WARRIOR FOOTBALL

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Coach Dennis Erickson brings his wide-open attack to Hawaii for today's game.

Another air attack in town

By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com

IDAHO unwittingly and unwillingly helped save Hawaii's 2004 season from disaster. The Warriors were 4-5 and coming off a 70-14 debacle at Fresno State when they played the Vandals on Nov. 20 at Aloha Stadium.

Hawaii vs. Idaho at Aloha Stadium

Kickoff: 6:05 p.m

TV: PPV, Dig. 255

Radio: 1420-AM

The line: Hawaii by 26 1/2

UH's 52-21 win was the spark to a run of wins over Northwestern, Michigan State and UAB (in the Hawaii Bowl) and a fourth consecutive winning season.

With more talent and Dennis Erickson at the helm, this Idaho team appears much better equipped to give the Warriors a game -- and it probably won't be shut out by UH like last year's edition was, 24-0, at Moscow.

When Idaho has the ball: The Vandals' offense is a little more conservative than that of Hawaii. But Erickson has always been known for a wide-open attack, and the Vandals generate almost exactly two-thirds of their yards through the air and the arm of quarterback Steven Wichman (five 300-yard passing games). Wendell Octave hits some high notes as Wichman's favorite target.

Idaho's offensive line is experienced, with three-year starters in left guard Jade Tadvick and left tackle Nate VanderPol. They've also had to deal with three position coaches in three years.

UH right end Ikaika Alama-Francis didn't practice through Thursday because of back spasms. If he's out, Keala Watson is the replacement, and it will mark the first time this year that the starting front three is not Mel Purcell, Mike Lafaele and Alama-Francis. But that might not be a problem because the Warriors have developed depth along the front -- as well as camaraderie. The ends and tackles do everything together.

"Being together as a D-line this year is a lot better. Last year we were separated, noses from ends during practice and meetings," Watson said. "This year it's better because you know where the other guys are on the field and you learn how to work with them and plan your game off of that."

Outside linebacker Tyson Kafentzis is healthy again after being out four games with an ankle problem. Brad Kalilimoku and Micah Lau have played well in his absence, but Kafentzis is a favorite of defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville and will gradually regain playing time.

The Warriors may have finally settled on cornerbacks, with Myron Newberry and Gerard Lewis both intercepting passes in their starting debuts last week.

When Hawaii has the ball: Is it possible to have too many good receivers? June Jones has the pleasant problem of trying to find enough playing time for his hottest (Ross Dickerson) and most consistently excellent (Ryan Grice-Mullins) receivers -- who both play the same slot position. Grice-Mullins is ready to play after hobbling around the past month with an ankle sprain. Jones said he'll rotate the two.

And there are plenty of other targets: Ian Sample (seven touchdowns in the last four games), Davone Bess (second nationally in catches per game) and Jason Rivers (nine catches for 167 yards and four TDs against Idaho in 2004).

Running back Nate Ilaoa and his 131 all-purpose yards per game will keep the Vandals from playing too much deep zone.

UH quarterback Colt Brennan, who leads the nation in TD passes with 28, said Idaho's defense is much better than the one Hawaii got 405 yards against last year.

"They held Chase Holbrook and them (at New Mexico State) to 20 points in four quarters. So it just goes to show they got a pretty good little defense over there. They have a pretty good defense for what we do because they're not the bigger guys, they're kind of smaller and quicker," Brennan said.

Outside linebacker David Vobora leads the nation in solo tackles with 56.

Special teams: Hawaii's Dan Kelly has had some problems with elevating his field goals and PATs, but his kickoffs were excellent last week. Jones expressed confidence in him this week and said the sophomore will improve with experience. UH has punted just once in the past two games.

UH's Dickerson is the reigning WAC special-teams player of the week and leads the conference with 28.1 yards per kickoff return.

Idaho kicker Tino Amancio leads the Vandals in scoring with nine field goals in 14 tries and has made all 20 extra points.


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KEY MATCHUP
Hawaii QB Colt Brennan vs. Idaho CB Stanley Franks

One of the biggest reasons Colt Brennan leads the nation in quarterback efficiency is his ridiculous touchdown-to-interception ratio of 28 to 5. Brennan has not thrown a pick in 120 passes, a span covering the past three games.

But he faces a serious threat to that streak tonight. Stanley Franks is second in the nation with seven interceptions in eight games.

Franks, a 5-foot-11, 167-pound JC transfer from Long Beach City College, has only been a Vandal since January. But he's already the school's career interception return leader after just eight games with 220 yards on his seven runbacks. He's also credited with defending three other passes and forcing a fumble.

Franks could keep Idaho in the game or instantly turn momentum with a timely pick or two, especially if he's able to run all the way back for a quick six.

If Brennan keeps the ball out of Franks' mitts, it should be a happy homecoming for the Rainbows and Warriors.


Hawaii

5-2, 3-1 WAC
PROBABLE STARTERS

Offense
X 84 Jason Rivers 6-2 192 Jr.
H 7 Davone Bess 5-10 195 So.
LT 70 Tala Esera 6-4 308 Sr.
LG 65 Hercules Satele 6-2 288 Jr.
C 64 Samson Satele 6-3 298 Sr.
RG 55 John Estes 6-2 290 Fr.
RT 72 Dane Uperesa 6-4 310 Sr.
Y 82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 198 Sr.
or 1 Ryan Grice-Mullins 5-11 179 So.
Z 3 Ian Sample 5-10 196 Sr.
QB 15 Colt Brennan 6-3 196 Jr.
RB 4 Nate Ilaoa 5-9 254 Sr.

Defense
DT 67 Mike Lafaele 6-0 302 Jr.
DE 98 Melila Purcell 6-5 276 Sr.
DE 91 Ikaika Alama-Francis 6-6 285 Sr.
or 93 Keala Watson 6-3 328 So.
STUB 43 Brad Kalilimoku 5-10 213 Jr.
MAC 44 Adam Leonard 6-0 236 So.
BUCK 41 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 224 So.
WILL 26 Micah Lau 5-9 218 Jr.
CB 38 Myron Newberry 5-8 164 Jr.
FS 42 Leonard Peters 6-1 211 Sr.
SS 31 Jake Patek 6-0 202 Jr.
CB 23 Gerard Lewis 5-9 168 Jr.

Specialists
P 25 Kurt Milne 6-0 205 Sr.
PK 86 Dan Kelly 6-3 202 So.
PR 38 Myron Newberry 5-8 164 Jr.
KR 89 Malcolm Lane 6-1 181 Fr.

82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 198 Sr.
SS 48 David Farmer 6-0 231 So.
LS 57 Jake Ingram 6-4 268 So.
Hold 11 Inoke Funaki 5-11 195 Fr.

Schedule
Date Opp. Result
Sept. 2 at Alabama L, 25-17
Sept. 16 UNLV W, 42-13
Sept. 23 at Boise State L, 41-34
Sept. 30 Eastern Illinois W, 44-9
Oct. 7 Nevada W, 41-34
Oct. 14 at Fresno State W, 68-37
Oct. 21 at New Mexico State W, 49-30
Tonight Idaho
Nov. 4 at Utah State
Nov. 11 Louisiana Tech
Nov. 18 San Jose State
Nov. 25 Purdue
Dec. 2 Oregon State

Idaho

4-4, 3-1 WAC
PROBABLE STARTERS

Offense
X 26 Marlon Haynes 6-0 185 Jr.
H 23 Wes Williams 5-10 167 So.
LT 68 Nate VanderPol 6-6 306 Sr.
LG 50 Jade Tadvick 6-5 314 Sr.
C 72 Adam Korby 6-2 292 So.
RG 62 Adam Juratovac 6-3 297 Fr.
or 51 Marcis Fennell 6-1 304 Jr.
RT 65 Kris Anderson 6-3 299 So.
TE 45 Luke Smith-Anderson 6-5 253 Jr.
Z 1 Wendell Octave 6-1 187 Sr.
QB 8 Steven Wichman 6-3 219 Sr.
TB 44 Jayson Bird 6-0 221 So.
or 4 Brian Flowers 5-9 190 Jr.

Defense
DE 98 Josh Shaw 6-2 254 So.
DT 91 Siua Musika 6-1 293 Jr.
DT 84 Alex Toailoa 6-1 299 So.
DE 93 Charles Campbell 6-3 226 Sr.
LB 31 Josh Bousman 6-2 228 Jr.
LB 11 Jaron Williams 6-1 217 Sr.
LB 40 David Vobora 6-1 240 Jr.
S 21 Chris Smith 5-9 179 Jr.
or 16 Tone Taupule 6-1 205 Sr.
S 10 Shiloh Keo 5-10 175 Fr.
CB 20 Kiel McDonald 5-10 190 Sr.
CB 6 Stanley Franks 5-11 167 Jr.

Specialists
K 19 Tino Amancio 5-9 215 So.
P 14 T.J. Conley 6-3 216 So.
Hold 14 T.J. Conley 6-3 216 So.
LS 35 Joel Jones 6-1 224 So.
PR 26 Marlon Haynes 6-0 185 Jr.
KR 27 Raymond Fry 5-8 170 Fr.

6 Stanley Franks 5-11 167 Jr.

Schedule
Date Opp. Result
Sept. 2 Michigan State L, 27-17
Sept. 9 Washington State L, 56-10
Sept. 16 Idaho State W, 27-24
Sept. 23 Oregon State L, 38-0
Sept. 30 Utah State W, 41-21
Oct. 7 New Mexico State W, 28-20
Oct. 14 at Louisiana Tech W, 24-14
Oct. 21 Boise State L, 42-26
Tonight at Hawaii
Nov. 4 Nevada
Nov. 18 at Fresno State
Nov. 25 San Jose State

How They Compare

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Other Key Statistics


Idaho Category Hawaii

17.1 First downs/game 26.0

6.5 Rushing first downs/game 6.4

9.6 Passing first downs/game 18.6

1.0 First downs by penalty/game 1.0

2.1 Turnovers lost 2.1

2.4 Turnovers gained 1.9

12-270 Interceptions-return yards 7-120

39.4.2 Punting avg 39.3

58-588 Penalties-yards 56-479

11-6 Fumbles-lost 14-10

36% Third-down-conversion rate 52%

63% Fourth-down-conversion rate 36%

Individual Leaders

Rushing

A Yds Avg TD
Jayson Bird, UI 114 400 3.5 5
Brian Flowers, UI 81 338 4.2 4
Nate Ilaoa, UH 72 524 7.3 7
Colt Brennan, UH 40 131 3.3 2

Passing

A C I Yds TD
Steve Wichman, UI 227 118 10 1,683 7
Brian Nooy, UI 11 7 1 138 0
Colt Brennan, UH 273 199 5 2,601 28
Tyler Graunke, UH 17 14 0 149 1

Receiving

Rec Yds Avg TD
Marlon Haynes, UI 22 372 16.9 1
Wendell Octave, UI 23 276 12.0 3
Davone Bess, UH 53 624 11.8 7
Ross Dickerson, UH 37 461 12.5 5

Tackles

S A Tot FL/S
David Vobora, UI 72 19 91 9/1
Shiloh Keo, UI 36 6 42 5/0
Josh Bousman, UI 26 6 32 2/0
Stanley Franks, UI 24 6 30 0/0
Jo Artis Ratti, UI 18 10 28 4/3
Adam Leonard, UH 35 25 60 2/1
Leonard Peters, UH 24 22 46 1/0
Solomon Elimimian, UH 18 21 39 2/.5
Melila Purcell, UH 15 15 30 8/4
Jake Patek, UH 14 12 26 0/0



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