"Lose one and we're done." (HA)
Mack said that after 4 straight wins:
"we're right where we want to be." (HA)
Blaze Soares said that a win tonight means:
"we can keep playing football." (HA)
About how his players have dealt with the must-win pressure each week, Mack said:
"The guys have worked hard to put themselves in this position. It was 'win or you're out.' Every week there was pressure." (HA)
About how they simplified their assignments on defense, R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane said:
"Now, we just react." (HA)
About how his team is used to dealing with the loss of players due to injury, Mack said:
"We don't even let it bother us anymore. We just move on." (HA)
About their critics and their bandwagon, Aaron Kia said:
"We're not here to win people over, we're here to win games. It's about sticking together as a team. We don't need everybody's criticism or hate to dictate our season. ... If people want to jump off (the bandwagon), they can jump off. If people want to jump on board, that's fine, too. We welcome them." (HA)
Loving their situation where they need to beat Wisconsin to be able to face JJ, Blaze said:
"You have to love the situation we're in. We win one game, we play our old coach (SMU's June Jones in the Hawai'i Bowl). The way our season started and the way we're trying to finish it, it's a very pleasing feeling. We have to take care of business. We want to go out there, scramble some eggs." (HA)
About the huge OL Wisconsin has, averaging 6' 5.5" and 317 pounds, Rich Miano said:
"They're like the New York football Giants. They have height and weight requirements. If you play the offensive line, it seems you have to be 6-4." (HA)
About how two of his brothers graduated from Wisconsin (Rick earned a PhD in nuclear engineering, Steve earned a MS in industrial engineering), Miano said:
"I'm sure my brothers will have mixed emotions, but they'll definitely root for us. It's family over alumni." (HA)
About his won Nick Toon's success, former NFL WR Al Toon said:
"He understands the fundamentals of the position, and he believes the basics are important. So he is working very hard, putting in extra time, and it has translated into tangible and measurable success." (HA)
About how he hasn't asked Bryant Moniz for any special favors despite being close to two UH single-season records, Greg Salas said:
"Nah, he's not like that." (HA)
About how wins are much more important than records, Salas said:
"The most important thing is the team and winning. I haven't done anything. I don't have any records." (HA)
About how he prepared for his switch from wideout last season to slotback this season by studying how slots ran routes and how bigger wideouts used their size to position for catches, Salas said:
"I tried to combine the two, and it worked out well," (HA)
About how his yards-after-catch average is 9.83 and yards-after-hit average is 4.64, Salas said that as a wideout:
"last year, you're hemmed up on the sideline. You can't really go anywhere. Now you can catch the ball in the middle of the field. You can go either way. That's helped me with running after the catch." (HA)
About how Scott Enos was able to get his kicks over the blue pads help up in practice this week, showing that he's fixing his problem with low kicks, special teams coordinator Chris Tormey said:
"He's doing better. He's been pretty consistent inside the 40." (HA)
About how Ryan Henry has been calling for a lot of fair catches on punt returns lately, Tormey said:
"He saves us a lot of yards by not letting the ball bounce. He gets to a lot of balls." (HA)
About how he ignored his critics during their 6-game losing streak, Mack said:
"Our coaches and players stayed together and continued to work hard and believe in each other. I don't listen to negative people who want to put limits on this team. I believe in positives." (HA)
HA Note: "Following a tough loss to Idaho, Donovan admitted that he was "frustrated" with the state of the program but said he would wait until the end of the season to evaluate McMackin's performance. Donovan yesterday reiterated that he would reserve judgment until "all the evidence is in" but added that he was happy with the team's ability to salvage the season."
Proud of Mack and their players for turning around their season, JD said:
"I'm certainly very, very proud of Coach Mack and the players for what they've accomplished in the last four games. The fact that they have a meaningful game to play (tonight) is an indication of how hard they've worked to get better. I'm very hopeful." (HA)
About how he never thought about how he never thought about getting fired, Mack said:
"I never thought about it (getting fired). I committed to UH and UH committed to me. I feel complete support." (HA)
About all of the angry people that were calling for Mack to be fired this season, QB coach Nick Rolovich said:
"He handled it well. He made sure that our focus was always on the next game. He never addressed the negativity that was out there." (HA)
About how they stuck together and ignored their doubters, Rocky Savaiigaea said:
"There were still a lot of loyal fans, but there were also a lot who doubted us. All we had was each other. Every week, Coach Mack would tell us that it was the people in the room — the players and coaches — that was going to win the games for us and it didn't matter what negativity was going on around us." (HA)
About how he noticed how the public's opinion changed about them, Rocky said;
"It really hurt. People were cheering us on when we were 2-0 and saying how they were loyal fans. But then we started losing a few and there was hardly anybody in the stands, everyone was calling for people to get fired, and people were saying that they had no faith in our team." (HA)
Crediting coach Mack for keeping them together, Rocky said:
"The people who say 'fire him,' or put up these Web sites, they're not the ones waking up at 4:15 every morning and working hard to make us better." (HA)
About the negative comments she heard, Keani Santos (girlfriend of Elliot Purcell) said:
"It's so shame when people do that because the coaches are the ones who stay up day and night trying to do the right thing. There are a lot of great fans who want the team to win, but nobody wants to win more than the players and coaches." (HA)
Excited about the chance that the team could make the Hawaii Bowl, Santos said:
"I'm nervous. But whatever happens, it was a great season. They had a lot of downfalls and they overcame a lot just to get here. I hope they win because they deserve it." (HA)
Praising UH for coming back from their 6-game losing streak, Leonard said:
"I commend the team for not giving up. When you're in an uphill battle, you can can it or you can fight back. That's what they're doing." (HA)
About walking to the North End Zone to thank their supporters after the Navy win, Mack said:
"I really felt that we had the 12th Warrior out there that night. I just wanted to thank them for helping us win." (HA)
About the significance of the Navy win for Mack, Rocky said:
"You could see that all of the weight was lifted off his shoulders. He was under so much stress, but the way we played and the way we finished the game, you could see how happy he was. Everybody is happy and alive. It's just fun right now." (HA)
About how they give their best effort every week, Mack said:
"We have loyal and true fans who have stayed with us and who know that we've given our best every week, whether we're beating Navy or losing to Boise State. We have a game to play (tonight) and we're going to bring that same effort and hard work." (HA)
Crediting their seniors for keeping their team together during their losing streak, Mack said:
"Right there they showed a lot of leadership, and that's probably what brought us back and kept us together. We could have just folded and ended up a 2-10 team, but we stuck together and kept fighting and now we're on a roll." (HSB)
About how his players have worked hard for this chance to make the Hawaii Bowl, Mack said:
"They've worked themselves into a place where they have an opportunity to play for everything. They've worked hard to get there and everything's on the line." (HSB)
About how his Warrior career has gone by quickly, Aaron Kia said:
"Too fast. You hear it every year from the seniors and you think 'I've got a whole other year coming up.' Next thing you know you're being asked questions about your five years." (HSB)
About how all of their work for this season comes down to this one game, R.J. said:
"All this hard work, now it comes down to this last game. It does add to the emotion." (HSB)
About having another must-win game, Moniz said:
"We've played with our backs against the wall, we've played with pressure for these past four weeks, so I think we're used to the atmosphere." (HSB)
About wanting to make the Hawaii Bowl for their seniors, Salas said:
"We want to get them to a bowl game and show how grateful we are for their leadership this year and keeping us together." (HSB)
http://www.starbulletin.com/sports/sportsnews/20091205_hawaii_seniors_put_it_all_on_line.html
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment