Thursday, April 15, 1999

’Bows show they’re scrappy

FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

THE second free-for-all in as many days between offensive and defensive linemen broke out during yesterday's spring practice.

Hawaii head coach June Jones looked on as a scuffle among several Rainbow players quickly escalated into 30 or so jumping into the middle of a huge pile of humanity.

Jones addressed the two incidents with the team after practice, but stopped short of discouraging these spirited sessions.

"You get them every year," Jones said. "Every coach kind of likes that attitude, but at the same time you have to be smart about it. We don't want to get anybody hurt."

There are still five practices remaining, something that concerns Jones given his team's lack of depth.

"I'm pleased with our progress, but we're still so thin at a lot of spots," Jones said. "If we get one or two guys down, we're down to the bare nubs.

"That's why I'm a little concerned about even having a spring game. If we lose anybody between now and the spring game, we might not even be able to finish."

Spring game televised

Speaking of the spring game, Channel 5 (KFVE-TV) is going to show the April 25 affair live from Cooke Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

"They're going to televise part of it, the seven-on-seven drills, that kind of thing," Jones said. "I feel good and positive about it because it will create interest."

But what about USC? Won't the Trojan coaches enjoy the show?

"I think they probably know pretty much what we're doing fundamentally," Jones said. "But we're not going to show them anything."

Season tickets on sale

Season tickets go on sale next Wednesday at the Stan Sheriff Center box office.

Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sideline seats for the nine home games are $140. End zone seats are $122 and junior Rainbows and seniors are $77, only in the north end zone.

Phone sales begin a week from today. That number is 944-2697.

Alumni party set

Hawaii will host its inaugural Rainbow Warrior Alumni Paina after next Friday's practice at the Stan Sheriff Center. For those interested in attending, call 956-6508. The deadline is tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Kemfort making noise

Robert Kemfort continues to show so much improvement at linebacker, UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin had him working with the No. 1 unit yesterday.

It's not a permanent move, but with so many people injured at linebacker, Jones needed to shift him to that side of the football.

"We want to get our best athletes on the field," Jones said. "Robert played some linebacker in high school and he really looked good out there. He can wind up playing both sides, but he might see more playing time on defense."

Kemfort was receptive to the idea. Since joining the team from Maui High in 1996, Kemfort has played wide receiver, running back and now linebacker.

"It was cool, but it's a lot different than being a receiver or running back," Kemfort said. "I played some linebacker my sophomore year, but I was mostly a safety my senior season. It's fun playing on both sides of the ball."