2014 Spring Training Schedule & Practice Reports

[st808]

april 19:

ching field. full pads. several prospects in attendance with coaches and parents. refs on field. qbs in red shirts. at least they looked red to me.

coach chris demarest, special teams coordinator, leading field goal drills: boyd yap #92 long snapper?, for a couple of snaps. then, brodie nakama #62 took over. spell checker keeps changing demarest to demurest which is totally 180 off, this is not your grandmother's ballet class.

team is very enthusiastic, focused during stretching drills.

coach lewis powell, defensive line, working out the walking wounded: offense: leo kolomatangi #78, max broman #45, harold moleni #87, josh long #88; defense: david manoa #96, kawika borden #31, jamie tago #41. jerrol williams #2, jeremy castro #16, anthony pierce #25 on light duty walking sidelines. david griffin #72 doing laps dragging load of weights. beneton fonua #36 also doing laps, in wheelchair. gary beemer, strength coordinator, later taking over for coach powell.

coach demarest again took the field with the kickoff squads. 11 on 11. setting alignments, assignments, blocking and running lanes. lots of love shared again today. then, punt formation with scott harding #29 punting left, punting right. look for harding's punts to touch opposing teams this year, causing turnovers. hunter hughes #16 also in punts rushing at the line and blocking gunners, red shirt and all. quinton pedroza #5 getting good lanes on returns. also, diocemy saint juste #22 and dee maggit #23 taking returns.

coach jordan wynn taking quarterbacks and wide receivers through drills on timing routes and spot passes. working on timing and accuracy.

11 on 11: woolsey, #11, taking first snaps. tj taimatuia #3 tko on woolsey in backfield, what red shirt? quinton pedroza #5 gets two nice receptions, a broken tackle and yacs. 3-4 defense initially tough on inside runs. higgins #12, next series, aofaga wily #34 getting handoffs up the middle for nice gains. throughout the day, wily is taking most of the runs up the middle, working hard. vasquez haynes #81 had a catch. 3rd and short, inside run stuffed by defense. higgins to ryan pasoquen #30 for yards and yac. field goals: #36 white kicking, got no #36 white on my sheets, harding holding. then, tyler hadden #27 kicking field goal with woolsey holding.

john wa'a, #51 starts laps dragging load of weights.

11 on 11 continued: elijah tupai #56 snapping to higgins #12. tevita lataimua #52 takes a quick tour of offensive backfield for a sack. again, what red shirt? donnie king #49 gets a good run left side. keith kirkwood #89 down the left sideline for a long reception, then again on the right for another long catch. later, on the last play for 11 on 11 drills, kirkwood would haul in a long td pass running a post route. taylor graham #8 comes in for a series. two quick incompletions. higgins comes back in, only to have beau yap #92 wrap him up as he lets one go for an incompletion to steven lakalaka #4. again, what red shirt? lataimua #52 again deep in offense backfield sacking higgins. wily #34 getting loads of carries.

pace of plays executed by offensive is quick. defense is staying with offense though. and they got an interception, didn't see the number of the player. sorry. but, michael martin #46, got an interception off a deflection. trayvon henderson #39 almost interception, letting it fall away.

pace of play, play variety, picked up today. very few offsides or false starts that i saw. defense is getting into position and correcting for offense line up faster. red shirt? what's that?

surprised to see beau yap long snapping on punts with tui unga #44 as right guard next to yap. guzman will have to grow another six feet to be comfortable fielding yap's high snaps, though, but, this is the first day i've seen yap as long snapper, so improvement will happen. having yap and unga on the right side of that line will be formidable kick protection, especially with iosefa #7 back blocking for guzman. and to have yap and unga going downfield to tackle the ball receiver is going to be something to watch for, too. demarest sharing his man love for both of them in their first attempt at punt line. again, i expect improvement, and quickly with demarest's affections.

three practices left, and then spring fling on saturday april 26.

[FASBOY'90]

I attended today's practice. RB #7 Joey Iosefa, TE #87 Harold Moleni, TE #85 Jordan Pu'u Robinson, LB #36 Benny Fonua, RB #26 Jason Muraoka, OL #72 David Griffin and I think it was LB #2 Jerrol Garcia - Williams along with at least 10 other Warriors did not participate in the scrimmage this morning due to recovering from injuries. Some wheeled themselves around the track, some pulled sleds with weights. Being that Pu'u Robinson and Iosefa are all star UH players, they didn't have to participate in the so called, "Pit" or the recovery process with the rest of the players. Basically just stood on the side and watched everyone else do there thing.

Offensively, QB #11 Ikaika Woolsey, #12 Jeremy Higgins, and #8 Taylor Graham split snaps with Ikaika taking the majority with the 1st team. Performance wise, Ikaika made more plays than any of the other two. WR #5 Quinton Pedroza made some spectacular catches today and I think he even scored on one of them. TE #88 Josh Long made a nice 40 or so TD reception. RB #4 Steven Lakalaka, #34 Aofaga Wily, and #22 Diocemy St Juste shared the reps with Lakalaka and Wily making very good runs in between the tackles.

Defensively, LB #3 TJ Taimatuia, #28 Julian Gener #52 Tevita Lataimua, DL #92 Beau Yap, #90 Kennedy Tuimasealii, #91 Moses Samia, #53 Marcus Malepeai and some of the corners and safeties did very well in creating pressure, run stops, and at least three turn overs by interceptions.

Overall the offensive moved the ball down field fairly well, scored 3-4 TDs. Defense still needs work, but should improve as the new recruits are added to the roster and fall camp approaches.

All in all we looking pretty good. Keep up the good work Warriors! Let's stay competitive and not falter.

[SundayJam]

Thanks for all the reports, guys. This is one of the best seasons ever in this regard. More are welcome. Anyone else have an inside?

[st808]

apr.21:

rain made for a wet day on ching field. half pads.

11 on 11: little work out with shotgun formation.

lewis powell working d line knocking down the dummies in line. going to need those skills in the 3-4 defense. marcus malepeai #53 left tackle, moses samoa #91 nose tackle, and kennedy tulimasealii #90 taking the lead as number ones for blocking drills and rushing schemes.

a little fun with offense and defense lines going at it as receivers and linebackers. defense had a go as receivers with offense covering them. what a blur of muscle galloping downfield with coverage in pursuit. keep in mind, it was only linemen involved besides the qb tossing the passes. then it was offense's turn to be receivers and defense as coverage. even with the rain the rubber fillers on the fields were bouncing as the herd moved. defense must have won, as the entire offense took the gasser before the next drill.

defense on the mauka sideline drilling on getting on field to the makai sideline, taking scrimmage position, running a simulated play, getting back into a huddle, then sprinting off to the mauka sideline and getting off field as quick as they can.

running backs lakalaka #4, iosefa #7, saint juste #22, wily #34, and faalologo #47 taking turns working on handoffs, quick bursts up field. coach moses working with the joust stick making sure the ball is protected.

d line working basics, 3 point stance, head up, butt up, first step, blocking with hands moving up. coach powell keeping it simple. then some work on pass rush blocking schemes.

coach gouveia going over basics with tj taimatuia #3, lance williams #17 austin slade-matautia #42 and beau yap #92 linebackers checking their alignments, footwork . moving left, moving right.

tight ends working on shedding blockers, releasing into pass patterns.

backs on lbacks, kirkwood #89 and unga #44 with receptions.

goal line drills: gaetano demattei #30 came up with an interception on a corner route.

punt drills: beau yap #92 doing more long snapper work, unga #44 lining up as right guard. yap still needs work, when he snaps with speed the ball tends to move up, up out of reach. he'll get better. rainy day, wet ball. coach demarest must have schemes designed for strength in the middle with speed and tackling ability needed to cover the return. lakalaka #4 and iosefa #7 in the backfield as blockers, can't wait to see all that talent hitting the receivers.

3 of the 3-4: number ones, tulimasealii #90, samia #91 and malepeai #53 together bring 855 lbs to the line. number twos, calen friel #50, niko uti #98, and luke shawley #93 bring 825 lbs to their line. going to need every pound out there. especially on second and third downs against no huddle teams.

lots of enthusiasm, focus today. coach chow uses the entire playing field and then some, with alibi sections working next to the makai stands and others doing laps dragging a four wheel utility cart, wheel chairs being rolled, and of course one player dragging the weight sled.

not much on the closing 11 on 11 as i got involved with a discussion. but i did see faalologo take one up the middle (not clear if pass or run) and into the end zone.

two practices left before saturday's spring fling at 1:15 p.m.

[FASBOY'90]

Nice, thanks st808.

[HawaiianHogster]

I was able to catch up on the team since you guys posted updates. Thanks.

[madeinhawaii]

mahalo big time st808

[kapakahi]

Even though Junior Day was last Saturday, still quite a few Class of 2015 local HS prospects......Rex Manu, Solomon Matautia, Semisi Uluave, Reupena Fitisemanu, Salanoa-Alo Wily, Absalom Henry, Arona Amosa, Kalalena Mauga, Pesi Savea, William Auwae, Myles Uepa.....in attendance at today's practice.

Nice photo of local HS prospects Solomon Matautia (Campbell HS) and Rex Manu (Mililani HS).....standing near Powell......in the background at UH's Saturday practice scrimmage.....in this morning's Star-Advertiser.

[Irse]

coach gouveia going over basics with tj taimatuia #3, lance williams #17 austin slade-matautia #42 and beau yap #92 linebackers checking their alignments, footwork . moving left, moving right.

Thanks. So Yap is back at LB. Didn't they move him back to DE?

[letsgobows]

^ Yap is going to play both DE and OLB, so he'll practice w both units.

[st808]

april 22:

ching field, half pads, clear and sunny day.

coach demarest getting beau yap #92 some long snaps to ruben guzman #48. good snaps. someone pointed out to me that yap has been a long snapper before. now he’s moved up to number two snapper for punts. didn't know, should've known.

team then lined up at ewa goal line and ran 20 yard sprints. and ran some more. minutes later i realized they were still running 20 yard sprints. conditioning drills. faster pace on offense requires conditioning. lots of 20 yard sprints.

finally breaking out of the sprints, special teams again formed up for point after and field goal drills. coach demarest getting even the tiniest of foot alignments exact for linemen.

qbs with running backs getting the handoffs right and running backs then taking the first five steps into the hole.

yap #92 working out with d line today. coach lewis powell taking them through blocking drills, pancaking single dummy setup. blocking and moving into pursuit. blocking, shedding blocker left/right and pursuit. #1s yap #92, samia #91 and malepeai #53 lining up with 835 lbs of senior muscle.

coach moses with running backs in footwork drills. hopping over barriers, around barrels, under barriers, all the while striking them with the joust checking the ball control.

linebackers getting their rushing through o line blockers and into lanes to block runs and rush passers with coach gouveia.

noticed today a lot of narratives going on during drills. coaches explaining each basic move they expect executed, demonstrating each hand position, head position. lots of teaching going on at every drill area.

as i mentioned before, the entire field is sectioned off for individual position, group, squad, offense and defense drill. usually, every five minutes a horn sounds and some groups run out to other areas and others converge in larger units for drills. everyone by now knows exactly what section they need to report to, and when. discipline, speed, stamina.

11 on 11: completion. then, quinton pedroza #5 climbs his ladder for a completion across the middle. then, a carry to the right sidelines with pushing and shoving that attracts more action. this is the second to the last practice before the spring fling. starter positions and backups are riding on the last two practices. emotions are high, ambitions are starting to show, fatigue is a thing of the past. next snap, pedroza #5 again with a completion. graham #8 takes over. false start. pace is picked up. ryan pasoquen #30 gets two receptions in a row.

demarest then gets his punt blockers lined up behind dummy linemen. firing off the three point stance, past the outside dummy and hands out to block the ball, not the kicker, just the ball. again and again, then through the end tackle, tackle guard.

kickoff drills: getting deep receivers and blockers set in correct formation and alignment. blocking schemes, lane openings. expect to see some deep kickoff returns this year from hawaii players. interesting mix of receivers taking turns running it back.

11 on 11: woolsey. kirkwood #89 gets a completion. lakalaka #4 gets a completion. ne’quan phillips #1 pops up on the right to take an interception on a bad read/broken pattern. chills the offense. justin vela #42 gets a reception. higgins #12: duke bukoski #24 completion. donnie king #49 reception. aofaga wily #34 up the middle for gain. incompletion. woolsey #11 back in, ne’quan phillips #1 comes streaking from the blindside effectively sacking woolsey who is allowed to toss the ball incomplete. d line rush, forcing incompletion. vasquez haynes #81 completion and sideline streak. pedroza #5 completion and yak for td. graham #8 in, wily up the middle. graham sneak, as much as a 6’5” can sneak. incompletion. haynes #81 drops a sure one. the pace is fast and faster. red zone, dee maggot #23 takes an interception. pedroza #5 with a td reception. graham #8 to marcus kemp for a td. woolsey #11 to kirkwood #89 for a td. higgins #12 to kirkwood #89 for another td. graham #8 to unga #44 for a td.

and it goes on for another 15 or so plays. quick line up, mixed cadence, quick whistles, hurry back to formation, repeat. pace, pace, pace.

coach chow keeping close watch over positions, players, lineups, matches. calling situations and making corrections.

one more practice, then spring fling.

[808]

Thanks for the recaps, st808! Much appreciated.

[HawaiianHogster]

Thanks again. I like reading the parts where they are correcting the players and teaching them the right things to do. Also the hurry up plays one after another. This will get them game ready when they play against hurry up offenses.

[Neighbor]

The only problem with our hurry up offense is that last year in the beginning, we weren't gaining any yards so it was quick 3 and outs without giving the defense that much time to rest

[st808]

april 24:

ching field; half pads; observers from japan in attendance.

beau yap #92, long snapping to ruben guzman, one on one. good snaps, few are going over shoulder height to guzman, who is kicking high and long, with good hang time.

coach moses attacking running backs with joust during 20 yard warmups with full team.

#9 in orange, playing corner back. not on my list.

kickoff: coach demarest running kickoff defenders through their lane assignments, shedding blockers.

o line: coach naeole taking o line through footwork drills.

d line: coach powell using the dummies to get the d line around perimeter blocking assignments.

coach moses tossing short passes to running backs, backs taking passes from different angles.

11 on 11 situationals: offense starting from their one yard line: woolsey #11 to kirkwood #89 completion; lakalaka #4 running straight ahead for a gain; penitito faalologo #47 completion. higgins #12 from the one yard line: false start; vasquez haynes #81 completion; diocemy saint juste #22 end around for gain.

quarterbacks and running backs drill on handoffs and runs up the line. hunter hughes #16 taking turns on handoffs to backs.

entire defense lining up on kkhd mauka sideline sprints to makai sideline and back. conditioning, pace, conditioning.

o line coach naeole working the line from 3 point stance to first steps in run blocking.

again, detailed instructions being given at length at many position drills, alignment, footwork, balance, hand work, blocks, shedding blocks, shoulder positions prior to setting blocks.

quarterbacks and running backs again drilling handoffs. coach moses lining up blocking backs and getting running backs synchronized and aligned, and coach jordan wynn working on getting the handoff dynamics correct.

linebackers taking low blocking dummy and getting under it and shedding blocks.

coach daronte jones with the secondary drills on backpedaling footwork to turning to pursue receivers. getting their balance forward while backpedaling, then turning to pursuit burst. shuffle steps to the side without crossing legs or feet.

quarterbacks tossing to receivers, one on one drills. hughes #16 taking no snaps.

receivers on secondary: woolsey #11 completion to faalologo #47; higgins #12 completion to samson anguay #21; graham #8 completion to marcus kemp for yardage. lots of reps with qb rotating: donnie king #49 wide open td; quinton pedroza #5 td; scott harding #29 td; red zone: #9 orange defense tip away.

punt: 11 on 11: brodie nakama #62 snapping to guzman #48. beau yap #92 snaps: false start, getting good snaps to punter. then harding #29 punting rugby left, rugby right. coach demarest has designed punt formations to take advantage of harding’s abilities. it’s going to be a fun year. wonder how defenses will align and their reaction to the punt formations. freshman lineman getting personal love and motivational inspiration from coach demarest.

11 on 11: woolsey #11, first play, left corner not in on time, harding #29 left open for completion and yac. lakalaka #4 right side; harding #29 incomplete; higgins #12 in, to donnie king #49 completion long yac; vasquez haynes #81 td on #9 orange; woolsey #11 in, lakalaka #4 up the middle; keith kirkwood #89 completion; quinton pedroza #5 catch, steps, drops ball, inc or fumble?; pedoza #5 completion with yac; ne’quan phillips #1 with a knock down; graham #8 in, to ammon barker #80 impressive grab in traffic for yac that draws cheers from offense; lakalaka #4 up the middle; king #49 right side completion for yac. woolsey #11 in, to marcus kemp #14 completion lots of yac.

plays are being run off within 10-15 seconds of whistle blowing last play dead. defense is keeping up, calling out formations, coverage, responsibilities. no signs of obvious fatigue. everyone is stepping up their game trying to move up or secure starting positions.

coach demarest gets more kickoff time: working receiving formations, schemes, lanes, blocking assignments. quinton pedroza #5 and diocemy saint juste #22 sharing receiving duties. nice schemes, looking forward to seeing at least three kickoffs returned for touchdowns this year.

11on11: woolsey #11, gaetano demattei #30 drops a sure interception. rain starts to fall; kirkwood #89 completion and yac; harding #29 completion; justin vela #42 completion; kirkwood #89 td; incompletion; king #49 completion; incomplete.

last day of practice. spring fling begins at 1 pm saturday, game at 3 pm.

thanks for reading. four months until washington.