Warriors ‘excited’ to play for something

The University of Hawaii football team is hoping to redeem a post-Thanksgiving deal.

If the Rainbow Warriors defeat visiting Massachusetts this evening at Aloha Stadium, they might be able to parlay their 6-7 regular season into a berth in the Hawaii Bowl. The Warriors’ wish is there will not be enough bowl-eligible teams to fill the 80 berths available to FBS teams.

The players “know what’s at stake,” said Nick Rolovich, who is completing his first regular season as UH head coach. “They’re excited to play.”

It has been a surreal week for senior wideout Marcus Kemp, who is preparing for his first meaningful late-November game as a Warrior.

“This is a feeling I haven’t had in a while, probably since Little League,” said Kemp, who was raised in Utah. “My high school team wasn’t very good. It’s a new experience for me, and I’m loving every minute of it.”

This is the sixth consecutive sub-.500 regular season for the Warriors. But unlike the previous five seasons, coming close might be good enough.

“It’s really exciting to play for something, to have something to fight for late in the season,” Kemp said. “Instead of watching other teams have something to play for on TV, it’s fun for us.”

Rolovich said the Warriors need to improve their starts and decrease their penalties and turnovers. In the past six games, the Warriors’ average opening drive is 4.3 plays and 7.2 yards. This year, they also have committed 93 penalties (second most among FBS schools), and turned the ball over 24 times on 15 interceptions and nine lost fumbles. Opponents have scored 103 points off UH turnovers.

But Rolovich said he appreciated the effort from a team that finished 4-4 in Mountain West games after going 4-28 the previous four seasons.

“They’ve put in a lot of work,” Rolovich said. “They’ve been so much fun to coach, even with all the ups and downs. I appreciate all of them.”

This season is expiring on the Minutemen, who are 2-9 while competing as a football independent. They are concluding a 10-day road trip that started in Provo, Utah.

“I packed a little bit of everything because I wasn’t sure what I was going to face weather-wise,” UMass quarterback Andrew Ford said.

The Minutemen, who arrived in town Sunday, are treating this as their bowl game.

“We’re coming to the realization that this is it for this group of guys,” Ford said. “We’re trying to enjoy it because when we get on that plane ride coming back on Saturday, this team is done. It’s a tough spot. You never want the season to end. You never want to lose the group of guys that we have as seniors. We’re really trying to enjoy this final game.”

UMASS OFFENSE

The Minutemen’s offense is a buffet of formations — three and four wide, triangle, unbalanced, double tight ends. Mostly out of the shotgun, they run jet sweeps, counters, screens, and switch routes. But for all the schemes and looks, the basic plan is the pitch-and-catch between lefty quarterback Andrew Ford and tight end Adam Breneman. Ford has thrown 26.3 percent of his 327 passes to Breneman, who gets open on delayed routes, crosses, curls and stop-and-go moves. Ford has 69.7 percent accuracy on throws to Breneman, but 55.2 percent to the other receivers. Breneman has no recorded drops in 86 targets. “I know where he’s going to be and he knows where I’m going to be,” Ford said. Ford and Breneman were teammates at Cedar Cliff (Pa.) High. In basketball, Ford was the guard and Breneman was a post player. “It was the same kind of thing where I tried to feed him the ball as much as I could and try to rack up the assists and let him go to work in the paint,” Ford said. Ford was at Virginia Tech and Lackawanna College before joining UMass this year. Breneman joined after earning a Penn State business degree in three years. “We went our different directions (after high school), and it’s just worked out we both have opportunities at UMass,” Ford said.

HAWAII OFFENSE

The Rainbow Warriors are seeking answers to slow starts and penalties. In the past six games, their opening drives resulted in five punts and a failed fourth-down play. They have been intercepted five times and lost a fumble on their first drives after the intermission. Of their 93 penalties — second worst among 128 FBS teams — 57 were committed on offense. They have accumulated 449 penalty yards on offense, including 55 yards on 11 delay-of-game infractions. Quarterback Dru Brown, who transferred from College of San Mateo in June, has developed into a leader, especially after directing last week’s go-ahead scoring drive in Fresno. He also has resolved turnover issues. Brown has one red-zone turnover this year. “When it comes down to it, we all have to trust in Dru,” said wideout Marcus Kemp, who needs 7 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season. The offense has added assets. Diocemy Saint Juste has healed, fully rejoining the running back rotation. Keelan Ewaliko, who is the Warriors’ fastest wideout, has incorporated a backyard button-hook route to counter cushion coverages. Dakota Torres also provides more options in his expanded role as H-back. Often flexed in the backfield, Torres gets a head start on sealing the perimeter, creating holes for the back, or when in motion, wham-blocking the back-side edge rusher.

UMASS DEFENSE

Linebacker Steve Casali’s college career started with a bang when he made the tackle on the opening kickoff of the 2013 season. “I wasn’t surprised when it happened,” Casali said. “My goal when I ran down there was to make the first tackle on my first (college) play. It was a great experience to hear my name being called on the tackle in Wisconsin stadium.” A knee injury shortened that season, and he made 37 tackles in 24 games the next two seasons. This season, Casali has thrived as the zip (inside linebacker on the boundary side), amassing a team-high 96 tackles, six pass breakups and three fumble recoveries. Casali credited linebackers coach Charles Walker, who emphasizes wrap-up techniques every practice, and defensive coordinator Tom Masella, whose mix-and-match schemes involve a three-man front expanding to five, and two-deep zones and man coverages in the back tier. Strength/conditioning coordinator Joe Connolly swears by a running program that does not lighten because of heat or sleet. “If I’m late to class,” Casali mused, “I’ll run to class.”

HAWAII DEFENSE

It was a good thing the new coaching staff did not make plans for their inheritance. In the offseason, defensive linemen Kennedy Tulimasealii and Jamie Tago were dismissed, cornerback Nick Nelson and defensive tackle Netane Muti transferred, and rush end Jeremy Castro medically retired. The Rainbow Warriors filled by playing nine true freshmen and four second-year freshmen on defense. Linebacker Jeremiah Pritchard and safety Keala Santiago have started games. Viane Moala is an anomaly as a 6-7 interior defender who can set up low and who is a 300-pounder with agility. Kaimana Padello is an edge rusher in games and H-back in practices. Linebacker Solomon Matautia, nose tackle Samiuela Akoteu and cornerback Rojesterman Farris redshirted in 2015 but have combined for 10 starts this year. “The players here give everything they’ve got,” defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. “They do everything to play up to their capabilities.” Cornerback Jamal Mayo, who has recovered from a knee injury, is back in the starting lineup.

UMASS SPECIAL TEAMS

It appears Logan Laurent claimed the field-goal-kicking job after Mike Caggiano opened the season handling kickoffs, FGs and PATs. Laurent has converted four FGs in a row, including a 44-yarder last week. Caggiano, who has missed both FG attempts, is 31-for-32 on PATs. Opponents’ average drive starts on the 27 following Caggiano kickoffs.

HAWAII SPECIAL TEAMS

Rigo Sanchez is the only FBS kicker to make all his FG attempts — 11 of 11 — but he does not have enough attempts to be listed on the NCAA leaderboard. “I’m trying to help out the team in any way with three points, extra points, whatever,” Sanchez said. Sanchez said he targets anything in the center of the goal posts’ background. “If a pole or bright shirt is in the center, I’m aiming at the pole or shirt,” Sanchez said.