UH Warriors shift attention to Duquesne | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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John Ursua #5 of the Hawaii Warriors attempts to make a catch during the fourth quarter against the Army Black Knights at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y. on Sept. 15, 2018. Ursua scored on the play but Army defeated Hawaii 28-21.

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Defensive coordinator Corey Batoon will not have to do extensive background research on the quarterback of Hawaii’s next football opponent.

Duquesne signal caller Daniel Parr transferred from Florida Atlantic at the end of the 2017 season. A week after Parr’s announcement, Batoon was hired at UH after spending a year as Florida Atlantic’s co-defensive coordinator in charge of safeties and special teams.

This coming weekend, Duquesne and UH will meet at Aloha Stadium. While the homecoming game will honor the past — the 2007 team will be celebrated as the newest member of UH’s Circle of Honor — and set up a reunion between Parr and Batoon, the Rainbow Warriors have indicated they have moved on from Saturday’s 28-21 road loss to Army.

“As a defense, we played our butts off,” linebacker Jahlani Tavai said of the defeat, the Warriors’ first of the season. “We have to get back into the meeting rooms and make sure everything is perfected.”

Center Taaga Tuulima described the outcome as “a tough one. We, especially as an offense, have to come out ready. It’s not on one person. It’s on all of us. … It’s only a loss if you don’t learn from it. We’re going to come back Monday morning and get right back into it, learn from it, and get better and better.”

Against Army, the Warriors rolled up 362 yards, but only 24 yards on non-sack rushes. The Warriors did not commit a turnover, but they converted only once on seven third-down plays and none on two fourth-down situations. By holding possession for 6 minutes, 18 seconds in the second half, including 2:25 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors had only 45 plays.

“Those are the games you want to win the most,” said Cole McDonald, who was 20 of 32 for 321 yards and two touchdowns. “Me, personally, I hate losing. That’s No. 1. The thing I hate most is letting down my teammates. That’s something I don’t ever want to feel again. I don’t want to have them go through that again. I think we’re going to take it, and it’s going to push us and propel us way further than we ever imagine. I think we can get hungrier and hungrier and strive for that success so this never happens again.”

There was controversy in the game. It appeared an Army running back should have been ruled short of a first down because he juggled the football on a fourth-and-1 play. It also appeared UH slotbacks John Ursua and Cedric Byrd were repeatedly held during their routes.

“I think coming up, this will do nothing but help us,” offensive lineman J.R. Hensley said. “We’re not the type of team to take a loss for what that is. We’re going to take it for something we gotta work on. We’ll look at film, check on next week, get ready to go.”