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Thursday, September 7, 2000
Portland State Portland State came early for all the right reasons. Time adjustment. Atmospheric conditioning. Limited excursions at the beach.
here early for
right reasons
Vikings coach Tim Walsh
H-MEN! UH football special
isn't pointing his players to
the beach, but isn't making
it off-limits eitherBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinIf every coach visiting the islands was like Vikings main man Tim Walsh, the University of Hawaii's perceived advantage here would disappear in a hurry.
Warriors head coach June Jones prefers a team to come Friday afternoon to avoid all the distractions, but winds up failing to adjust to the time difference. Texas-El Paso tried this commando raid last year and left with a 33-3 loss tagged to its luggage.
Another approach is to come early and enjoy the islands like a tourist. Yeah, you have a game Saturday night, so better get that Mai Tai to go. Eastern Illinois tried this low-key method. Fun was had by all, but Hawaii hung on in the waning moments to win the game.
What Walsh is doing has been tried by others with a modicum of success. You don't say, "Boys, the beach is that a way." But you don't make it off-limits, either. You come early to see what a 6 p.m. (HST) kickoff entails by practicing that time of day at Aloha Stadium.
Granted, Portland State is from a rainy climate, but the heat and humidity rarely visit each other in Portland. That's reserved for tropical states such as Hawaii, meaning, three days in the heat and humidity may pay off come Saturday night.
It's also best not to plan a lot of team trips. Sure, free time should be on the chart. And yes, it would help in recruiting and self-esteem if a victory is achieved here. But even if the Vikings fall short, visiting Oahu still falls under the category of being a one-time deal for most of the players.
Oregon and Hawaii may share the Pacific Ocean, but that doesn't make them neighbors. To get here before noon yesterday, Portland State left Oregon at 6:30 a.m. (PDT). It took eight hours to get here and a two-hour practice still beckoned later in the day at Aloha Stadium.
"I've talked to a lot of people the past five months trying to figure what's the best way to keep them focused," Walsh said after his team touched down at Honolulu International late yesterday morning. "Young people are going to be young people and believe it or not I was young once myself.
"We want our players to have the opportunity to enjoy the experience because it's going to mean something to them when they're 45. We might as well take advantage of it because we're not in school, either. The opportunity to do that is good. And the opportunity for us to practice at game time is something we're looking forward to doing the next couple of nights.
"Obviously, the climate in Oregon is a little bit different from Honolulu. We want to make sure our players have the opportunity to at least run around a little bit at 5 o'clock at night. Find out what it's like for the next couple of days, as well as visit the islands. It's supposed to be a good experience all the way around."
This is the first of a three-game road swing for the Division I-AA Vikings. After returning to Portland on Sunday, Walsh has to prepare for a road game at Sacramento State. The Vikings have the next week off, then travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., for a huge Big Sky Conference matchup with Northern Arizona.
"I think anytime you have the opportunity to play up a level, I think it's a measuring stick to see exactly where you are," said Walsh, who enters his eighth season as head coach. "Number two, we're looking at these next three one game at a time. As a coach and athletes, we're a competitive people. We're not coming here not to compete.
"That's the idea every time we step on a football field is we want to be competitive. If our players buy into that and believe that, then they're going to come out and compete for 60 minutes Saturday night and we'll worry about the next game, next week.''
What Portland doesn't have to worry about is this isn't a season opener. The Vikings already beat Western Washington at home last weekend, 37-20. As for Hawaii, this is a belated season opener. The Vikings have the advantage of playing one game and playing it well.
Quarterback Jimmy Blanchard was named the co-player of the week by the Big Sky Conference for his solid performance against Western Washington. He threw for 409 yards and three touchdowns to move past Portland State alumnus June Jones to fourth on the all-time career passing list with 6,204 yards. He will be a force on the field.
Like Walsh, the senior Blanchard believes the Vikings can mix business with pleasure successfully.
"I think it would be different if we didn't have real high expectations this year," Blanchard said. "Last year, we lost our season finale (to Northern Arizona) and we had to sit and watch a big-screen to see if we were going to make the playoffs. A lot of it had to do with our non-conference opponents.
"If that happens this year, which it may because our league is really tough, we want to have a respectable score against Hawaii, maybe even a chance to beat them. If we do that, then we think we have a good chance to make the I-AA playoffs."
That's what this game is all about for Portland State.
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