Friday, December 17, 1999

Kemfort’s broken hand
in cast for Oahu Bowl

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii outside linebacker Robert Kemfort was fitted for a cast yesterday for a broken hand he suffered in the season-ending loss to Washington State.

The junior from Maui broke it late in the fourth quarter. He will wear a soft cast in next Saturday's Oahu Bowl matchup with Oregon State.

The UH medical staff said he should be able to play without any problems. He will wear a similar cast to that of Rainbows' defensive end Joe Correia, who broke his hand earlier this season.

"It hurts a little bit, but I'll be fine," Kemfort said after yesterday's practice at Cooke Field. "It's not a big deal."

Kemfort was slowed in the early part of the season with a badly sprained ankle, but was able to come back and finish seventh on the team in tackles with 57. He also had one quarterback sack.

Safety Phil Austin took part in yesterday's workout, but is still listed as doubtful for the Oregon State game due to a badly pulled hamstring. UH head coach June Jones said everyone else was fit for duty.

"We've got some minor aches and pains that go with a long season," Jones said. "Yaphet (Warren) has a minor leg problem and things like that, but I believe we're going to be good to go next Saturday."

JC signing begins

The early signing period for junior college recruits began on Wednesday. Jones said yesterday he would like to bring in two or three athletes at midterm.

"It certainly helped (cornerback) Shawndel Tucker to get in here at midterm and have a spring practice with us," Jones said. "I know Jeff Ulbrich also came in early.

"I'm not sure how many guys we'll sign and when we'll bring them in. I think we can go all the way up to when school starts to get them here. But we're interested in a couple of prospects."

Hawaii primarily recruited the California area after the loss to Washington State. The Rainbows are also in on several prime local recruits. They already have received verbal commitments from offensive linemen Ryan Santos of Mililani High and Phil Kauffman of St. Louis School.

The Rainbows are looking hard at two junior college quarterbacks. One is in San Francisco and the other is in the Orange County area in Southern California. Coaches are prohibited by NCAA rules to talk about any specific players.

Bowl benefits

The payout for the Oahu Bowl may be $800,000, but UH will be lucky to pocket half of that after the expenses of staying in the Hilton Hawaiian Village for nearly a week.

Hawaii checks into the hotel on Saturday night to begin a week of fun in the sun in Waikiki. Like the other three teams taking part in the Christmas Day doubleheader, the Rainbows will do the "tourist thing."

"Our players are very excited about this opportunity," Jones said. "This is a reward for all the efforts of our players and coaches.

"I'm looking forward to taking a trip to Pearl Harbor or going to spend the day at Sandy Beach. Going together as a team will be special for all of us."

Hawaii will take the $400,000 profit and use it for a variety of things the program needs to address. Part of the money will help fund a women's track program as part of gender equity requirements.

The coaching staff will also receive a bonus for the extra three weeks of work. UH defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said after yesterday's practice that the real benefits were the extra days of practice.

"Most everybody else is done," McMackin said. "We're spending a lot of this additional practice time working with the younger players who will be asked to step it up next spring. You can't beat these extra days because it gives them that much more time in an organized practice setting."

Bowl officials said yesterday that there were about 6,500 tickets remaining. They must all be sold by Wednesday at noon or the games will be blacked out locally.