Following a tough loss for the University of Hawaii football team to UCLA, defensive lineman Ezra Evaimalo was ready to turn the page.
As one of five voted captains for the Rainbow Warriors in 2024, the Kamehameha alum is hoping the ‘Bows won’t let the loss carry over into the team’s next game, a Sept. 14 matchup at Sam Houston nearly 4,000 miles away.
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“We’re not playing for ourselves (as individuals),” Evaimalo told KHON2 sports director Rob DeMello. “In fact, I don’t think anyone on this team plays for themselves. A lot of what we play for is our ‘Why” like, who are you doing it for? I think it’s genuinely we just care about each other so much.
“So, we’re playing for the guy next to us. We don’t want to make a mistake because it affects the guys next to us. And that translates over to everyone supporting us. You’re hurting. You know, your mom is watching in the stands, you know what I mean? It’s just kind of putting the whole island on your back.
“We do want to make Hawai’i proud, and we’re just kind of hoping to bring back the old Hawaii fans that came out and supported our coaches when they were winning. We want to win because we want Hawaii to be Hawaii again.”