Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.) High School quarterback Corey Nielsen grabbed his Zip Pac and wooden chopsticks after football practice Monday night, hungry and ready to dig into the golden fried chicken, mahi mahi, teri beef and Spam over a bed of furikake-sprinkled white rice.

"Eh," said Nielsen, nodding his head upward, "I'm all up in it!"

Nielsen, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, was born and raised in Southern California. But Monday at Roosevelt's Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium, he blended right in with his local boy all-star teammates as they prepared for Friday's inaugural Hawai'i/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl against a formidable team of Mainland all-stars.

A doubleheader starting with O'ahu East vs. West All-Stars in the 18th Annual Hawai'i Union Builders Goodwill Classic kicks off at 4:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium, followed by the Hawai'i/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl at 8.

It wasn't the first Zip Pac Nielsen has grinded, and it won't be the last. He will partake in many more bentos and plate lunches over the next five years, as a member of the University of Hawai'i football team.

Nielsen made a verbal commitment in July and already considers himself a Warrior. He played this entire season with a Hawai'i "H" logo decal on the back of his helmet, right above another decal of the Hawaiian Islands chain.

"I wanna represent," Nielsen said.

He will get an early chance to do that Friday, thanks to this first-ever team put together from Hawai'i all-stars plus players from American Samoa and Mainland athletes with Hawai'i ties.

Nielsen easily qualifies as the latter, since his mother — the former Cheryl Ching — is a Punahou graduate and his grandma and two aunts still live here. One of his cousins, Punahou alum Kelsie Look, plays for the Rainbow Wahine soccer team.

"When I first met him, I thought he was local," said Saint Louis receiver Billy Stutzmann, another Hawai'i all-star who has committed to UH. "He's always representing Hawai'i."

Nielsen put up huge numbers while representing Gahr the past two seasons. As a junior, he threw for 4,363 yards and 35 touchdowns. This year, he added 3,032 yards and another 35 TDs in a season that was shortened after losing a playoff tiebreaker.

The silver lining was an invitation to play with the Hawai'i all-stars Friday night.

"I was excited," said Nielsen, who arrived in time to watch UH's 29-24 loss to No. 13 Cincinnati in person Saturday. "I thought it would be a great opportunity to show the people of Hawai'i what I've got. It's one thing to see highlights on YouTube, but it's another to show what I can do in person."

In practices Sunday and Monday, Nielsen gave an impressive sneak preview.

"He's legit," said Hawai'i All-Stars coach Wendell Say. "He's a good quarterback, real confident."

Stutzmann said he met Nielsen at UH's Skills Camp in July, but this week is the first time they've practiced together in pads.

"He looks solid, I'm glad he's on our team," Stutzmann said. "He makes the right reads, and he gets the ball there. On the short routes, he gets the ball there in a hurry. And he's not afraid to put touch on the deep passes."

Nielsen, who carries a 4.0 GPA and ranks No. 1 in his senior class of 444, said he's tried surfing only once and admits his pidgin English could use some work.

"I'm trying to understand (teammates' pidgin) a little bit," Nielsen said. "But they've all been welcoming me and showing me around ...

"It's been so much fun."