In a show of unity — and anger — the Hawai'i football players yesterday conducted their own practice at the Ching Athletic Complex.

After three consecutive road games in which they spent 17 of 23 days on the Mainland, the Warriors were given a four-day break to rest and focus on academics. They were scheduled to resume practicing tomorrow.

"After this past Wednesday's game," senior linebacker Blaze Soares said of the 27-6 nationally televised loss to Louisiana Tech, "I didn't feel we deserved to get a day off. We had a horrible game. The way we played was an embarrassment to this program. To say we represented Hawai'i was embarrassing."

After returning from the Mainland Thursday night, Soares and center John Estes, a co-captain, shared their feelings of frustration.

"We got embarrassed on national TV," Estes said. "We didn't play good in all three phases of the game. We were like, 'Damn, we need to tell these guys how we feel and what we're really playing for.' We're playing for Hawai'i and we're playing for a bowl game. We need this bowl for Hawai'i more than anything."

They decided to conduct a players-only practice.

Soares notified head coach Greg McMackin, who approved allowing the players the use of the training staff and equipment.

Soares and Estes then set up a phone tree. They called each of the players.

"It rooted out from Blaze," defensive end Victor Clore said. "He was the one who got out the message."

And the Warriors did, indeed, follow the leader.

"That's usually how it works around here,"Clore said. "Blaze is one of our leaders on defense. It was a good thing. This was the way to get the hangover of the past game out of our system."

The players wore jerseys, shorts and helmets, but no pads.

They spent the hour working on tackling techniques and other fundamentals. The seniors rotated serving as coaches.

When the workouts were completed, the players gathered at midfield. Soares and Estes addressed their teammates for about 10 minutes.

"This showed a lot of character, especially from our seniors," sophomore quarterback Bryant Moniz said. "After a struggling loss, this shows a lot of attitude. We're taking a step forward from the loss."

Estes said the practice was more of a "mental" session. The Warriors admittedly missed too many assignments and tackles against Louisiana Tech.

"We're still a good football team," Estes said. "We just have to execute."

Soares said: "We're not going to give up. We've already hit rock bottom. We have to start stepping up. ... We really want to work. All of these guys showing up, shows that. We want to be a great and successful team. You have to make sacrifices along the road to get to where you want to be."

The coaches have said the Warriors are a "tired" team.

"We are tired," Soares said. "Everybody is sore. This is football season. You've got to grow some. You have to step up to the plate. The way we played, we don't deserve a day off. We can't ever play that way again. I want to say, that's the last time you'll see Hawai'i play like that. I mean it. I'm going to make sure my team is ready every week."

The Warriors play Fresno State Saturday at Aloha Stadium.

Kickoff is at 5 p.m.