HSB = Honolulu Star-Bulletin
UH = University of Hawaii Athletics website
AP = Associated Press
---------------------- Quotes from the UH coaches -----------------------
About how nobody (except for their players and coaches) believed they had a chance to make the Hawaii Bowl when they were 2-6, UH head coach Greg McMackin (Mack) said:
"In December, we have something to play for. Nobody thought, except for my team and my coaches, that we had a chance at this and now we do." (AP)
Excited about the Wisconsin game, Mack said:
"I'm jacked up already. I'm not even going to be able to sleep tonight." (AP)
"I'm jacked up already, I'm not going to get any sleep tonight." (HSB)
About how they have a chance to get to the Hawaii Bowl, Mack said:
"In December, we have something to play for. Looking at our season, losing Greg Alexander, losing Brashton (Satele), losing Rodney (Bradley), and we have a chance to play for something. These guys have fought their tails off." (HSB)
Proud of his players and coaches, Mack said:
"I'm very proud of our players and coaching staff. It was an exhausting game..a heck of a chess match. I'm proud of our defense, they played with discipline and focus. Blaze (Soares) made some heroic hits. Our kicking team gave us good field position all game. We accomplished our goals." (UH)
About how they played for the people for Hawaii, Mack said:
"Last week in practice we were very focused. I challenged the players to play 60 minutes of focused football and they rose to the occasion. We've got something to play for, and the players know that. We're playing for Hawai'i! These fans live for us, they live through us. Tonight we fought for the people of Hawai'i, for our house. It was great to have the noise back. After the game we waved and shook hands with the fans and they gave me a microphone. It was amazing feeling!" (UH)
About how the fans helped them in this game, Mack said:
"Our fans were great. That 12th Warrior helped us." (HA)
About going for it on 4th and inches with less than 6 minutes left in the game, Mack said:
"I believed in two things. I believed in our offense that they could get that and I believed our defense was playing well against their offense so I thought we could get after them." (HSB)
"It was just 6 inches." (HA)
About how Moniz has done better as he's gotten more reps in the offense, QB coach Nick Rolovich said:
"I think it works both ways. I think the offense is taking to him and I think he's taking to this offense." (HA)
About how Moniz has picked up the offense quicker than he did because Moniz has worked harder than he did when he played for UH, Rolo said:
"He's picked things up a lot quicker than I did, but I don't believe that it's because I'm any dumber than he is or he's smarter than I am, but because he's put the effort in way more than I did. Me, as a player, I didn't (put in the effort), and I was lucky to get my second chance. Mo came in and has put forth his best effort ever since he's got here and that's the reason why he is where he is." (HA)
About how Moniz is the leader of their team, Rolo said:
"Mo leads the team every day. They love him. They love who Bryant Moniz is. I don't think it was something unexpected tonight. They know what they're going to get from him. He fills them up. These guys really love that guy. I think the fans do too. I know I do. He's a hell of a quarterback." (HSB)
About how their clock management at the end of the first half was their best clock management in the two years that Mack has been head coach, Rolo said:
"(The best clock management) in a couple of years, probably. Two years. Getting out of bounds, receivers are alert, linemen are hustling. A lot of good things. We practice that every week. Same rules: first downs, out of bounds, get what you can. The clock, different signals. Very well executed by the guys out there tonight." (HSB)
About how Navy adjusted to the shift formation (their least-used formation) when they stopped their base offense, DL coach Dave Aranda (who made most of the defensive calls) said:
"I could count on one hand how many times we repped it (in practice). They majored in that (formation) in this game." (HA)
--------------------- Quotes from the UH players --------------------------
About how their team is on a roll now, Bryant Moniz said:
"Our team has just gelled so much, and come even closer every week. We're on this streak and this roll and our fans are behind us. It's a great feeling and it's awesome." (AP)
About their struggles on offense to start the game, Moniz said:
"Timing was a little off, so we just had to get in the groove of things." (HSB)
About how he was happy to be playing again after missing the SJSU game due to injury, Moniz said:
"I was just glad to be out there with the guys again. I think the first thing I said was, 'It's good to see you guys,' when I got into the huddle. It was just a great environment overall." (HSB)
About how he is getting comfortable within the offense, Moniz said:
"This offense is a repetition offense. The more reps you get, the more you start to see things and this being my fifth or sixth game, I'm starting to get comfortable in the game situations." (HA)
About how their time consuming drives on offense kept Navy's offense off the field, Moniz said:
"That was kind of our plan, just take their game strategy and flip it on them; try and keep their offense off the field." (HA)
About their defense stopping Navy on their final drive, Moniz said:
"I was yelling so loud I'm surprised I didn't lose my voice. It's something I'll remember forever. The crowd was so loud. I hope to hear that sound next week." (HSB)
About how their crowd was the loudest he had heard before, Moniz said:
"The crowd got so loud. I don't think I've heard it that loud before." (HSB)
About how they proved themselves in this game, Moniz said:
"It was a great game to prove ourselves, that we're legit -- we're the real deal." (HSB)
About how their QBs want to make their reads and throw the ball quickly, Moniz said:
"STK ... shoot to kill. That's kind of our motto between the quarterbacks. That's the main thing: that we won. It doesn't matter what the stats are at all; That 'W' was all we wanted." (HA)
"That's kind of what we wanted to get to, where there's no hesitation in your read and you just trust it. That's kind of where I'm at now and it just feels good, you know, to kind of get us back to that offense of old ... Shoot to kill." (HA)
About the big game that Salas had, Moniz said:
"You never know whose game it's going to be. Anybody can step up. This week it was Kealoha." (HA)
Praising how Salas is playing with bruised ribs, Moniz said:
"He's a trooper. If he's hurting, he won't show it ... he's just a hell of a player." (HA)
Thanking their fans for their support, Greg Salas said:
"I love making big plays and seeing the fans go crazy. That's why we play, to make people happy. Their out there cheering us on and screaming their heads off. That fourth quarter was crazy! Coming up with big stops on defense and hearing the crowd go nuts. We want to thank them for their support. It was amazing." (UH)
About how they knew they would move the ball against Navy, Salas said:
"Coach Ron (Lee) was telling us it was going to be a catch-and-get-upfield kind of a game because they have big holes in their zones. They were playing old-school zone defense and we knew we could be successful." (HSB)
About the 24-yard TD reception Pilares had in the first quarter, Salas said:
"Mo eye(-faked) the corner." (HA)
About Pilares' big game, Salas said:
"He's such a great athlete and once you get the ball in his hands, he's shown what he can do with it, so getting him involved is something that we need to do and I'm glad we did. "(HA)
About how they knew they could move the ball against Navy, Kealoha Pilares said:
"They play vanilla defense. Just go there and get in the hole. The underneath stuff was open all game." (HSB)
About his 8 catches for 102 yards and 2 TDs, Pilares said:
"It felt awesome. This whole time I've been at wideout, I haven't been myself. I'm really proud of the fact that I just kept my head in it, because it can be easy to get discouraged, but this week coach talked about how good things will happen if I just keep playing and I just really started believing that and I knew that my time would come and I'm glad it came tonight and that I was able to help my team win." (HA)
About how his role at wideout had him primarily serving as a decoy before this game, Pilares said:
"It's hard to play wideout, running streaks all day. The ball hardly comes to you." (HA)
About how the pastor in a chapel service two weeks ago encouraged their players to embrace PUSH (play until something happens), Pilares said:
"It pertained to me. I had to stay focused, keep my mind in the game." (HA)
About how he knew that this would be a big game for Pilares, Jon Medeiros (who was recruited to Navy along with Pilares) said:
"I even told (Pilares) before the game, 'This is going to be your game,' and as soon as he caught that first touchdown pass, I just knew he was going to have a good game." (HA)
Praising Moniz, Medeiros said:
"With Mo back, everything's back to how it was before. He did a great job handling pressure, and kept his composure in there. Kept himself relaxed, kept us relaxed. He made the right decisions, right throws, and I think he did a terrific job." (HSB)
About being stopped on a trap play when they went for it on 4th-and-1 late in the game, Alex Green said:
"I got stuck. They won that battle." (HA)
About yelling for Moniz to throw him the ball in the 3rd quarter when they were on the Navy 14 and he was in the right flat as a safety valve, Alex Green said:
"I said, 'Throw me the ball.' " (HA)
"I ran to the end zone as fast as I could." (HA)
HA Note: "Moniz obliged. Green caught the swing pass at the 16, and powered his way for the only touchdown of the second half."
About throwing the ball to Green on that play, Moniz said:
"We never did that before. I mean, we ran the play before, but it never worked out like that. He's a hot read. If they blitz, I give it to him. They didn't blitz. Usually, he doesn't get the ball. But he was hungry for it. You could see he was ready for it." (HA)
About how they proved their doubters wrong, Blaze Soares said:
"Wow. I'm very excited. A lot of people doubted us but we proved them wrong. This was a top caliber team coming into Hawai'i but we stepped it up and rose to the occasion. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished. We got one more big game coming up, so let's go!" (UH)
About the play of their defense and how they were motivated by Mack's speech, Blaze (who had 12 tackles and the game-ending sack) said:
"Coach Mack gave us a good speech. He told us that this is the type of offense that will run for hundreds of yards. But not tonight. They're a team that will eat up the clock, but not this night. It was a real motivational speech and when we went out on the field we played with that mentality. We started off quick. We thought it would take us two or three series to figure out the pace but the energy and adrenaline and the crowd helped us to play fundamentally sound." (UH)
"Coach Mack gave us a great speech. They have the kind of offense that would rush for 600 yards, but not this night. A team that would eat up the clock, but not this night." (HSB)
About getting the game-ending sack, Blaze said:
"I knew I got the sack and I just blacked out. The game's on the line and you make a big play and the adrenaline's rushing and everything goes silent, but you see everybody just raging." (HSB)
"If I didn't get the sack, I should quit football right now." (HA)
About how they were blitzing on the final play of the game, Blaze said:
"We were going after (Dobbs)." (HA)
Praising their fans, Blaze said:
"Coming into the stadium and hearing that big roar. That's what we live for." (HSB)
About defending Navy's option offense, Blaze said:
"Simple. Certain people take the dive, certain people take the pitch man. We trusted each other to do that. Everyone did the job." (HSB)
"It's just trust in one another. Certain people had to take the dive, other people had to take the quarterback and the pitch man. We trusted in one another to do that. We were very responsible. It cracked here and there, but overall everybody just did their job." (HSB)
Praising their scout team players for preparing them for this game, Blaze said:
"I have to thank our scout players. They simulated their offense just like how we saw it in the game. It was an unbelievable thing. They don't really get credit, but if it wasn't for them making us be responsible for our technique, we wouldn't have gotten this win." (HSB)
About how they still have a chance to make the Hawaii Bowl, Blaze said:
"We are survivors. When you believe in one another, when everybody is on the same page, great things can be done. Everybody thought we were dead. We have one more game to go. It's balls to the walls. Let's go." (HA)
"It feels awesome. We won this as a team. Now we have one more to go." (HA)
About how their fans helped them this game, R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane said:
"That crowd was big and we really, really needed them behind us and they were with us 100 percent." (HA)
About giving up zero points in two straight 3rd quarters, RJ said:
"It feels good, but it's the same thing as every week, we try to complete as many goals as we can. One of the goals was to hold them to 17 points and they were right at that all game. We play for something else, not just the third quarter. For us, this was do or die and we were able to come out with a victory." (HA)
About the 10-yard-sack he got on Navy's 2nd-to-last play of the game, RJ said:
"Usually on third-and-long, he has a five-step drop. I saw his back. I hit him." (HA)
About how they needed to start the game strong on D and how the fans were great in the game, Mana Silva said:
"We had to set the tone initially off the first couple drives. We played very disciplined and it went well. The last drive of the game I couldn't even hear the coach. The fans were great!" (UH)
About how they have a shot to make the Hawaii Bowl, Silva said:
"Still alive, baby. This is 'Survivor,' the Hawai'i edition." (HA)
About their loud 36,834 fans at the game, Tuika Tufaga said:
"It was crazy! I love them. They were into it all game long and at the end, when everyone was standing, it was chicken skin, but it just made us want to fight even harder." (HA)
About stopping Marcus Curry for a 2-yard loss when Navy had a first down at UH's 39-yard-line on the final drive of the game, Jeramy Bryant said:
"It was a perfect call by the coaches. I was at the right place." (HA)
About muffing a kickoff return, then making a career-long 55-yard return to set up their game-tying TD at the end of the first half, Jovonte Taylor said:
"I took my eyes off it for a quick second, that's why I muffed it. But I picked it up, made something out of nothing. I reversed field, and hey, I was out the gate. It was a big play for us, in a critical situation at that." (HSB)
-------------------- Quotes from the Navy coaches ----------------------
About how he and the Navy players were crushed by the loss, Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo said:
"We're crushed right now. This is home, and UH is my school, but I'm coaching Navy now, and I've got a group of kids in there that are heartbroken. It was a hard fought game." (UH)
"We're crushed right now. This is home and UH is my school but I coach Navy now. So I got players in there who are heartbroken." (AP)
"This is bitter. I'm happy for Hawaii, but our guys are crushed." (HSB)
About how this was an emotional game for him, Niumatalolo said:
"Very emotional game. To come back here to the stadium, it was different for me. I love these kids that I coach. Our guys on our team, I love them. It's unfortunate we came up short. I give Hawai'i all the credit in the world." (HA)
Giving credit to UH, Niumatalolo said:
"It was a great game, it was a great battle. Most of our games are like this. You've got to give Hawai'i credit. They made enough plays there at the end and were able to pull out a victory. I thought our kids battled; our guys played hard, too, but (Hawai'i) made maybe a few more plays than we did." (UH)
"(Hawai'i) had a nice plan, the kids executed well. I'm not going to make excuses. We've got to give them credit. I wish we could have played better, did better than how we did, but give Hawai'i credit." (UH)
"They just did a good job executing. We got a little frazzled out there. We didn't execute any of our stuff well." (AP)
"Give Hawaii credit. It was a great game, a great battle. Most of our games are like this. Hawaii just made enough plays." (HSB)
Praising UH's fans, Niumatalolo said:
"The crowd definitely played a factor. We got a little frazzled there, didn't execute any of our stuff very well, we didn't get things set." (UH)
About how they did not play well on offense and giving credit to UH's defense, Niumatalolo said:
"Defensively I thought we played well to start the game, but offensively, we didn't show up all night. But again, we didn't play well offensively, but you also give credit to (Hawai'i's) defense."
(UH)
Praising UH's game plan and the loud Hawaii fans, Niumatalolo said:
"Hawaii had a nice plan and executed well. The crowd definitely played a factor. We just got a little frazzled. Offensively, we didn't show up all night." (HSB)
About listening to UH's alma mater after the game, Niumatalolo said:
"Feels weird." (HA)
------------------- Quotes from the Navy players -------------------------
About how they wanted to beat UH for their head coach Niumatalolo and offensive coordinator Jasper (who both played for UH), QB Ricky Dobbs said:
"Nobody was really talking about it, but it was in the back of everybody's mind. It's a sense of pride thing. We wanted to give them bragging rights." (AP)
Asked if the long trip was a factor in the loss, Dobbs refused to make excuses:
"We had to come out and do it no matter if we had to travel 7,000 miles and play the next day it just comes down to execution. There is no excuse." (AP)
About how UH's offense kept them off the field, Dobbs said:
"They did a good job of controlling the ball and keeping it out of our hands. When they got it, they held it for a while, moving it up and down the field, something we should have been doing." (HA)
About how their offense couldn't move the ball on their final drive (5:41 left, 82 yards to go, no timeouts), Dobbs said:
"We couldn't get in the groove (offensively) at the end there. They put us in an uncomfortable position." (HA)
About how the loud UH crowd made things hard on their offense, Dobbs said:
"It was real tough. Guys couldn't hear me. I was quite surprised." (HSB)
Praising UH's defense (Temple ended Navy's 5-game win streak 4 weeks ago), Dobbs said:
"They were maybe like Temple or Delaware. Hawaii's a hard-hitting team. After the pitch, I definitely felt the hits. I know I'll feel it tomorrow." (HSB)
About returning to Hawaii to play, Kapolei graduate Aaron Santiago said:
"It was great seeing all the boys and to get a chance to come out here and play against them once more. Once I stepped out of that tunnel, I had some chills. It brought back memories from playing here in high school." (HA)
About playing in Navy's offense, Santiago said:
"In high school, we kind of ran the same offense, but (at Navy), the speed of the game is quicker and the expectations are different. If your timing is off by one step, you can ruin a whole play." (HSB)
About how he still cheers for the Warriors, Santiago said:
"Growing up in the islands, you're rooting for Hawaii. I still root for them except when we play them. They know to play very hard and they showed it today." (HSB)
Hoping to get more playing time next year, Santiago (a sophomore) said:
"We've got a lot of talent at A-back. We lose two A-backs next year. I hope I can fill one of their positions." (HSB)
------------------ Other quotes from the game ----------------------
Proud of Niumatalolo (his high school teammate at Radford), Thor Salanoa said:
"I'm so proud of him. Every week we talk to each other. In college (Thor went to Brigham Young), we were always calling up each other, still keeping in touch." (HA)
About returning to Hawaii for this game (he hadn't been to Hawaii since he was 1 year old), Niumatalolo's 16-year-old son Va'a said:
"It was great to come out there and see family and everyone. This is the first time I've seen a game in here. Well, a second time. I saw the Kahuku (vs. Farrington state semifinal) yesterday." (HA)
Impressed with UH's fans, Va'a said:
"It's a lot louder than I thought it would be. Inside the stadium, it was as loud as Notre Dame and Ohio State. It got pretty loud. I was impressed." (HA)
Proud of Niumatalolo, the first college head coach of Samoan ancestry, Mayor Mufi Hannemann said:
"It's very special because his mother and I are cousins. I'm so proud of him. He achieved what so many people just dream about." (HA)
Praising Niumatalolo, Hannemann said:
"He was always a leader. He was always very intelligent; he was very disciplined. It's not surprising that he's doing so well." (HA)
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