Sunday, October 31, 2010

Quotes from the UH-Idaho game 10/30/10

UH = University of Hawaii Athletics website
HSA = Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Note: There were no game quotes on Idaho's website, ESPN, USA Today, or the AP articles I read.

----------------  Quotes from the UH coaches  ------------------

About how this was a great team win, with Pilares a weapon bringing back punts, special teams doing well, and the defense creating so many turnovers, Mack said:
"This was really a great team win. I thought the special teams…with Kealoha (Pilares) returning punts took one on the one (yard line) and took it back 20 yards. But he's going to be a weapon. But I can't say enough about the defense…four turnovers and one went for a touchdown and on special teams the blocked kick and the fumble recovery and our defense had three fourth-down stops. We dropped more balls than we normally do…Mo(niz) started a little cold and was over-throwing some guys." (UH)


Praising Idaho, Mack said:
"That's an excellent football team…their quarterback is for real and they have really good receivers and they're well coached—Rob Akey is just outstanding—so I feel real good about the win and our program." (UH)


Happy to be going to the Hawaii Bowl this year, Mack said:
"I felt really bad that we missed (qualifying) for the bowl last season finishing one game short. And that was our main goal (this year). And now, winning this game opens a whole new set of goals. Now we can (focus) on the WAC Championship…obviously next week is a big game and we want to win the rest of our WAC games. I told this team way back in the spring that we had a chance to be something special. But our number one goal was to win seven games and get to the bowl game." (UH


Asked if they are playing at their peak heading into the Boise State game, Mack said:
"I don't think so…I think what we have to do is when we go to Boise we just have to play a little better than we did today. They're just another team with another set of jerseys. We have to be focused and we have to make the plays when they come to us. We missed a few plays today early, and we can get better…and if we get better we can play with anyone in the country." (UH)


Asked if their defense is expecting to cause more turnovers, Mack said:
"They have confidence now and are not afraid to go for the ball…they don't sit back and they're aggressive. I think Rich Miano and Chris Tormey have done a good job with the secondary. Our d-line, we didn't blitz very much because he was getting the ball out so fast and we were covering well enough that we didn't need to blitz much." (UH)


About how their offense made mistakes but played well enough to win, offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich said:
"It was a little sloppy. We dropped some balls. We missed some protection. We missed some throws. We're going to need to clean that up going into next week's game. But the kids played well enough to win. They made some plays. And Mo had a great game. You don't expect him to go (1-for-7) to start the game, but I thought he made some big throws down the stretch. After the first (two) series, he was pretty lights out, I thought." (HSA)


About Salas getting 11 receptions for 168 yards and moving into 2nd place on UH's career receiving list with 3,692 yards, Rolo said:
"That's kind of what you expect from him. He's a special player in the history of UH football." (HSA)


About how this is a special time for UH football, Rolo said:
"Just the guys we have, it gets into trust, it gets into love, it gets into having each other's back. It's not Xs and Os any more. It's just a special time for UH football and I hope everyone's enjoying it." (HSA)


About Idaho getting their first TD with 2:18 left in the game, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda said:
"I wish we were able to finish it. I feel for the people who were standing by me. I probably said some things I shouldn't have said." (HSA)


Praising his players, Aranda said:
"I give credit to the players. The players made plays when they needed to be made.They're very smart football players, they understand the game, the situation and I think they rise to the occasion." (HSA)


About how this may be their best all-around team in 12 years, Rich Miano said:
"This is probably the best we've been in all three phases in, maybe, 12 years." (HSA)


About how their defense went after idaho's QB and rattled him, DT coach Tony Tuioti said:
"Everybody was really relentless in getting to the quarterback," said Tony Tuioti, who coaches the UH defensive tackles. "Any time you can affect the quarterback, it makes a difference. He wasn't the same guy we saw on film." (HSA)


HSA Note: "For this game, the defensive motto was: Affect the quarterback. Enderle usually is accurate throwing to the flats off of a three-step drop. The Warriors countered with press coverage on the receivers, and the defensive ends raising their arms, Rush end Paipai Falemalu tipped two passes."


-----------------  Quotes from the UH players -------------------

About scoring their last TD in the game, Bryant Moniz said:
"The late hit two plays before, that really pissed me off. I was really mad at that point. I wasn't going to let somebody stop me. I was on a roll. I was on fire." (HSA)


When a reporter pointed out that it appeared he broke free from DE Aaron Lavarias (who was penalized twice for roughing-the-passer) at the 1, Moniz said:
"Didn't notice. They're all wearing the same colored jersey." (HSA)


About his struggles to start the game, Moniz said:
"I was excited." (HSA)


About how they didn't let their mistakes and missed opportunities get them frustrated, Greg Salas said:
"Now we know what we can do. We have a real close chemistry and bond with each other, so we don't get frustrated thinking, 'We're not scoring.' We know when we get back on the field we're going to get the opportunity and make the most of it." (HSA)


About passing Bess to become #2 all-time in UH's career receiving list, Salas said:
"I'm not paying attention to that at all. I'll look back at the end of my career and see where I fall. But we don't go into a game thinking about what we have (statistically), we go into the game thinking, 'we need to win this.' " (HSA)


About how his drop early in the second quarter provided extra motivation for him to catch everything else, Salas said:
"I don't know what happened to me right there, I just got too excited. But after that I definitely focused up and it made me a little mad and I think it makes me play a little better when I play angry." (HSA)


About how he felt his hamstring tighten up during warm-ups after halftime and he had to sit out the second half, Kealoha Pilares said:
"I just made this sudden movement and I felt it. I'm just going to do everything in my power to get back, because this week's game (at Boise State) is super important." (HSA)


About their struggles on offense to start the game, Rodney Bradley said:
"We came out too anxious and got out of our game plan." (HSA)


Asked if they were focused on Idaho instead of looking ahead to Boise State, Bradley said:
"Definitely. Game in and game out you can never underestimate your opponent. The task at hand was Idaho." (HSA)


About being named a captain for the Idaho game after breaking his leg against Idaho last year, Bradley said:
"That was really big. I really thank Coach Mack (Greg McMackin) for that." (HSA)

HSA Note: "Bradley met Idaho safety Shiloh Keo — whose hit in last year's game resulted in Bradley's injury — at midfield for the coin toss, and Hawaii's first offensive play went Bradley's way for an 8-yard completion."


About how things are fine between Shiloh Keo and him, Bradley said:
"There's only good things between us." (HSA)


About visiting with Idaho's medical staff after the game, the staff that tended to him after his injury last year, Bradley said:
"Dr. (Steve) Pennington did my surgery and took good care of me. Their coaches came down and saw me and their players. I have a lot of love for those guys and appreciate what they did for me." (HSA)


About ignoring the injury that kept him out of practice all week and be able to rush for 74 yards and a TD, Alex Green said:
"I was focused. You can't worry about little injuries. You have to play." (HSA)


Wanting to cut short their 48-hour rule and start focusing on Boise State already, Austin Hansen said:
"We're excited for the state of Hawaii. We usually have the 48-hour rule (to enjoy victories), but we're cutting that short. We're over it. The 'W' is in the books. We're ready to move on." (HSA)


Praising Kainoa LaCount for doing a good job in place of Laupepa Letuli while playing with a broken right hand, Hansen said:
"Give all the credit to Kainoa. He played firm over there. He had a broken hand. He had to cast it up. He had to go against a guy we feel is the best defensive end in the WAC. The proof is in the pudding. Kainoa gave him a heck of a game." (HSA)


About playing with a broken right hand, Kainoa LaCount said:
"(The injury) didn't bother me that much." (HSA)


About how they have been driven to prove all of their detractors wrong, Vaughn Meatoga said:
"Everybody was down on us — radio guys, blogs. It was in our mind, mentally, that it was us against the world. I think that drove us. We wanted to prove everyone wrong. It feels good to be on this winning streak. But we have a lot more games left. It's not over." (HSA)


About being penalized for a helmet-to-helmet hit and asked about his INT, Mana Silva said:
"Yeah, it was a penalty," Silva admitted. "As for the return, I have no comment on that." (HSA)

HSA Note: "After a spin move, it appeared Silva was going to head in the wrong direction."


About how their defense is playing well, Silva said:
"We're playing at a high level now." (HSA)


About how they aren't satisfied with just a winning season and Hawaii Bowl spot, Silva said:
"Not finished. We're not finished. We still have goals out there to achieve." (HSA)


About how he knew that Richard Torres was going to score after Torres picked up the fumble he caused, John Hardy-Tuilau said:
"I knew he was gone. We gotta all contribute to the win. Whatever we can do to put the offense in the game." (HSA)


About returning his fumble recovery for a TD, Richard Torres said:
"I thought to myself: ball first. I made sure I bent my knees to pick it up. Once I picked it up, I took off to the end zone. It was a nice feeling. It's been a while." (HSA)


About how the defense stepped up and created turnovers while the offense struggled, Torres said:
"We just knew we had to start making plays and just do what we do and open it up for them (the offense) to score. As long as we do our job, we feel we can win any game." (HSA)


About blocking Idaho's FG attempt in the second quarter, Liko Satele said:
"We seemed to be getting close. So this week we just broke through. I figured it'd be lower because of the spot we were on the field. I figured if we get the push at that one spot, I could get it with my hand." (HSA)


---------------  Quotes from the Idaho coaches  ---------------

Praising UH and saying that they are comparable to the Sugar Bowl team, head coach Rob Akey said:
"I think (Hawai'i is) pretty good. They're pretty good like that team they took to the Sugar Bowl a few years ago... I've got a lot of respect for them. Coach McMackin and his crew have done a great job and the players have done a great job. They've got a lot of respect coming from us." (UH)


About how turnovers really hurt them in the game, Akey said:
"(Turnover's) hurt us a ton… led to touchdowns, there was a scoop and score that went for a touchdown... I think those turnovers happened there in the second quarter. They got a little fire going in here, and we didn't do anything to put some water on that fire. We didn't make any plays. Then in the second half we didn't do any better." (UH)


About how red zone and 4th down situations hurt them, Akey said:
"The turnovers hurt us, but we didn't do a good job finishing drives. We march all the way down there to start the game and settle for a field goal and then give up a touchdown to them on fourth down that we should have stopped." (HSA)


About how UH did a great job, Akey said:
"(Hawai'i) kept rolling, they did a great job. I'm very disappointed. I thought we were about ready to get off this rollercoaster...We win a game then we lose a game. We need to get a streak started." (UH)


About the blow out loss and how they cannot get a win streak together, Akey said:
"We got embarrassed out here unfortunately today. I thought we were ready to get off this roller coaster, but we didn't play and compete throughout the whole game." (HSA)

--------------  Quotes from the Idaho players  -----------------


About the loss, Robert Siavii (2008 Leilehua grad who had 6 tackles in the game) said:
"It was an honor to come home and be on the same field as a lot of my friends and have my family here." (HSA)


About how his Mom kept him updated on the Leilehua-Kahuku game after he arrived in Honolulu late Friday afternoon, Siavii said:
"My mom was texting me every 2 minutes with the score. Eventually she told me it was like 44-7 or something like that and I was like, 'OK mom, you don't need to tell me the rest.' " (HSA)


About having to watch this game from the sidelines due to suffering a career-ending injury last week, JoJo Dickson (Baldwin grad) said:
"I try to be a leader on and off the field, but it's a lot more difficult being on the sideline. They played their hearts out and that's all you can ask for." (HSA)

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