Monday, September 23, 1996
Eddie Klaneski wasn't picture perfect on his five returns for 70 yards. The lost fumble on his last attempt in the fourth quarter took care of that.
But if the Rainbows are looking for someone who believes the fair catch is something you do only in baseball, then the junior from Damien High is it.
Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen was impressed with Klaneski's ability to run the football. He replaced an injured Doe Henderson, but hasn't won the job yet.
"Both Eddie and Doe are pretty sure-handed back there," vonAppen said. "Clearly Eddie has a little more running instincts than Doe has, and with Doe's leg injury, maybe he won't be able to do it anymore, I don't know.
"I like Eddie's energy as a punt returner; we all do. You'd have to characterize him as dare-devilish. At the situation in the end, we should have done a better job of protecting the ball.
"We didn't want to mandate a fair catch because he was catching the ball with room to advance it. But at that juncture of the game, we have to do a better job of closing them out."
UH defensive coordinator Don Lindsey put it a little more bluntly when he saw his top free safety leave the ball on the turf.
"If I could have gotten to him, I would have cheerfully choked him," Lindsey said, then smiled. "But seriously, at that point you just want to catch it and fall down. We don't need a big return in that situation."
Klaneski conceded he made a mistake, but still enjoyed returning kicks. VonAppen said it's possible Klaneski will see some return time on kickoffs this week, especially if top return man Gerald Lacey remains sidelined with a hip injury.
The senior is questionable after suffering a bruised sternum that forced him out of the game. Hawaii now has two tight ends sidelined, including Gary Ellison.
But Ellison is expected to return this week after suffering a sprained knee in the loss at Wyoming. Also expected back are Lacey and defensive lineman Brian Chapman, who had surgery on his knee two weeks ago.
"Overall, we're in pretty good shape," vonAppen said. "Our biggest concern is the lack of depth at tight end."
Wide receiver Dillan Micus is tied for No. 37 nationally in receptions with 21 for 278 yards. He is averaging 5.2 receptions a game.
Klaneski shot to No. 18 in the nation in punt returns. His five returns for 70 yards gives him a gaudy 14-yard average. Hawaii also is No. 50 in punt returns, averaging 9.6 yards.
Led by injured center Shane Oliveira, the Rainbows' forward wall allowed only one sack of minus-one yard and opened big enough holes for Carlos Shaw to rush for 103 yards on 24 carries.
"It feels good to finally get our first win," Oliveira said. "I thought overall that we did a good job up front. We had some mistakes, but we did all right. There's always room for improvement."
Offensive line coach Walt Klinker has devised a four-guard, three-tackle, two-center rotation system that finally is working.
"We're making glacial, but definite progress," vonAppen said of a group that's allowed only three sacks in the last two games. "This is a very young group of guys, a lot of freshmen.
"The whole group improved. Big Andy Phillips had his best day, so did Bobby Singh. Shane was strong when he was in there, and Walt has done a good job rotating those guys in and out of there. The key is we're getting better each and every game."