KEA'AU, Hawai'i – The University of Hawai'i Warrior football team made its annual trip to the neighbor islands conducting a practice, intrasquad scrimmage and autograph session Saturday at Pai'ea Stadium on the campus of Kamehameha Schools-Hawai'i.

 

A near-capacity crowd, some of whom arrived hours before the start of practice, greeted the Warriors on an overcast day in Kea'au. The Warriors responded with a spirited practice and intrasquad scrimmage, giving the Big Island fans an up-close look at the 2011 squad. It was the third straight year UH visited the neighbor islands during spring camp. The Warriors appeared at War Memorial Stadium on Maui in 2009 and Vidinha Stadium on Kaua'i in 2010.

 

“We just really appreciate the enthusiasm of all the people who came out,” head coach Greg McMackin said. “It was a tremendous experience. A lot of the people here watch us on TV and now they get to meet the players and coaches in person. They are all Warriors and part of the Warrior Nation”

 

After 45 minutes of warm-ups and drills, the Warriors used the second hour of their practice to entertain the crowd with an intrasquad scrimmage. The defense looked good from the get go as junior linebacker Darryl McBride Jr. recorded two of his three sacks on the day in the opening series. The defense also got interceptions from freshman defensive back Dee Maggitt and junior linebacker Jordan Monico with Maggitt nearly returning his for a touchdown.

 

Five different quarterbacks saw playing time on offense, with starter Bryant Moniz seeing limited snaps. Reserve David Graves provided the highlights with a long connection to Allen Sampson and a 45-yard scoring strike to Jeremiah Ostrowski down the middle of the field for the only touchdown of the day.

 

 “There were a lot of good plays on all three sides of the ball,” McMackin said. “It's really our first real scrimmage (of the spring) so the tackling was better than I thought it would be, but we definitely have things we can work on to get better.”

 

The appearance also marked a homecoming for several Warriors who were born and raised on the Big Island, including a pair of players who made their return to their old high school turf—junior running back Hogan Rosehill and freshman slot back Kana Silva. Other Big Island natives making the return were junior offensive lineman Levi Legay (Kealakehe High School), senior offensive lineman Elmer Lim III (Kamuela)  and freshman offensive lineman Jordan Loeffler (Hilo High School).

 

“I was stoked to play in front of my family and friends again,” said Rosehill, a Kamehameha Schools graduate. “It was just an all-around good experience"

 

“I had some jitters before coming out here,” Hilo native Loeffler said, “but they were all gone once I got that first hit in.”

 

Following the scrimmage, the team held an hour-long autograph session on the Pai'ea field before their flight back to Honolulu.

 

UH returns to Honolulu for the final week of spring camp. The Warriors will have the annual Warrior Bowl at the Clarence T.C. Ching Field on the lower campus on Friday, April 15 before conducting its final practice of the spring on Monday, April 18.