Kemfort’s sure he had
a touchdown catch

OK, so how many of you kept your seats at Aloha Stadium or stay tuned to the delayed broadcast long enough to see Hawaii wide receiver Robert Kemfort's apparent touchdown grab be disallowed by side judge Greg Meyer?

Not that many, huh? You figured Hawaii trailed San Jose State, 45-17, with less than four minutes left in the game. Time to get up and head to the house or the refrigerator.

Well, what most of you missed was a fourth-and-17 play from San Jose State's 18. UH quarterback Bronson Liana dropped back, rolled a little left and lofted a pass toward the back reaches of the end zone.

Kemfort came out of nowhere, dove for the football, cradled his arms like he was preparing to hold an infant and appeared to make an incredible scoring catch. "I thought the official said, 'Out of bounds,' but I was clearly in,'' Kemfort said after yesterday's practice. ''He may have said, 'It bounced.' But it didn't. I got my arms underneath it and got it clean. It should have been a touchdown.''

Now, before you go and say, ''What difference does it make? The Rainbows would have still lost.'' Think of what it would have meant for Kemfort and Liana, their first touchdowns of their collegiate careers.

''It looked like from all our angles that it was a catch, but what can we do?'' UH head coach Fred vonAppen said. ''We already complained about a call last week and got a public apology. It just wouldn't do because it didn't play a factor in the game.

''But I feel for the kids because who knows when another scoring opportunity will come along for those two guys? It would have been the first touchdowns of their careers and made practice a little easier for both of them this week.''

VonAppen also felt quarterback Dan Robinson's ruled fumble that was scooped up and returned 61 yards for a backbreaking Spartans touchdown, was a close one. He believed Dan's arm was coming forward the instant he was hit and the ball came loose, hence an incomplete pass.

''It killed us,'' vonAppen said of the play that gave San Jose State a commanding 35-17 advantage. ''We just can't overcome mistakes like those. Two of our turnovers resulted in easy touchdowns for them.''

AH QUIN BACK: Tight end Zeff Ah Quin is the happiest man on the football field.

Last July, Ah Quin blew out his knee during an off-season workout that forced team doctors to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament. In the old days, an injury like that took nine months to heal. But Ah Quin returned in only four months and said yesterday he will be ready to play in the Rainbows' last two games with Northwestern and Michigan.

''I don't care about our record or anything else,'' Ah Quin said of Hawaii's 0-9 start. ''I'm just so happy and thankful that all the hard work the last few months is going to pay off. I'm going to get to play.''

At the time, vonAppen believed the injury would preclude Ah Quin from playing this season. He said in July that Ah Quin's career was done.

''But it's nice to see that I was mistaken,'' vonAppen said. "Zeff's injury was the first of many that would hit this team. I didn't think he could make it back, but he proved me wrong. It's good to have a guy out there, who's as fresh as a daisy.''

Ah Quin has yet to catch a pass in his career. Last year, he played primarily on special teams. The former Kahuku High standout returned two kicks for 29 yards.

INJURY REPORT: Every time Hawaii gets a player or two healthy, another pair seems to go down.

This week at Fresno State, the Rainbows will be without linebacker Stephen Gonzales (stinger) and offensive lineman Aaron Leverenz (knee). They join a list of four players -- Rinda Brooks (concussion), Steve Dietschy (knee), Josh Skinner (hamstring) and Jeff Ulbrich (knee) -- already lost for the season.

Hawaii did receive some good news on several other fronts. Offensive lineman Adrian Klemm (knee), linebacker Joaquin Avila (ankle), safety Phil Austin (knee), cornerback Donnell Williams (neck) and fullback Calvin Mims (knee) are probable.

''We're a little healthier than we have been, but any one of those guys could go down on one play,'' vonAppen said. ''We've had so many guys in and out of the lineup, I have a hard time keeping up with all the different combinations we've been forced to use..''

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By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin