By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Hawaii running back Charles Tharp lunges for extra
yardage in Saturday's victory over Fresno State.
On the road
to recovery
After a 28-16 upset of Fresno State,
By Paul Arnett
Hawaii takes its act to
Brigham Young
Star-BulletinThe ongoing dialogue University of Hawaii head coach Fred vonAppen has had with president Kenneth Mortimer since the dedication of the Shannon Smith locker room in early September just became more meaningful. You can talk the talk all you want, as vonAppen has demonstrated since his arrival nearly two years ago. But if your football team fails to deliver on the field, the words have little meaning.
That changed Saturday night at Aloha Stadium when the Rainbows bounced back from a 63-0 shellacking a week earlier at Colorado State for a 28-16 upset of Fresno State in a game not nearly as close as the score.
It wasn't as though the team went out and won one for the Gipper, but the players were sensitive to rumors that their head coach and his staff might not be long for their world.
They held a closed-door meeting a week ago and came away with the belief that they are not that bad of a team and that the coaches were doing everything they could.
"These coaches have done a lot for me and this program," senior linebacker Doug Rosevold said. "We were not only letting them down, but ourselves as well.
"We decided to come out and make a statement. We believe this team can succeed if we live up to our end of the bargain. We were fired up. We had something to prove to our fans."
VonAppen also had something to prove. It's too early to say that all is right with the program, but with Saturday's Western Athletic Conference win, the Rainbows improved to 3-3 overall and 1-3 in league play.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
UH's Charles Tharp, #25, dives over the line for the score.
VonAppen has more wins than last year. And if the Rainbows can match the intensity and execution they displayed Saturday, they could break even for the season.They begin the second half of the season at Brigham Young University. Hawaii hasn't won in Provo, Utah, in six tries and is winless in its last 18 league road games.
But if senior Eddie Klaneski has anything to do with it, both skids will end this weekend at Cougar Stadium.
"We wanted to win one for the coaches and for ourselves," Klaneski said. "Now let's take it another step and win on the road at BYU.
"We can't sit back and be satisfied. We've got to keep proving to ourselves that we are a better football team. We were embarrassed by that loss at Colorado State. We don't want that to happen again."
Neither does vonAppen, who is still bothered by the lopsided loss too reminiscent of last year.
"Who's to say it won't happen again if we aren't prepared for that possibility?" vonAppen said yesterday. "We can't ever forget that game. It has to stick in our craw.
"I don't know if the win over Fresno State is some defining moment for the program. The president and I had meaningful dialogue before the win. But it can't hurt in the negotiations.
"Ultimately, you're judged by your wins and losses. That's as it should be. But regardless, there are things that need tending to around here. It's good we're talking about it, but that's all it has been so far -- talk."
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Coaches C.B. Wentling, Don Dillon and
Fred vonAppen celebrate the win.
How Hawaii plays this weekend is of bigger concern for vonAppen. Last week, he looked at the schedule and wondered if the Rainbows could win again. Thanks to solid game plans by coordinators Don Lindsey and Wally English, that fear was answered in a positive way. But can the Rainbows continue to execute the rest of the way?"Each week Josh Skinner is getting better and better," English said of his sophomore quarterback. "He really wasn't a part of our plans last spring or summer, but here he is, playing as well as he can and getting it done.
"I thought about going to the option this week at BYU, but I decided against it. We need to keep executing what we're doing. If we can establish the running game, then it sets up the play-action and makes Josh much more effective."
That will be a challenge this week. BYU is coming off a disappointing loss at Rice University, but is still the power of the Mountain Division. And the Cougars rarely lose at home.
They aren't as strong offensively as in the past, but they have a stingy defense that limited Arizona State to 10 points. The Sun Devils scored 35 points against USC Saturday.
"This is a very fine football team," UH defensive coordinator Lindsey said. "I'm not sure they are as talented as last year, but they don't lose very often, especially at home.
"I was very pleased with our play against Fresno State. But to me, that game's already forgotten. We have to prepare ourselves for a team that's always tough offensively, no matter what.
"I'm happy for our team that we came away with the win, especially for the players and for Fred. He's had to endure a lot these last two years. To me, he's doing an excellent job of holding it all together, especially considering the circumstances."
UH Football Notebook
UH Rainbow Warrior
Football Schedulehttp://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
