UH FOOTBALL
More than pride was at 'steak'
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By Stephen Tsai
HawaiiWarriorBeat.com Editor
When a steak dinner is the prize, there is one thing left to say to the victors.
Well done.
"Yes, steak was on our menu," said quarterback Inoke Funaki, who threw two scoring passes to lift the Black team to a 24-20 victory over the Green team in last night's Warrior Bowl at Aloha Stadium. "It was nice to come up with a win."
The first UH spring game in 10 years matched the Lee brothers — offensive coordinator Ron Lee, who was head coach of the Black, and defensive coordinator Cal Lee, who led the Green.
"My favorite Lee?" Funaki said, laughing, "Bruce Lee. Nah. I love 'em both. They're cool guys."
Ron Lee said: "We got out of it with nobody getting hurt. To me, that was the plus."
Two weeks ago, there was a draft to pick the sides. There were some basic rules:
Everything else was fair game, which explained the game's final scoring play.
With the ball at the Black 13, on the right hashmark, Green offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich called for T-Corner. The wideouts aligned on the line of scrimmage, and left tackle Aaron Kia stepped back a yard, making him an eligible receiver.
The 280-pound Kia, running at the speed of huff and puff, ran an out pattern. He then hauled in Bryce Kalauokaaea's pass for a touchdown, closing the Green to 24-20 with 5:25 to play.
Kia then turned to the more than 9,000 fans on the near sideline — only sportscaster Artie Wilson and team security officer Manny Rezentes sat on the far-sideline stands — and struck an American Gladiator pose. Soon after, Kia became the center of a Green mosh pit.
"Never in my life," Kia said, referring to both the number of previous touchdowns and catches. "Did (the celebration) look good? It was no dance. It was a pose."
Rolovich, an alumnus of the Arena Football League, said he crafted the play Friday night.
"You see that in arena sometimes," Rolovich said. "We needed it. It was perfect timing. We told (Kia), when we got off the bus, we were going to use it. He was fired up. It was fun for him. It was a memory he'll always have."
Kalauokaaea said: "Just a little something up the coaches' sleeve for the Green. Coach Rolo came up with it. We never practiced it. It was a game call. It was good because (Kia) is such a big target."
But that was not enough to help the Green overcome the Black's quick start.
Funaki sparked the Green to a 7-0 lead when he hit Malcolm Lane on a 27-yard post play.
"I went through my reads," Lane said. "I ran a choice route. I either had the out or the post. (The cornerback) gave me the post, so I hit it."
The Black made it 10-0 on Kelly's 26-yard field goal.
After the Green closed to 10-7 on Michael Washington's 8-yard pass from Tyler Graunke, the Black upped the cushion to 17-7 on Daniel Lofton's 6-yard touchdown catch.
Lofton, the son of Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton, last played at California in 2006. He transferred to UH last summer. While his transcripts were reviewed, he was withheld from practicing most of last season, during which he had to redshirt in accordance with NCAA transfer rules.
"It was weird to play under the lights," Lofton said. "I hadn't done it in a long time."
The Black team ended its scoring on a shovel pass from Shane Austin to running back Jake Heun, who pinballed off two would-be tacklers en route to the end zone.
"I learned from all of those linebacker days," said Heun, who was mostly a defensive player at City College of San Francisco last season. "Give credit to the o-line. They blocked away."
Heun, Lofton and running back Camron Carmona, who scored on a 2-yard run for the Green, are assured spots on the training camp roster. But the intrasquad game helped build resumes for several players, such as slotback Nate Nasca. More than 20 players on the spring roster are not expected to be invited to training camp in August.
Nasca had two catches for 20 yards, but he was pummeled on each. On the first, he ran into a streetcar named Desmond Thomas. "It was a cover-3 (defense), and I tried to disguise it a little bit," Thomas said.
Nasca said: "I didn't feel him coming at all. I just held on to it."
On the second, he was slammed by cornerback Jameel Dowling.
"I knew I was going to get hit, so I figured I might as well catch it," Nasca said. "I hope (the catches) help me. We'll see in the next couple of weeks how it goes."
Greg McMackin, who completed his first spring training as UH's head coach, said he was pleased with the Warriors' progress in the last month.
Of last night's game, McMackin said, "This is the most fun I've had in coaching. I got to watch both Ron Lee and Cal Lee. I was relaxed all day. I took a little swim in the morning. I took a hot tub. I wore my slippers (during the game). It was great."
And now McMackin is preparing for a good meal. The winners receive steak, the losers get hot dogs.
"I'm going on the winning team," McMackin said, smiling. "I get to pick."
Heun said: "There was a little bit of a wager out there. In the end, we're all one team."
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.