Neither a heavy rain nor wind ... OK, OK, a thunderstorm interrupted the Hawai'i football team's preparation for Saturday's game against Washington.

After an hour, the Warriors abbreviated their morning practice because of a heavy downpour.

"It was fun," said defensive tackle Michael Lafaele, who then joined teammates in turning the neighboring hill into a mud slide. "It felt good to be a little kid out there. You can't get hurt ... well, unless you get electrocuted."

Center John Estes said the rain was "relentless. Big ol' drops. You couldn't even see. It was like it was foggy because there was so much rain."

Quarterback Colt Brennan, who has lived in Hawai'i three years, said: "I've never been outside in rain like that before. It made everyone's morning."

It also forced the Warriors to scramble.

"We were going to run into our indoor facilities, but there was some problem," Brennan said. "It hasn't been built yet. Then we thought we'd go to Cooke Field, but there's no field. We were going to go to the (Murakami) baseball stadium, but there's no field there, either."

The Warriors decided to complete their practice seven hours later at Aloha Stadium.

"We were having fun until we heard we had to practice at 4 p.m.," Lafaele said.

To be sure, there were problems. Estes said his practice shoes were soaked. He had to wear his game cleats for the stadium practice. "My braces were still wet, too," he said.

The Warriors had a spirited 90-minute practice at the stadium. They worked mostly on position drills.

"To come out for the second time today, it was what it was," Brennan said. "It wasn't that bad at all."

HUSKIES FAN NO MORE

As a Saint Louis School senior five years ago, Timo Paepule was told Washington would call back to finalize a recruiting trip and scholarship offer.

He's still waiting.

"They screwed me over," said Paepule, now a UH middle linebacker and valuable special teams player.

Paepule said he was a fan of the Huskies. "A lot of Saint Louis boys went there," Paepule said. "I was impressed with their program. And I like Huskies. That's like my favorite type of animal."

He recalled being elated when the Huskies "verbally offered" a football scholarship. Even before a recruiting visit was finalized, Paepule remembered, "I told my dad, 'I want to go to Washington.' "

But in the high school playoffs, Paepule suffered a shoulder injury. When he called the Washington recruiter, he was told it would be better if he considered another school.

"That was a slap in the face," Paepule said. "I was heartbroken. They said 'we'll have your scholarship ready' and 'we want you.' That's what they said. Schools lie to you a lot. That's why I want to thank (UH) coach (June) Jones. If he didn't offer me that scholarship, I don't know where I'd be."

The summer before Paepule's freshman year, Rick Neuheisel was fired as UW's head coach.

"It all worked out," Paepule said. "I would have been at Washington playing (against) the WAC champs, but now we are the WAC champs."

Two Saint Louis classmates, wideout Jason Rivers and offensive lineman Jeremy Inferrera, signed with UH that year. Inferrera has since left. Rivers and Paepule remain close. "We've always been there for each other," said Rivers, who has known Paepule since seventh grade.

Paepule said: "We grew up together, playing side by side. We have that silent type of friendship. He does his thing and I do my thing. But we're brothers off the field. I love his family, and he has respect for mine."

KELLY'S FOOT 'TENDER'

Kicker Dan Kelly said his right foot is still a "little tender," but he expects to play Saturday.

"It's my kicking foot, and I have to land on it," he said. "I'll be fine in a couple of days. I'll go. I'll definitely go."

He said he might wait until game day to resume kicking.

"I'll be ready by then," he said. "I don't want to do anything stupid when I'm this close to being ready to go and being back to 100 percent. It doesn't seem worth it to push it early."

NEWS AND NOTES