Thursday, September 19, 1996
His mother recently died of complications from open-heart surgery. She had a heart attack the night before the season opener with Boston College.
"We're going to miss him, but he needs to take care of some personal affairs," UH special teams coach Doug Semones said. "It's a sad situation when you lose a family member like that."
Shrout was arguably the best player at his position on the Hawaii football team. Last year as a freshman, he averaged 38.6 yards on 51 punts.
Because he has a redshirt year available to him, Shrout will still be a sophomore when he returns from Lancaster, Calif., in 1997.
Freshman Eric Hannum, who kicked in front of 150 people during his high school days in Linfield, Ore., continues to have his good and bad boots.
So far this season, he has 25 punts for an average of 39.6 yards a kick.
On the down side, Hannum has had two kicks blocked for touchdowns vs. Ohio University and the University of Wyoming.
"In a situation like this, family always comes first," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said.
"You can imagine how difficult this situation is for the young man."
Freitas ran the ball well and seemed to get back some of the timing lost after missing last week's game in Wyoming with a separated shoulder.
"I thought Glenn had a good practice," vonAppen said. "We'll wait another day before making a final decision, but he's probably the guy."
The news wasn't so good for wide receiver Josh Hawkins. He sprained an ankle in Tuesday's practice and is probably lost for at least one week.
He joins tight end Gary Ellison (knee), defensive lineman Brian Chapman (knee) and linebacker Paulo Kamakeeaina (shoulder) on the sidelines.
Daniel Ho-Ching has yet to be cleared by his physician to play. The strong safety, who left last season after four games with cancer, will see the doctor tomorrow.
If his physician says it's OK, Ho-Ching could return to the team as early as next week.
He will probably need a month of training before getting back in shape.
Much like local boys here who go to the mainland, the Boise, Idaho, native didn't want to stay home to play for the local team.
"It's going to be fun to play against them," Purdy said after yesterday's practice. "But when I came out five years ago, they weren't a Division I program.
"I wanted to come here and experience Hawaii. It was a good decision for me. I heard one of the local television stations is here and they're going to broadcast the game in Boise. That's great."
Purdy has seen limited playing time this season because of a bad shoulder, but is still the second-leading rusher on the team with 36 yards on seven carries.
He was named one of the three captains for this game. The other two are defensive lineman Ellie Kapihe and special teams player Chris Shinnick.
"It's an honor to be named a captain," said Purdy, who transferred here in 1994 from Mount San Jacinto Junior College. "When I'm out there, I'll do my very best to help get this team a win."
"We're going with the white pants with a stripe, instead of the green," UH wide receiver Johnny Macon said. "I think everybody likes that better."
In the first two home games, the Rainbows wore the green tops with the green bottoms, and lost both times.
"We also heard some good speeches from our captains," offensive guard C.B. Wentling said. "They fired us up with the things they said. It's something this team needs."