Things were looking up when Gary Ellison hauled in a
touchdown pass on fourth down for a 6-3 lead.
Photos by Dean Sensui, Star-Bulletin

The poet once said, "That success is countest sweetest by those who never succeed."

Members of the University of Hawaii football team believed they could shake that recent karma with the early morning conditioning workouts, the hard-hitting spring practices and the boot camp days at Barbers Point.

But it hasn't worked out that way just yet.

The challenge for the first-year UH coaching staff this week will be to get the Rainbows off the floor in time to play an improving Ohio University team this Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

Some will say the last-second 24-21 defeat to Boston College over the weekend is better than losing by 45, but none of the UH players and coaches who attended yesterday's light workout would agree with them.

This loss is more devastating.

"We definitely played to win," said linebacker Doug Rosevold, who led the team in tackles with nine. "I don't really feel good right now. It's hard for us, especially a close game like this because we had it. We learned from it.

"We're definitely going to come back hard against Ohio University. It won't be difficult to come back because this left a bitter taste in my mouth. Now, I never want to lose."

That's the kind of attitude UH coach Fred vonAppen hopes will carry the day. He knows how fragile this team's self-esteem is, and wants to do everything he can to keep the positive attitude.

"What we have to do is not dwell on this and move on. We're still a fledgling, young, inexperienced football team. We will have officially closed the books on this baby (yesterday afternoon), and then our undivided attention has to go to Ohio U.

"Even though nothing will be easy for us, that's one game that people expect us to win."

For that to happen, the Rainbows need to improve in several areas.

First, Hawaii has to stop the rush and put more pressure on the quarterback. The Rainbows yielded 190 yards on the ground - something defensive coordinator Don Lindsey said was far too much - and managed only one quarterback sack as well.

Second, the Rainbows have to get more production from their running backs. Brendyn Agbayani and Tony Thomas accounted for only 31 and 29 yards, respectively, on a combined 19 carries.

Third, as well as Glenn Freitas played overall at quarterback, the senior was tentative in the last three series of the game, hitting only 2 of 7 passes for 12 yards.

Freitas also lost 12 yards on a fumble and was sacked, but a shoulder problem early on may have contributed to his uneven play later in the game.

The play-calling and execution during Hawaii's final series was particularly poor as well.

Agbayani went one yard - and worse still - out of bounds on a pitch play. He should have hit the deck early to force Boston College to use a timeout.

Add an incomplete pass and a 6-yard draw, and the Rainbows only ran 25 seconds off the clock, giving the Eagles just enough time to hit the 42-yard field goal that won the game.

"Our inexperience caught up to us in the end," UH offensive coordinator Guy Benjamin said. "Hopefully, we can learn from our mistakes. I told them we're on our way and not to hang their heads."

Learning from their mistakes will certainly be the theme when the Rainbows return to practice tomorrow afternoon. Lindsey wasn't particularly pleased with the defense's efforts over the final four minutes.

The Rainbows allowed the Eagles to convert on fourth and nine. It set up the touchdown pass and the tying 2-point conversion. They also failed to keep Boston College from driving into the range of freshman kicker John Matich, whose 42-yarder with no time remaining left Lindsey seeing red.

Hawaii's Jason Mane pulled down the Rainbows'
second touchdown with this second-quarter catch.
Photo by Dean Sensui, Star-Bulletin

"Now, we've got to put that behind us, and shift gears for an option team. After that, we've got to prepare them for Wyoming's passing game, so you can't dwell on the past. You've got to always be moving forward."

Ohio is coming off a stunning 44-14 victory over Akron last Thursday. The Bobcats, whose offensive coordinator is former UH line coach Mike Sewak, use the spread option.

Kareem Wilson rushed for 107 yards and three touchdowns in the Mid-American Conference victory for Ohio. And he didn't play in the second half.

Granted, the Rainbows are quite familiar with this attack, but preparing for an option offense in less than a week is no easy task.

"We've got to refocus, this one is over," vonAppen said. "It goes in the record book as a loss. I think the players were devastated, and I don't think they were happy with the outcome.

"And in a way that's good. But it's not good if they're not able to put it behind them and move forward. That's part of developing a championship-caliber attitude and demeanor is if you can deal with prosperity and adversity, and move on."