Making official what was already acknowledged, free safety Leonard Peters, defensive right end Ikaika Alama-Francis and center Samson Satele were named tri-captains for the University of Hawai'i football team this season.

They were selected following a team election.

The Warriors usually pick an offensive and defensive captain. But Alama-Francis and Peters finished in a dead heat, and both will share the defensive leadership.

UH coach June Jones said he will name a special teams captain for each game.

Each of the tri-captains is a senior.

Peters, who is starting his sixth season at UH, was named defensive captain last year. During the first half of the 2005 opener, Peters suffered a knee injury. Although he did not require surgery, he did not play again the rest of the season.

Peters successfully petitioned the NCAA for an exemption that allows him to play as a sixth-year senior in 2006.

But Peters was not as persuasive when it came to the election. Peters told the coaches he wanted to be removed from consideration.

"I was captain last year," Peters said. "I wanted them to let somebody else have a chance."

But Jones refused to accept Peters' withdrawal.

"Leonard is a leader by example, and he's highly thought of by his teammates," Jones said.

During a team meeting yesterday afternoon, Jones announced that Peters and Alama-Francis would be captains of the defense.

"The guys pick who they want to pick, so I guess I'm a captain," Peters said. "I'm honored. Hopefully, Ikaika is going to be the guy who yells at everybody."

Peters, who is 6 feet 1 and 217 pounds, said he has healed from a sprained right ankle that kept him from competing in contact drills for nearly two weeks.

Alama-Francis, who has gained 75 pounds since moving from the UH basketball team in 2003, has grown into a leader.

"Ikaika has worked really hard," Jones said. "He's earned everybody's respect by the way he's worked out and played. He gives so much every play."

Alama-Francis, who is 6 feet 5 and 290, has improved his strength. When he first reported to the Warriors, he could bench press 225 pounds one time. Now he can bench press 405 pounds.

Last month, Jones asked Alama-Francis to represent the Warriors at the Western Athletic Conference Football Media Preview in Boise.

Being named captain, Alama-Francis said, "is something special. When I came over from basketball, I never thought this would happen. The way I look at it, we've got great leaders on this team. Everybody is a captain in his own way."

Several teammates, especially quarterback Colt Brennan and running back Nate Ilaoa, had looked to Satele to emerge as a vocal leader.

That happened on the fourth day of training camp, when the Warriors were forced to do 20 minutes of painful drills as punishment for some players missing curfew.

Five minutes into the drills, Satele began yelling. At the end of the punishment, he scolded the rule-breakers during an impromptu team meeting.

"He's the king," Brennan said, a reference to Satele's nickname of S-King. "This isn't just his team. This is his monarchy."

Satele said: "It's an honor, and I accept it. It feels wonderful. It wasn't really a shock to me, because everyone has been telling me to be a leader since Day 1, so I'm a leader now."

Jones said Satele was the right choice.

"Samson has asserted himself in a leadership role this year through his workouts and on the field," Jones said. "He's trying to be a winner. He's a good kid, and a very powerful player."

TWO EARN SCHOLARSHIPS

Jones announced he has awarded football scholarships to defensive lineman Renolds Fruean and outside linebacker Tyson Kafentzis.

"They're very deserving," Jones said. "They've worked hard, they've contributed to the team and they're good students."

During the spring semester, Fruean was honored for his academic work.

Fruean, who can play all three positions on the defensive line, lives in Nanakuli, and rides the bus to and from school every day.

Fruean, a senior who played at Washington State as a freshman, attended school but did not compete in spring practice because of a scheduling conflict.

Kafentzis, a third-year sophomore, is competing for a starting job at one of the outside linebacker positions.

He is the eighth Kafentzis to play for UH, following his father, Mark, a former NFL player; four uncles; his brother Landon, and a cousin.

"After I got the news, I called Landon," Kafentzis said. "He was really happy for me. Then I called my father. The first thing they said was: 'Now that you've got (a scholarship), you've got to show it wasn't a mistake.'

"I'm never satisfied. I'll always try to do better in every aspect of my life — grades, football. This is a steppingstone. I appreciate what coach Jones and the other coaches have done for me."

Kafentzis, who is 6 feet 1, gained 20 pounds during the offseason and now weighs 230. He also has a healthy 3.4 grade-point average.

While he harbors NFL dreams, Kafentzis said, "I know the statistics of making it. It would be awesome if it happened. But I'm in college to get a degree and, second of all, to play football.

"My freshman year I really buckled down. It helped having an older brother on the team. He told me the first and second years are so important. He was right. Once you get your first year in and do well, everything falls into place."

Kafentzis said student loans and money from summer jobs helped pay for his tuition.

"This is really going to help," he said. "I'm ecstatic right now. I feel I really worked hard, and I'm so happy the coaches rewarded me. I appreciate it. Now I've got to show them they didn't make a mistake."

KEOMAKA MAKES CUT

After much deliberation, Jones has finalized the 60-player travel roster for Saturday's season-opening game against Alabama.

Cornerback Keenan Jones, who was approved to practice with the team on Saturday, did not make the cut.

Instead, cornerback Ryan Keomaka, who was a part-time starter last season, is the 60th player.

Keomaka was dismissed from the team in March because of poor study habits.

He was not invited to compete in the two weeks of training camp. He reported to the team Aug. 21, the first day of UH's fall semester, when rosters were permitted to expand.

Jones said Keomaka, who has practiced with the second-team defense, will be used primarily on special teams.

The coaches had hoped Keenan Jones would be available, but it took UH and NCAA officials too long to certify his eligibility. Jones earned an associate degree nearly three weeks ago, his requirement for playing for UH this season, and arrived in Honolulu on Aug. 12. But he was not cleared until this past Saturday.

Jones must practice in limited equipment for five days before he is cleared to play in any games. While Jones is a gifted athlete, there was not enough time to prepare him for Saturday's game.

OLCHOVY GETS BLEACHED

In a unique makeover, slotback Patrick Olchovy bleached his beard and sideburns.

"It's my lion's mane," said Olchovy, who kept his crewcut brunette. "I got one of those bleaching kits. I figured since Ryan (Grice-Mullins) got his (hair) tips done, and Davone (Bess) got his tips done, I had to throw my style in there. I got the beard, but the beard is regular."

The native New Yorker added: "That's how it's done on Long Island, the ninth island in the chain."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.