Rainbows' colors
run blue
By John Todd, Special to the Star-Bulletin
Hawaii safety Chris Shinnick (7), cornerback Donnell Williams (23) and linebacker Doug Rosevold weren't a happy bunch Saturday.
Just when they thought
they were making strides,
'Bows fall apart
at San Jose State
By Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinSAN JOSE, Calif. - Fred vonAppen better check the signature on his two-year contract extension to make sure the University of Hawaii Board of Regents didn't use disappearing ink.
After the way his UH football team played in Saturday's 38-14 loss at San Jose State, the Regents might want to reconsider keeping the head coach for another three seasons.
"Heck, I might even reconsider after the way we played," a dejected vonAppen said after the Rainbows lost their 20th consecutive Western Athletic Conference road game. "We made every mistake imaginable to man and it reflects directly on us as coaches."
VonAppen wasn't the only coach to accept the blame. There was enough to go around for his nine assistants in a loss that assured Hawaii of finishing last in the Pacific Division for the second consecutive season.
This was a game many in the UH administration expected to win. The players certainly did. And so did vonAppen, who was at a loss to explain what happened.
"This was very reminiscent to our 63-0 encounter at Colorado State," vonAppen said. "The only real difference was San Jose State wasn't as good a team.
"We didn't play very well in any phase of the game. We gave up four touchdown passes. We threw six interceptions. We were penalized way too many times. And we hiked the ball badly twice in the kicking game. In my mind, that about covers it."
The loss was Hawaii's fourth in a row and seventh in eight games since opening the season with wins over Minnesota and Cal State Northridge. At the time, UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida told vonAppen he thought the program had turned a corner.
Unfortunately for vonAppen, it overturned last weekend, leaving him wondering how much the Rainbows have improved since last year's dismal 2-10 record.
Many in the administration consider Northeast Louisiana - like San Jose State - a team Hawaii should beat in Saturday's nonconference game at Aloha Stadium.
But as ESPN broadcaster Lee Corso would say, "Not so fast my young friend." The Division I independent is probably better than Hawaii on paper.
In last week's Scripps-Howard computer poll, the Indians were nearly 50 spots ahead of the Rainbows. And they have played a tough schedule that includes Georgia, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State and Arkansas.
Northeast Louisiana (4-7) is a weather vane school that savvy athletic directors don't schedule unless necessary because it puts a team in a no-win situation.
"Those kind of schools always have really good athletes who may not be able to get into a major program like LSU or Mississippi," said UH defensive coordinator Don Lindsey, who is very familiar with teams from the deep South. "They'll have a lot of team speed and some very good players on both sides of the football."
The Indians are accustomed to facing a major program away from home. This season, Northeast Louisiana has played seven away games. Last year, the Indians almost won at Auburn and played well at Arkansas.
"Coach told us they are kind of an outlaw school," senior safety Eddie Klaneski said. "We don't know that much about them, but after the way we played this weekend, we can't take anyone lightly."
You won't get any argument from the UH coaching staff. Several assistants remained in the Bay Area over the weekend to do some recruiting, but will be back for tonight's practice at Cooke Field.
"We're probably going to watch a lot of film to see what we did wrong," senior safety Chris Shinnick said. "To me, this is the worst the defense played as a unit since Colorado State. We didn't play nearly as well as we could have and that's disappointing."
It's also a bit disturbing, considering the Spartans were a very beatable team on paper. The victory was just their third of the season. They came into the game averaging only 14 points, but generated 38 against a defense that entered the game ranked among the top 25 in the nation.
"We certainly didn't play like it," said senior defensive back Al Hunter. "We were able to control them better in the second half, but by then, it was too late."
That it was. Now Hawaii will try to finish on a positive note the last two games of the season against Northeast Louisiana and Notre Dame. Winning one would double the Rainbows' win total from last year.
The victory better come this weekend. Notre Dame completely shut down Louisiana State Saturday in Baton Rouge. The Fighting Irish (5-5) have won four of their last five games and need a win in Hawaii to give them an outside shot at a bowl game.
"We can't worry about that game right now," vonAppen said. "We need to prepare for Northeast Louisiana first. They'll be all we can handle, let me tell you, especially after the way we played this weekend. We thought we were making some positive strides, but I'm not so sure right now. How can you be after a loss like that."
Special to the Star-Bulletin
San Jose State's K. J. Agnew nearly intercepts a pass intended for UHrunning back Charles Tharp on Saturday.
The dreaded streak lives on
By Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinSAN JOSE, Calif. - The fifth-year seniors for the University of Hawaii have passed down the losing streak to this year's junior class. While there were 11 in the recruiting class of 1993 who suffered through the majority of the 20 consecutive Western Athletic Conference road games the Rainbows lost over the last five years, there are only three juniors set to be fifth-year seniors next season.
They are outside linebacker Kamuela Cobb-Adams, defensive back Jason Vaughn and running back Russell Grant, who sat out this year with a back injury.
Like that threesome, down lineman Ben Bright also will earn his third letter this season, but he transferred from Air Force in 1994. All were recruited by former head coach Bob Wagner and are very familiar with the current losing streak.
"It's something you want to put behind you as quickly as possible," Cobb-Adams said. "It's a mental thing we have to get past."
Cobb-Adams has started all 10 games this season for the Rainbows. He had five starts as a freshman and sophomore. Bright started two games in 1995 and all 12 last year. The Kamehameha Schools' graduate had 78 tackles over those two seasons. Cobb-Adams also prepped at Kamehameha. He had 72 tackles coming into 1997.
Grant and Vaughn were part of the Colorado connection Wagner tried to establish. Neither has played much the last two years, but their leadership could be crucial if the Rainbows ever want to put the streak behind them.
"It's up to those guys to be the leaders and break the streak now," fifth-year senior Johnny Macon said. "What's most disappointing is we're a lot better than what we showed out there on the field today.
"I don't know what it is. I just can't explain it other than we just don't play well away from Aloha Stadium. If anybody thought beating San Jose State was going to be easy, they were crazy. They beat us by 21 points last year at home.
"Well, it's out of our hands now. It's up to the young guys to break this thing and put it behind them. They can do it. But it's going to take preparation and dedication, and a belief in themselves that they can get it done."
Fellow fifth-year senior Eddie Klaneski agreed.
Like Macon, he can't put his finger on why Hawaii would give up four touchdowns through the air, throw six interceptions, snap the ball over Macon's head on a field-goal attempt and over Chad Shrout's head on a punt, and finish with 14 penalties for 101 yards, including nine false-starts.
"It's unbelievable," Klaneski said. "I know I played a terrible game myself. Twice I put us in wrong defenses and they completed long passes against us both times on the deep post route.
"It's disappointing because now we'll never break this losing streak as a senior class. It's up to the next guys to get it done. I know they can do it, it's just a matter of coming ready to play. I thought we were this time, but obviously, we weren't. There's nothing we can do about it now."
UH head coach Fred vonAppen was disappointed for the seniors as well. In his two seasons, Hawaii has lost eight consecutive road games by a combined score of 319-47.
"If I could explain it, I would be a millionaire," vonAppen said. "We don't play well as a team. It's as simple as that. We make a bunch of mental errors that would kill a good team, much less a team that's still trying to find an identity. We had an extra week to get ready for this game and it didn't make any difference."
And it doesn't get any easier next year. The Rainbows' four WAC road games are at Utah, San Diego State, Fresno State and Texas-El Paso. Hawaii hasn't won at Utah since 1990, at San Diego State since 1988, at Fresno State since 1973 and at UTEP since 1992. And that 41-21 win on Halloween at the Sun Bowl was the last time Hawaii won a road league game.
"Obviously, I haven't been around for all of them," senior Chris Shinnick said. "But I felt for the fifth-year seniors today. They wanted to win this game in the worst way and we weren't able to get it done.
"It's very frustrating because we're a better team than what we showed on the field today. I can't explain it, other than we just don't seem to play as well. Maybe next year they can break that streak and put it behind them for good."
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
