of inclement weather. The Warriors’ only available […]