Post by Banana Cat on Mar 30, 2011 20:30:16 GMT -5
www.theindependent.com/articles/2011/03/29/sports/danger/doc4d929498ec191979445236.txt
Tuitama gets second chance with Danger
By Bob Hamar / theindependent.com
March 29, 2011
The chance to play quarterback for the Nebraska Danger came out of the blue for Willie Tuitama.
The former University of Arizona Starter was in northern California coaching high school football at the time when he got the call from the new Indoor Football League team.
“I was just trying to stay around football,” Tuitama said. “Then this opportunity came. I’m here now, just trying to get better and trying to help this team get some wins.”
Tuitama got his first start in the Indoor Football League Sunday against the Green Bay Blizzard in place of Dixie Wooten, who had started the first two games of the season. Tuitama and the Danger got off to a slow start and trailed by 23 points early in the fourth quarter before rallying to take a one-point lead with just over a minute to play.
But a kickoff return for a touchdown by Green Bay’s B.J. Hill and a long field goal by Joshua Shene gave the Blizzard a 48-38 win.
The Danger (1-2) will be in action at 3 p.m. Sunday against the LaCrosse Spartans (2-2) in LaCrosse, Wis.
Tuitama completed 15-of-34 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns against Green Bay. All three of those TD passes came in the final quarter, going to Ryan Moore, Antuan Bloom and DeAngelo Woodie.
“Towards the end we started playing pitch and catch,” Tuitama said. “Guys started making plays.”
The Danger were playing without a number of regulars on offense, including running back Erick Jackson and receiver Maurice Mansfield.
Anthony Harding filled in for Jackson and led the Danger with 68 yards rushing against the Blizzard.
“I thought everybody did a great job of coming in and playing, especially once we started getting in rhythm,” Tuitama said. “We did a good job moving the ball. That’s just something we have to do from the start of the game. Once that first second clicks off the clock, we just have to be moving. It’s really hard to start that late, but we were still in the fight.”
Tuitama had a good career at the University of Arizona. In his senior season back in 2008, he completed 259-of-399 passes (64.5 percent) for 3,088 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
In his final game, Tuitama was named MVP of the Vegas Bowl. He threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a third to lead the Wildcats — who were playing in their first bowl game in 10 years — to a 31-21 win over BYU.
He finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in career passing yards (9,211), single-season passing yards (3,683) and career passing touchdowns (67).
After going undrafted, possibly because of a DUI weeks before the draft, he spent some time as a server at Buffalo Wild Wings in Tucson.
“It’s weird,” Tuitama told the Arizona Daily Star in 2009. “You have so much time on your hands when you’re used to having such a strict schedule. When you go to not having to do that, at first you get lazy — because it’s so easy to.”
But now he’s playing football again. It’s not the NFL, but Tuitama is enjoying Grand Island.
“It’s great,” Tuitama said. “The people around town are great, very friendly. Really that’s the first thing you notice. Not being from here, when you go somewhere, people will come up to you and say hello, just start talking to you.
“There are times when we’re trying to figure out where we’re going. We just ask somebody and they help us out.”
Tuitama, who is from Stockton, Calif., has been to Nebraska before.
“I’ve been to Kearney once,” Tuitama said. “My freshman year in college my sister (Tiare) was playing in the final four for Division II volleyball. She played for Cal State-Los Angeles and they played out here. That was the first time I’d been to Nebraska.”
Although he’s enjoying Nebraska, Tuitama would certainly like a shot at the NFL.
“I think everybody wants to move up the chain,” Tuitama said. “Really it all starts here. To do that you have to come in and win games so we can get put on the map. All the other stuff will come.”
By Bob Hamar / theindependent.com
March 29, 2011
The chance to play quarterback for the Nebraska Danger came out of the blue for Willie Tuitama.
The former University of Arizona Starter was in northern California coaching high school football at the time when he got the call from the new Indoor Football League team.
“I was just trying to stay around football,” Tuitama said. “Then this opportunity came. I’m here now, just trying to get better and trying to help this team get some wins.”
Tuitama got his first start in the Indoor Football League Sunday against the Green Bay Blizzard in place of Dixie Wooten, who had started the first two games of the season. Tuitama and the Danger got off to a slow start and trailed by 23 points early in the fourth quarter before rallying to take a one-point lead with just over a minute to play.
But a kickoff return for a touchdown by Green Bay’s B.J. Hill and a long field goal by Joshua Shene gave the Blizzard a 48-38 win.
The Danger (1-2) will be in action at 3 p.m. Sunday against the LaCrosse Spartans (2-2) in LaCrosse, Wis.
Tuitama completed 15-of-34 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns against Green Bay. All three of those TD passes came in the final quarter, going to Ryan Moore, Antuan Bloom and DeAngelo Woodie.
“Towards the end we started playing pitch and catch,” Tuitama said. “Guys started making plays.”
The Danger were playing without a number of regulars on offense, including running back Erick Jackson and receiver Maurice Mansfield.
Anthony Harding filled in for Jackson and led the Danger with 68 yards rushing against the Blizzard.
“I thought everybody did a great job of coming in and playing, especially once we started getting in rhythm,” Tuitama said. “We did a good job moving the ball. That’s just something we have to do from the start of the game. Once that first second clicks off the clock, we just have to be moving. It’s really hard to start that late, but we were still in the fight.”
Tuitama had a good career at the University of Arizona. In his senior season back in 2008, he completed 259-of-399 passes (64.5 percent) for 3,088 yards with 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
In his final game, Tuitama was named MVP of the Vegas Bowl. He threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a third to lead the Wildcats — who were playing in their first bowl game in 10 years — to a 31-21 win over BYU.
He finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in career passing yards (9,211), single-season passing yards (3,683) and career passing touchdowns (67).
After going undrafted, possibly because of a DUI weeks before the draft, he spent some time as a server at Buffalo Wild Wings in Tucson.
“It’s weird,” Tuitama told the Arizona Daily Star in 2009. “You have so much time on your hands when you’re used to having such a strict schedule. When you go to not having to do that, at first you get lazy — because it’s so easy to.”
But now he’s playing football again. It’s not the NFL, but Tuitama is enjoying Grand Island.
“It’s great,” Tuitama said. “The people around town are great, very friendly. Really that’s the first thing you notice. Not being from here, when you go somewhere, people will come up to you and say hello, just start talking to you.
“There are times when we’re trying to figure out where we’re going. We just ask somebody and they help us out.”
Tuitama, who is from Stockton, Calif., has been to Nebraska before.
“I’ve been to Kearney once,” Tuitama said. “My freshman year in college my sister (Tiare) was playing in the final four for Division II volleyball. She played for Cal State-Los Angeles and they played out here. That was the first time I’d been to Nebraska.”
Although he’s enjoying Nebraska, Tuitama would certainly like a shot at the NFL.
“I think everybody wants to move up the chain,” Tuitama said. “Really it all starts here. To do that you have to come in and win games so we can get put on the map. All the other stuff will come.”