Sports Watch

By Bill Kwon

Monday, September 8, 1997

The bottom line is
found in ‘W’ column

NOBODY said it was going to be easy. And it wasn't.

That's why Coach Fred vonAppen was glad when the game finally ended and his University of Hawaii Rainbows escaped with a 34-21 victory over Cal State Northridge Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

It was one of those games on the schedule that any Division I-A football coach hates. One against a Division I-AA opponent, that is.

It's one of those nothing-to-gain-but-everything-to-lose games. Beat Northridge and everyone will say, "So what?" Lose, and fans will say, "You lost to Northridge?"

Not to demean the Matadors, mind you. They have an explosive team and should contend for the Big Sky championship. You can see how they racked up 63 points against Boise State, a team that only lost by four to Wisconsin. No wonder Northridge didn't drop football.

But it's still Division I-AA, which is just a euphemistic way of saying Division II.

Anyway, Northridge proved to be more than a handful for the Rainbows, who are 2-0 and feeling good about themselves. Never mind that several times during the game, vonAppen probably wished he had kept the bottle of Pepto-Bismol for himself.

HE had more than a few "Maalox Moments" against the Matadors, who led 14-10 and trailed by only, 27-21, in the fourth quarter before his 'Bows finally put them away. But it was a battle.

"These guys were pretty good. They scared the heck out of us," said vonAppen, who was particularly distressed by the number of penalties (seven for 82 yards) by his Rainbows. Northridge's run-and-shoot offense gave the 'Bows fits and the many penalties were a reflection of their frustration.

"We were starting to fall into a street-mentality style of football. We had to get out of that and so we did and we were able to prevail," vonAppen said.

But the bottom line was a victory, which is all that mattered since it has been hard to come by lately for the football 'Bows. After all, they only won two last season so they've already matched that in their first two games this year.

"All in all, a big win for us. Every one's a big win for us. It beats the hell out of the alternative," vonAppen said.

PLUS, the 'Bows came up with a lot of positives from win No. 2 to carry into this Saturday's WAC opener against Wyoming:

Quarterback Tim Carey showed a nice throwing touch in completing 25 of 30 passes (a school-record 83 percent) for 328 yards.

Freshman running back Charles Tharp scored what he hopes is the first of many touchdowns in a UH uniform. He also logged his first 100-yard game.

Another fumble recovery for a touchdown by a swarming defense, this time by defensive lineman Sam Collins after linebacker Kamuela Cobb-Adams sacked Northridge quarterback Aaron Flowers.

And, perhaps most significantly, this year's Rainbows are playing with an attitude -- not only a better one but a more confident one.

They'll need it against Wyoming, considering the Cowboys won the last two meetings in lopsided fashion -- 66-0 last season and 52-6 the year before.

Both games were in Laramie, a scheduling quirk that mystified vonAppen. This time, the Rainbows are at home and have something to prove. More important, they've got a team that should stand up to the Cowboys, for a change.

Tharp continues to give the Rainbows an extra dimension on offense. His first collegiate touchdown came on a 19-yard pass from Carey that gave the 'Bows a 17-14 lead at halftime.

"Hopefully, that's one of many to come," said Tharp, who also set up the game-clinching touchdown with a 31-yard run late in the game.

"He's contributing faster than maybe we thought he would," vonAppen said about the exciting young freshman.