The Hawaii football team has vowed not to ease up on the proverbial pedal heading into the home stretch of the regular season.
“You gotta keep going,” defensive coordinator Corey Batoon said.
This Saturday, it will be senior night for the Rainbow Warriors when they play host to Army West Point at Aloha Stadium. Then on Dec. 7 in Boise, the Warriors will represent the West Division against Boise State in the Mountain West Conference’s championship game.
Head coach Nick Rolovich said he will not hold out players against Army to save them for the MWC title game.
“We play to win games,” Rolovich said, “not hold players to stay healthy. We’re not going to do that. … You get to play one game every week, and you should try to win every one of them. This game doesn’t last forever, even as a coach. Everyone is replaceable. That’s why you have to enjoy the moment and really respect the game, because the game will humble you very quickly.”
The UH coaches began preparing for Army hours after Saturday’s 14-11 victory over San Diego State. That outcome improved the Warriors to 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the Mountain West, good enough for a share of the West title. “There are a lot of smiling Simbas out there right now,”said Rolovich, referencing a character from “The Lion King.”
When he was hired as head coach, Rolovich used the movie’s “Pride Rock” as a metaphor for returning the Warriors to past glory. At the end of the 2018 football season, Rolovich said the Warriors needed to enter “Phase II” of loftier standards. One of the goals was to compete for the 2019 MWC championship.
“I believed it,” Rolovich said of the Phase II promise. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t believe it was possible. I think that’s one of the easier things about it, just being honest where we’re at, where the program’s at, all that stuff.”
Rolovich said the depth was tested because of injuries and an NCAA rule limiting potential redshirts to four games. He said “major contributions from a lot of players” filled the void. On Saturday, Michael Eletise started at left guard in place of ailing J.R. Hensley. Eletise transferred from Arizona in August, but was cleared to play in October. He found a role in the rotation, but Saturday was the first time he was required to play an entire game.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tired,” Eletise said after the game.
Running back Dayton Furuta, who had not played since the second game, and hybrid end Derek Thomas, who had missed five games, contributed on Saturday. Furuta was on the kickoff unit, and Thomas moved between linebacker and rush end. “Derek Thomas attacked rehab like this team was as important as anything,” Rolovich said.
Rolovich also praised quarterbacks Cole McDonald and Chevan Cordeiro. McDonald played in five drives, Cordeiro in three full possessions. Each led a scoring drive.
“How those two have handled this situation, they’re handing it better than anybody,” Rolovich said. “And it’s hard. When you’re the quarterback, you want to be the guy, and that’s it. Do they both want to be the guy? Yeah. They’d love to play the whole game. They’d love to start every game. There’s no doubt. I think it’s a testament to the kids’ support system. Think about how hard it is on the family. I mean, it’s a high-pressure, high-visibility deal. They’re going to be successes in life by how they handled this.”
