TUCSON, ARIZ. 鈥擨n seeking to open the season with back-to-back victories, the 91直播 football team has doubled down for Saturday鈥檚 road game against Arizona.
Two pastors accompanied the Rainbow Warriors on this nonconference trip.
There are two retired police officers 鈥� former SHOPO president Malcolm Lutu and John Veneri (father of sportscasters John and Mark Veneri) 鈥� available for security. The elder Veneri is on a vacation trip.
And the Warriors held two workouts Friday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big game,鈥� said UH associate head coach Chris Brown, whose Warriors opened the season with last week鈥檚 23-20 victory over Stanford at the Ching Complex. 鈥淓very game is a big game. The way the boys compete, how they compete, how they come out with that mindset. Are they satisfied about the win last week or are they hungry for more? They鈥檙e going out there to win. That鈥檚 the objective.鈥�
After practicing at the Ching Complex for three days this week, the Warriors arrived in Tucson late Thursday. They had an hour-long practice on Friday in surprisingly steamy conditions at Mountain View High School. A thunderstorm struck Tucson on Thursday 鈥� a 鈥渕onsoon鈥� to Tucsonans 鈥� and Friday鈥檚 95-degree dry heat created a sauna-like effect.
鈥淚t was pretty hot out there,鈥� head coach Timmy Chang said. 鈥淏ut it was good. I think we can continue to get better.鈥�
The day ahead of the Stanford game, several players walked the length of Ching field. Nickelback Elijah Palmer and middle linebacker Jamih Otis asked Chang if the Warriors could have a walk-through session at Arizona Stadium ahead of today鈥檚 game.
鈥淭he guys wanted it,鈥� Chang said. 鈥淚 understood how important it was to them. They wanted to go to (Arizona Stadium) to get a feel for it.鈥�
For the afternoon session at the Wildcats鈥� home venue, the Arizona marching band agreed to pause its rehearsal for an hour, clearing the field for the Warriors. The players tested the artificial surface鈥檚 grip and adjusted to the background. Then at the players鈥� request, the Warriors locked arms and walked the length of the field. After that, the Warriors gathered around Norman Nakanishi, pastor of Pearlside Church, who delivered a prayerful pep talk.
As the Warriors headed to the buses, kicker Kansei Matsuzawa stopped at the 40 and focused on the goal posts. It was part of his visualization preparation. Against Stanford, Matsuzawa was 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts, including the 38-yard winner as time expired.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a sign of unity,鈥� defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said of the stadium session. 鈥淚t brings them physically together before they play. It鈥檚 a great idea to get them into an environment where they鈥檙e going to play. Many of these kids have never been in this stadium. The opportunity to be in this stadium and be comfortable and link together as a team 鈥� those are the little things that could be difference-makers when it gets tough. And it鈥檚 going to get tough. Every game, the only thing you鈥檙e promised is adversity.鈥�
If all goes as expected, the game will match two dynamic 5-foot-10 quarterbacks. Micah Alejado, who continued playing despite injuring his right ankle in UH鈥檚 first possession of the second half last week, is expected to start.
Quarterback Noah Fifita and receiver Tetairoa 鈥淭-Mac鈥� McMillan were a prolific aerial connection from Servite High School through Arizona last year. McMillan, who grew up in Waimanalo, was the Carolina Panthers鈥� first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
As an assistant coach at Bishop Gorman High, Brown coached against Fifita and McMillan.
鈥淗e鈥檚 still the same kid,鈥� Brown said of Fifita. 鈥淗im and T-Mac were a combo. Never underestimate that kid because there鈥檚 a reason T-Mac鈥檚 a first-round draft pick. Somebody threw him the ball. That鈥檚 that kid. He鈥檚 elusive, tough, and he can throw. We鈥檒l try to go out there and corral him and get after him.鈥�