Associated Press
Defensive coordinator Don Lindsey has taken basically
the same personnel as he had last year and molded them into
a unit that is 34th nationally in total defense.
Despite Rainbows’ woes,
By Paul Arnett
defense shows it can play
Star-BulletinIt's hard to imagine where the University of Hawaii would be without defensive coordinator Don Lindsey. Last year, Lindsey went through the same trials and tribulations offensive coordinator Wally English is experiencing this season. The Rainbows yielded 34 or more points in six of their 10 losses, including 66 to Wyoming, 59 to Wisconsin, 56 to San Diego State and 45 to BYU.
But instead of packing his bags after the season-ending loss to Wisconsin, Lindsey rolled up his sleeves, went back to the drawing board, designed a 3-4 scheme better suited for his personnel and began to make the changes necessary to become more competitive this season.
For the most part, it has worked.
The Rainbows finished their 2-10 season ranked No. 101 in rushing defense, yielding 233.1 yards a game, No. 85 in pass defense (132.83 rating), No. 87 in total defense (412.2 yards a game) and No. 102 in scoring defense (36.1 points a game).
Through seven games this season, those numbers have improved.
After its 17-3 loss to BYU, Hawaii is No. 46 in rushing defense (133.6), No. 34 in pass defense (108.18 rating), No. 34 in total defense (322.7) and No. 60 in scoring defense (25.7 points a game).
Take out the nine touchdowns scored by opponents on turnovers and special teams, and that number dips to 16.7 points a game. That would be near the top in the WAC and in the top 25 nationally.
It's a remarkable turnaround, especially considering it's basically the same personnel as a year ago. And many of the front-line players have been slowed or sidelined with injuries, including linebackers Stephen Gonzales, Doug Rosevold, Rufus Ayeni and Rinda Brooks, defensive backs Chris Shinnick, Robbie Robinson and Al Hunter, and linemen Ben Bright, Bob Piggot, Tony Tuioti and Matt Elam.
"Coach Lindsey is the best coach I've been around," defensive back Eddie Klaneski said. "We did a good job holding BYU to just 10 points if you take out the punt return and no points in the second half.
"We came up with a big interception (by linebacker Brian Chapman) that led to our only points. And we held their quarterbacks to less than 100 yards (89). To me, that's about as good as we can do. And it's all because of the game plan designed by Coach Lindsey and his staff."
Lindsey isn't the kind of coach to blow his own horn. He is aware of the statistical data that backs up the improvement over a year ago. He is cognizant of points scored while his defense was on the sidelines, and he has kept track of scoring drives less than 60 yards.
"We haven't given up that many long drives, and for the most part, we've done a good job at keeping teams from converting on third down," Lindsey said. "But give the credit to our players. Without them executing to the best of their ability, it wouldn't make any difference what game plan we came up with."
As expected, the Cougars tried to run through the heart of the UH defense. Gonzales' absence was noticeable, and the Rainbows weren't as effective as they were against Fresno State.
As a result, they were on the field a lot. BYU converted nine of 18 third downs and controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes. But Hawaii stopped a scoring drive by stuffing quarterback Paul Shoemaker on a fourth-and-one sneak. It also held BYU scoreless in the second half, giving the Rainbows an opportunity to win the game.
"We played our guts out," said Rosevold, who finished with seven tackles to maintain the overall team lead with 56 in seven games. Klaneski led the way with 11, and outside linebacker Brian Chapman had an interception and two sacks.
"Once again, our defensive coaches did a great job preparing us," Rosevold said. "What's frustrating is it wasn't enough to come up with a win. All we can do is come out and put forth the same effort this weekend against another good team in San Diego State.
"I think everybody around the league has noticed the improvement. The players say as much after the game. But right now, all we're concerned about are wins and losses. We still have a chance to finish with a winning record. And that's what we want to do most of all."
UH STATISTICS
Individual statistics
Rushing
Car Yards Avg TD Long Charles Tharp 84 411 4.9 2 55 Calvin Mims 32 175 5.5 1 29 Quincy Jacobs 45 120 2.7 2 15 Avion Weaver 9 11 1.2 0 5 Morrie Roe 9 9 1.0 0 6 Anthony Diieso 14 6 0.4 0 5 Jade Charles 2 6 3.0 0 7 Johnny Macon 3 5 1.7 0 7 Josh Skinner 31 -1 0.0 1 13 Lonn Kalama 1 -2 -2.0 0 0 Robert Kemfort 2 -3 -1.5 0 4 Eleu Kane 4 -4 1.0 0 16 Tim Carey 41 -115 -2.8 1 18
Att Comp Yards Int TD Dan Robinson 4 2 30 0 0 Tim Carey 112 68 730 5 2 Josh Skinner 69 39 415 2 1 Charles Tharp 1 0 0 0 0
Rec Yards Avg TD Long Lonn Kalama 22 195 8.9 0 23 Charles Tharp 15 170 11.3 1 29 Johnny Macon 13 159 12.2 0 24 Calvin Mims 13 147 11.3 0 58 Eleu Kane 12 124 10.3 0 17 Gary Ellison 9 113 12.6 2 24 John Kirby 8 99 12.4 0 21 Wesley Morris 7 107 15.3 0 30 Robert Kemfort 2 23 11.5 0 18 Morrie Roe 2 8 4.0 0 12 Quincy Jacobs 2 8 4.0 0 4 Ryan Battin 2 7 3.5 0 8 Jade Charles 1 10 10.0 0 10 Anthony Diieso 1 5 5.0 0 5
TD 1xp 2xp FG Pts Eric Hannum 0 10 0 7 31 Charles Tharp 3 0 0 0 18 Gary Ellison 2 0 0 0 12 Quincy Jacobs 2 0 0 0 12 Sam Collins 1 0 0 0 6 Calvin Mims 1 0 0 0 6 Josh Skinner 1 0 0 0 6 Chris Shinnick 1 0 0 0 6 Tim Carey 1 0 0 0 6
No. Yards Avg Blk Long Chad Shrout 48 2,271 47.3 1 71 Tim Carey 4 123 30.8 0 37 Josh Skinner 1 29 29.0 0 29 Team 1 0 0.0 0 0
No. Yards Avg TD Long Eddie Klaneski 17 109 6.4 0 32
No. Yards Avg TD Long Eleu Kane 5 142 28.4 0 46 Charles Tharp 8 192 24.0 0 35 Quincy Jacobs 1 19 19.0 0 19 Robert Kemfort 6 106 17.7 0 23 Team 1 5 5.0 0 5
No. Yards Avg TD Long Eddie Klaneski 2 0 0.0 0 0 Joaquin Avila 1 8 8.0 0 8 Ron Wood 1 8 8.0 0 8 Brian Chapman 1 4 4.0 0 4 Al Hunter 1 1 1.0 0 1 Donnell Williams 1 0 0.0 0 0 Chris Shinnick 1 0 0.0 0 0
No. Yards Avg TD Eddie Klaneski 1 78 78.0 0 Sam Collins 1 32 32.0 1 Chris Shinnick 1 2 2.0 1
Una Ast Total Loss Sack Doug Rosevold 56 16 72 7 1 Eddie Klaneski 41 29 70 0 0 Chris Shinnick 39 31 70 0 1 Ron Wood 20 10 30 3 1 Brian Chapman 16 12 28 2 4 Matt Paul 18 9 27 0 1 K Cobb-Adams 20 6 26 0 5 Kekoa Kilcoyne 17 6 23 0 0 Sam Collins 8 13 21 0 1 Al Hunter 18 3 21 0 0 Bob Pigott 13 5 18 2 4 Tony Tuioti 7 7 14 1 0 S Gonzales 10 4 14 4 1 Mark Jenkins 8 6 14 1 0 Ellie Kapihe 9 4 13 3 0 Rinda Brooks 7 6 13 1 0 Ben Bright 10 2 12 1 3 D Williams 7 5 12 0 0 Miles Garner 6 5 11 0 0 Celnell Bobbitt 9 1 10 0 0 Blase Austin 9 1 10 0 0 Joaquin Avila 5 4 9 0 0 Punahou Aina 5 3 8 2 1 Matt Elam 7 0 7 2 2 B Santamaria 5 2 7 0 0 Olen Rosehill 3 2 5 0 0 Robbie Robinson 4 0 4 0 0 Mark Mollner 1 2 3 0 0 Rufus Ayeni 2 1 3 1 0 Larry Slade 2 0 2 0 0 Anthony Diieso 2 0 2 0 0 Wesley Morris 2 0 2 0 0 Tim Carey 1 1 2 0 0 Chad Shrout 1 0 1 0 0 Gary Ellison 1 0 1 0 0 Kaulana Noa 1 0 1 0 0 Tyler Tanigawa 1 0 1 0 0 Calvin Mims 1 0 1 0 0 Quincy Jacobs 0 1 1 0 0 Fred Lau 0 1 1 0 0 Johnny Macon 1 0 1 0 0 Gery Graham 0 0 1 0 0Team statistics
UH OPPFirst downs 97 126 Rush 38 60 Pass 52 54 Penalty 7 12Rushing
Attempts 277 266 Net yards 618 935 Yards per game 88.3 133.6Passing
Comp-att-inter 109-186-7 112-219-8 Net yards 1,175 1,324 Yards per game 167.9 189.1Total offense
Plays-yards 463-1,793 485-2,259 Yards per game 256.1 322.7 Points scored-average 103-14.7 180-25.7Punts
Number 54 39 Yards 2,423 1,626 Average 44.9 41.7Fumbles
Number-lost 14-7 19-10Penalties
Number-yards 49-408 43-349
WAC STANDINGS
Pacific Division
WAC Overall Team W L Pct. PF PA W L Pct. PF PA Air Force 4 1 .800 131 74 7 1 .875 172 94 Colorado State 3 1 .750 132 51 5 2 .714 233 119 Wyoming 2 1 .667 72 30 5 3 .625 219 127 Fresno State 2 1 .667 63 58 3 4 .429 173 180 Nev-Las Vegas 2 2 .500 87 79 3 4 .429 163 151 San Diego St 0 2 .000 59 77 2 5 .286 145 211 San Jose State 0 2 .000 40 92 1 5 .167 74 202 Hawaii 1 4 .200 52 156 3 4 .429 103 180
Mountain Division
WAC Overall Team W L Pct. PF PA W L Pct. PF PA New Mexico 3 1 .750 119 91 6 1 .857 238 147 Rice 3 1 .750 116 102 5 2 .714 217 198 Brigham Young 2 1 .667 50 46 4 2 .667 125 133 Utah 2 2 .500 120 68 3 4 .429 174 141 Southern Meth 1 2 .333 51 60 2 4 .333 113 138 Tulsa 1 2 .333 75 97 1 5 .167 136 227 Texas-El Paso 1 3 .250 63 122 2 5 .286 97 232 Texas Christ 0 3 .000 59 86 0 6 .000 95 174
Brigham Young 17, Hawaii 3
Colorado State 14, Wyoming 7
Fresno State 20, Air Force 17
Oregon 31, Utah 13
Rice 35, New Mexico 23
San Jose State 10, Texas-El Paso 7
San Diego State 20, Nevada-Las Vegas 17 (OT)
Tulsa 33, Texas Christian 22
Tulsa at Colorado State, 8 a.m.
Texas Christian at Brigham Young, 8 a.m.
Wyoming at Southern Methodist, 10 a.m.
New Mexico at Utah, 10 a.m.
Air Force at San Jose State, 3 p.m.
Nevada-Las Vegas at Fresno State, 3 p.m.
San Diego State at Hawaii, 7:05 p.m.
UH Football Notebook
UH Rainbow Warrior
Football Schedulehttp://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
