By the nature of their positions, receivers and cornerbacks share an adversarial relationship.

While success for one is a defeat for the other, Hawaii cornerback Ne’Quan Phillips maintains a perspective that the individual duels this spring are building toward a common vision for the fall.

"We’re just out here trying to make each other better and at the end of the day we all know it’s just competition," Phillips said.

After 14 practices, the Rainbow Warriors will have one more chance to test each other with the pads on before the summer break in Saturday’s Spring Fling at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

The "Warrior Bowl" scrimmage scheduled for 3:30 p.m. headlines the event and counts as the last of the team’s allotted practices for the spring.

UH coach Norm Chow said elements of Saturday’s scrimmage will be a bit more game-like, but the session will be structured similarly to those held earlier this spring. Quarters will consist of 20 to 25 plays each and he’s looking for the Warriors "just to play hard, keep it clean, execute, (and) take care of one another."

Earlier in the week, first-year UH defensive coordinator Kevin Clune noted the performances of the Warriors cornerbacks, Phillips and Dee Maggitt, among those who stood out this spring.

Phillips earned honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference recognition as a sophomore when he posted 64 tackles and two interceptions and broke up six passes. Maggitt started 11 games last year and led the team with seven passes broken up.

Saturday’s scrimmage will give the defense one more opportunity to gauge its growth before heading into summer workouts.

"I feel like we’ve progressed a lot," Phillips said. "Everyone’s liking the defense. It’s more versatile. Instead of running man all day we get a little more zone, blitzes and stuff. It’s pretty fun.

"I know what I need to work on his offseason. We can never be satisfied in the secondary, we always have to work as a unit."

The cornerbacks have also had an up-close look at the progress of the Warriors’ younger receivers, including sophomores Keith Kirkwood and Marcus Kemp, the first combination of wideouts in recent practices.

"They grew a lot since they first got here as freshmen," Phillips said. "They know I’m going to compete with them all day, be physical with them all day. They like that because they know it’s getting them better and it’s getting me better at the same time."

After sparring on the practice field, the rivalries tend to dissipate once they head to the locker room.

"Ne’Quan and (cornerback) Dee Maggitt, those are my guys. They’re like my brothers," Kirkwood said. "But on the field, especially Saturday, we’re going to have to compete and make each other better."

Gates to the Ching Complex open at noon, with a youth clinic conducted by the UH coaching staff to begin at 1 p.m. An alumni flag football game is set for 2 p.m., with the Warriors scheduled to take the field for warm-ups at 3. Players will be available for photos and autographs after the scrimmage.

"It’s going to be great to play in front of the fans, that’s what we do it for," Kirkwood said. "We come out here to play hard every day, but the fans are who we really want to play for and leave them happy and compete as hard we can."