By David McCollum thecabin.net Copyright 2009 The Cabin. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

HONOLULU — After going where no University of Central Arkansas team has gone before, the Bears will try to do something tonight no team has done before.

The Bears, coming off a 10-2 season, will play the University of Hawaii in the season football opener tonight at Aloha Stadium. In the modern era, the Bears have never defeated an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision team. They are 0-4 against upper-division teams, losing twice to Arkansas State, once to Louisiana Tech and once to Tulsa. Hawaii, 7-7 last year in a season that was punctuated with losses to national champion Florida and Notre Dame in the Hawaii Bowl, is a member of the Western Athletic Conference. 

“We’ve had several good teams here, but we’re telling our players they have a chance to do something none of the others have done,” said UCA coach Clint Conque, who enters his 10th season seven victories away from the all-time win mark for football coaches. “This is our first chance (UCA plays Western Kentucky in two weeks). More than that, we need a game to find out something about this team.”

The Warriors return most of their offense, including their quarterback and three offensive linemen. 

The Warriors are beginning their 100th season of football and have won their last seven game against Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) teams. Hawaii is 166-107-4 all-time at Aloha Stadium.

Conque said the Warriors are made up of about 60 percent Polyasian players and 40 percent from the mainland. They return only one defensive starter.

“We have to guesstimate a little bit,” said Conque about the run-and-shoot team. “But we know what they put on the field at the end of last season is the prototype with what they’re trying to develop for this year’s team. Their crowd really gets into games, I’ve heard. Their crowd will get after you and their team gets after you, too.”

Greg McMackin, Hawaii’s second-year coach, describes the Bears as a “dangerous team.” He added, “They played Tulsa very tough in the first half last year and they are well-coached. Even though they do not run the option, they remind me most of Nevada in our conference.” Other than injuries to wide receiver Willie Landers (season-ending) and to fullback Nick Cowger (indefinite), the Bears are healthy among their frontline players for the opener. Eight true freshmen were on the traveling squad.

The crowd is expected to be between 30,000 and 40,000, which would be the largest ever to watch a UCA athletic contest. About 200 UCA supporters, including parents of players, made the trip. It will mark the first time that Hawaii has opened on a Friday (scheduled so UCA could have more time to return to the mainland) since 1997.

“I feel pretty good about where we are, particularly after Wednesday’s practice,” Conque said. “We have put together a plan to try to win the game.”