The Way I See It

By Pat Bigold

Tuesday, October 7, 1997

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Thanks, Maa, Rainbow
fans needed that

IF the University of Hawaii football program was going to salvage any respect in the state of Colorado, it was through the performance of Maa Tanuvasa last night against the AFC champion New England Patriots.

Before last night, Drew Bledsoe had been sacked only three times all season. Last night, Tanuvasa, who played three years at defensive tackle for the Rainbows, nailed him with the ball three times.

All three were clean, textbook takedowns in a 34-13 Denver rout that left the Broncos unbeaten and the Patriots once beaten.

It was the biggest game of the former All-WAC selection's pro career.

Ouch.

I say ouch because I'm a New Englander by birth who still nurtures an allegiance to the guys in red, white and blue.

I say ouch also because when I spoke with Tanuvasa by phone last week, I joked at the end of my interview, "Maa, please don't be too hard on my boy, Drew."

Tanuvasa just laughed. So did I. Hey, how much damage could the 6-foot-2, 270-pound Mililani High grad do coming off the bench in passing situations?

But he did point out that one of his five career sacks with the Broncos came in last year's 34-8 demolition of New England at Foxboro.

"Hopefully, we can get reacquainted," he said.

Next time he says he's going to get reacquainted with somebody, that person had better arrange for extra protection. Bledsoe could have used it last night.

When he came out for JV football in 1985, Tanuvasa was just a big, friendly Tigger, pouncing on the other kids and not showing a lot of interest in the disciplines of the game.

Unfortunately for my Patriots, he developed an interest in those disciplines.

In a 47-degree wind chill at Mile High Stadium that would make the teeth of most local boys chatter, Tanuvasa simply owned Bledsoe's body.

And each of his sacks seemed to serve a purpose . . .

To let Bledsoe know the Broncos' defense meant business: Right after linebacker John Mobley stunned Bledsoe with a 13-yard interception return for a touchdown to give Denver a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, Tanuvasa flew in from the right inside tackle position to sack the All-Pro quarterback on second-and-10 for a 9-yard loss to the Pats' 26.

To tell Bledsoe that the Denver defense would not bend any further for a Patriots' rally: On the New England series just after Bledsoe had hit Keith Byars with a 44-yard TD pass to cut the Denver lead in half in the second quarter, Tanuvasa came in again from the right, this time on third-and-8, to hit the quarterback for an 11-yard loss to the New England 30.

Just to make sure Bledsoe would be seeing the number 98 in his dreams: Tanuvasa broke through in the fourth quarter to haul down the shell-shocked QB for a 3-yard loss on second-and-6.

After a weekend that marked an all-time low for the image of Hawaii football, Tanuvasa did his best to resurrect it.

He had told me he was going to attend the UH at Colorado State game. I guess that after seeing the 63-0 debacle, Tanuvasa figured something very dramatic was needed to lessen the 50th state's humiliation.

Here was a guy who not only carried UH credentials with him into a performance that would be sensational even for Reggie White, but also a guy who was born and raised on Oahu.

When Hawaii's football image really needed a Lancelot, Maa Tanuvasa came riding through at full gallop on Monday Night Football.