Fittingly, opening to UH’s daunting schedule starts with prayer

The opening of the University of Hawaii’s 99th — and most ambitious — football season began not with a routine shrill whistle or airhorn blast but a solemn blessing and a prayer Wednesday.

The Rainbow Warriors joined hands in two tight circles on Cooke Field, bowing their heads as Kahu Kordell C.L. Kekoa of Kamehameha Schools delivered spiritual food for thought to sustain the combined 17-week training camp and regular season undertaking that began under an unrelenting afternoon sun.

Then the ‘Bows eagerly embarked upon what coaches and players have come to refer to as “The Grind.”

It is a designation given not so much for the imposing lineup that has them playing three nationally ranked teams — No. 1 Ohio State, No. 18 Wisconsin and No. 24 Boise State — on the road in a four-week early-season stretch but for something heretofore never attempted at UH, 13 games in 13 weeks without benefit of an open date along the way.

Head coach Norm Chow said he told his coaches to “kiss their wives good-bye because we’re not gonna have any days off now until the Thanksgiving weekend,” adding, “but that’s OK, they had almost the whole month of July to say good-bye.”

The first steps on what will be a 41,376-mile journey began with liberal lathering of SPF 50, untethered determination and nary a hint of trepidation from the grinders.

“It is a challenge, no doubt about it, but we’re going to meet it,” vowed Chow, who requested Kekoa’s assistance. “We’re excited to get going.”

Staying healthy — center Brenden Urban had to be helped off the field with a posisble knee injury — and paying the Gatorade and ice bills loomed as the biggest immediate challenges for a team short on depth and budget.

Wiping away the sweat of the afternoon’s labors, offensive lineman Ben Clarke said, “It is hot and it is gonna be long, but, I mean, that’s what we play for, right? When you think about it, it is going to be more football for us.”

How much that enthusiasm might sag and fun will fade during the toil of the coming two-a-day practice sessions remains to be seen, of course. “We’ll see who the rabbits on the team are and when they start to slow down, we’ll know to ease it off some more,” said offensive line coach Chris Naeole. “We’ve got to be smart about it.”

But on Day One few relished the beginning more than quarterback Max Wittek. “I was a little anxious, I couldn’t wait to get that first play going,” Wittek said.

But, then, by the sun-reddened USC transfer’s estimation, “if it hasn’t been two years for me to be out there running my team, it has been pretty dang close to it. I’ve waited for this moment,” Wittek said. “It has definitely been on my mind for a while and now that it is finally here, I’m excited.”

As for the gauntlet that awaits, Wittek said, “once we get into the flow of camp, the time is going to fly by and, before you know it, the season will be upon us. I’m so eager to get our team out there in front of that (Aloha Stadium) crowd.”

Clarke said, “if we get to a bowl game that would make the season even longer … and more fun.”

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.