Hawaii kicks off season against Northern Colorado

Aug 29, 2007, 15:30 GMT

Honolulu, HI - Ranked in the preseason polls for the first time in program history, the Hawaii Warriors begin their quest for an even better season as they take on the little-known Northern Colorado Bears in the home opener this weekend in Honolulu.

The Warriors, who finished 2006 with an outstanding 11-3 mark overall and a record of 7-1 against the rest of the Western Athletic Conference, slipped into the AP's first rankings of 2007 at the 23rd position, ahead of fellow WAC member Boise State which was the only team to go undefeated in I-A a season go. Hawaii was an offensive dynamo in 2006, setting records at every turn with quarterback Colt Brennan doing much of the damage. Brennan, who set a new NCAA record with 58 passing scores, got off to a slow start in the 25-17 setback to Alabama in the opener and then came up just shy against Boise State (41-34), but other than that he was nearly perfect. Eleven times the program scored at least 40 points, hitting for 61 or more in three straight and four of five outings during one stretch. Despite a regular season finale loss to Oregon State at home, 35-32, the team still had an opportunity to show off at the national level and dismissed Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl, 41-24.

As for Northern Colorado, a team that competes in the Big Sky Conference, the squad was picked to finish last this season by both the media and the coaches in the middle of July, which means it will be way over its head in this matchup. The Bears won just a single game last season, defeating Texas State at home by a score of 14-13, which means the rest of the campaign was spent staying out of the way of the oncoming traffic. There were some close games for the team, a 13-10 loss to Montana State and a 14-9 setback at Sacramento, but those were more the exception than the rule. Five times the team failed to score in double figures and was blown away in the regular season finale, 54-3, at the hands of Northern Arizona.

This game marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the gridiron.

Senior quarterback Dominic Breazeale will be the starter for the Bears when they hit the field this weekend, but right behind him ready to jump into the huddle will be junior Mike Vlahogeorge despite not having thrown a single pass for the team a year ago. Breazeale appeared in nine of the team's 10 games in 2006 and did little to impress with a mere two touchdowns and 113.1 ypg, against nine interceptions. Then again, Breazeale was not the only signal- caller to have issues with production, as the team overall came up with just six passing scores and 17 INTs. Having lost several players and the lack of aggressive play in the passing game, the team has very few reliable options out on the wings coming into the season. In practice, Brent Brown has shown the ability to make plays, but the redshirt freshman is going to find out that practice and scrimmages are completely different than live opponents who are out to cause havoc. Junior running back Tyrone Wilson, a juco transfer from Coffeyville, could be someone to watch coming out of the backfield even though this will be his first-ever major college game.

Inexperience, youth and a talent pool that is almost exclusive to the Rocky Mountain scene, the Bears are going to be tested early and often by Brennan and the run-and-shoot Hawaii offense. Last season the team allowed a whopping 31.9 ppg on more than 400 yards of offense from opponents, so there is still a lot of growing that needs to be done by the group. Linebacker Cristian Sarmento is going to be asked to carry a lot of the weight for the unit after he paced the team with 74 tackles and 5.5 stops for loss in 2006. Sarmento was also responsible for two of the team's seven forced fumbles and recovered a pair as well. Fellow linebacker Casey Herron, a transfer from Boise State, appeared in every game for the Bears a season ago and led the group with four TFLs and three sacks, on just 27 tackles. Senior defensive back Aaron Henderson might be a bit small at 5-9 and 175 pounds, but that didn't stop him from producing a team-high three interceptions in 2006, one more than Korey Askew who was just a freshman.

Easily within range of any and all quarterback records with the Warriors, Brennan is on the verge of greatness and will have plenty of weapons at his disposal out on the wings as he competes for all the coveted hardware that goes with being the top passer in the country. Returning starters at wideout include juniors Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen and senior Jason Rivers. An Honorable Mention All-American, Bess was a First Team All-WAC choice for the second straight campaign as he led the squad with 96 grabs for 1,220 yards. While any team would be happy to have even one receiver with double-digit touchdowns, Bess was one of four receivers to register at least 10 TD catches, leading the unit with 15. With his huge postseason effort, Rivers finished with 72 catches for 10 TDs and an average of more than 16 yards per reception. In the two years that he's played for the Warriors, Grice-Mullen already has 23 touchdowns and close to 2,000 receiving yards. With Brennan getting the green light to throw down the field whenever he sees fit, Bess, Rivers and Grice-Mullen might just become the first set of teammates to all record over 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. The front line for Hawaii returns two starters in senior Hercules Satele and sophomore John Estes, trying to open holes for new running backs David Farmer and Kealoha Pilares.

The defense has steadily improved over the last few seasons and turned the corner last year as it ranked third in the conference in run defense, giving up just 136.1 ypg after placing 98th in the nation in that department a year earlier. The pass defense was not as tight, allowing 241.7 ypg, but much of that had to do with the fact that almost every opponent was fighting an uphill battle both against the Warriors and the clock as they tried to catch up. Junior linebacker Adam Leonard placed first on the unit with 114 stops a year ago, earning him All-WAC Second Team honors. In addition, Leonard also recorded team highs with nine pass breakups and four recovered fumbles. Joining Leonard in the middle of the field are Solomon Elimimian, Micah Lau and Tyson Kafentzis, the latter being one of the best athletes coach Jones has ever been around. Elimimian finished second on the unit with 89 stops which again was a result of so many teams having to pass the ball just to stay competitive. The front line has lost some considerable talent, leaving only senior Michael Lafaele as the only returning starter, which means juniors David Veikune and Keala Watson, along with senior Karl Noa will have to pick up the pace and gel as quickly as possible. The secondary remains almost intact with the inclusions of Gerard Lewis, Myron Newberry and Jacob Patek.

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