Quotes from the local papers

About the rain at Aloha Stadium during their practice, Mack said:
"The storm is here. It wasn't as hot as we wanted, but who knows? There's a storm going through (Florida). You have to practice against every atmosphere." (HA)

HA Note: "There was amplified "crowd" noise, two officiating crews, punt units and current Florida weather conditions."

About the knee injury he suffered yesterday, David Farmer said:
"I'm hoping for the best." (HA)

Farmer said that he'll have an MRI:
"but we don't know much more about it yet." (HSB)

About Farmer's injury, Mack said:
"I'm real concerned about Farmer going down. He's very valuable to our team and I'm anxious to see what his situation is with his knee. He's valuable on all special teams and he's a great fullback." (HSB)

About how he's been getting reps due to the injuries to Heun, Farmer, and Cadiz, Jayson Rego said:
"You can never be satisfied with where you're at. You just try to get better than you were the day before. I'm never satisfied. I just have to keep working hard and keep pushing myself." (HSB)

About how he suffered a knee injury in Wednesday's practice, service team RB Joey Cadiz said:
"I hurt it toward the end of practice." (HA)

HA Note: "Jake Heun, who was projected to serve as a power back, has not practiced since the first day of training camp, when he suffered a herniated disc."

About Farmer's injury, Mack said:
"What happened to Dave Farmer is very unfortunate. It's very disappointing." (HA)

HA Note: "In yesterday's 53-play scrimmage, the defense dominated, intercepting three passes. Cornerback Ryan Mouton and outside linebacker R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane each parlayed an interception into a return for a touchdown."

About his INT for a TD, Mouton said:
"I saw the ball, caught it, and made a play." (HA)

HA Note: "McMackin praised the defense, and was forgiving of the offense's collective struggles. Of the nine possessions, only one ended in an offensive touchdown, a 4-yard pass from backup Greg Alexander to slotback Michael Washington. No. 1 quarterback Brent Rausch directed a 57-yard drive that ended with Dan Kelly's 35-yard field goal."

Praising the D and encouraging the O, Mack said:
"I thought the defense played well. They made some big plays. The offense got some plays, but we weren't as consistent as we want to be. We'll have to keep improving. We have to continue to get reps and continue to improve." (HA)

Happy that they had no delay-of-game penalties despite working with the 40-second clock again, Mack said:
"The good thing, again, is we really worked the 40-second clock. The operation is good. We got the kicking game into it, too." (HA)

About the amplified noise blasted from stadium speakers, forcing the offense to use hand signals, Mouton said:
"It simulated a fourth of what the game (in Florida) will be like. I think the sound helped our quarterbacks a little bit." (HA)

About how it is good that they are making progress, Kelly said:
"Every step we take, as long as it's forward, is a good step. I think we had some good steps forward. Anything forward is a positive for us." (HA)

About how Kia is currently the starting LT, Brian Smith said:
"He's taking the No. 1's." (HA)

About how Letuli will get a lot of playing time too, Smith said:
"Kia has more experience, and he's healthier. Pepa is still banged up, but he's getting better. He still has to clean up some technique to get that spot, but he'll still compete. They're both going to play." (HA)

HA Note: "The Warriors yesterday unveiled their new ha'a at the end of practice. Two of safety Keao Monteilh's friends, Aka and Keala, offered late-night lessons to the players."

About how his friends Aka and Keala made their new ha'a, Keao Monteilh said:
"They went to Hawaiian immersion (schools) since they were small." (HA)

HA Note: "This ha'a is more dramatic than the one the Warriors performed last year."

About how this ha'a is about Kuali'i, a Hawaiian chief, Monteilh said:
"The reason he would always win was because he would psych up his warriors. They taught it to us because we're the Warriors." (HA)

About the 4 turnovers the defense got in practice yesterday, Mack said:
"I thought there were some real big plays on defense and we scored a couple of times, but we just can't give up turnovers. We gave up four a game last year, six against Georgia (in the Sugar Bowl), and you can't win when you turn the ball over." (HSB)

About the success the D had yesterday, Mouton said:
"The defense tried to set the tempo and we had a good day. Especially being here at the stadium, we wanted to make it like a game day. We're going to play like a game day, we don't want anybody to move the ball on us." (HSB)

About how the crowd noise that was piped into Aloha Stadium is nothing like what they will have in Florida, Mouton said:
"It adds a little, but it'll be three or four times louder than what it was today. But it gave (the offense) a little taste of what it's going to be like." (HSB)

HSB Note: "It was a rough day for the Warriors quarterbacks, as sophomore Brent Rausch went 7-for-16 with two interceptions. Greg Alexander went 10-for-19 for 91 yards with a pick. Working against the second-team defense, he led the offense to its lone touchdown of the scrimmage period, a 4-yard dart to Mike Washington. Inoke Funaki ran two series, going 3-for-5."

About how their offense struggled, Ron Lee said:
"The defense did well, we just kind of struggled. It's good because this is game-type stuff." (HSB)

About how they offense needs to do better, Ron Lee said:
"We need to run eight, nine, 10 plays without making mistakes, that's the key. We had several opportunities where we moved the ball, but we had breakdowns. We made mistakes on the routes, we broke down on the protection, it wasn't as consistent as we need to be. But we had something going and we just didn't finish. It was a combination of stuff. We've got a lot of new people and we just have to keep getting better and be smart." (HSB)