Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Notebook
Thursday, September 14, 2000
Warriors Notebook
McBriar may
handle punting
Volleyball | Soccer | Small Colleges
Freshman kicker Mat McBriar moved to the top of the punting chart yesterday morning due to the ankle injury plaguing junior college transfer Greg Kleidon.Kleidon said that he would be back kicking next Monday. He sprained his right ankle last week while trying to catch up with a classmate. But in case he isn't healthy, UH head coach June Jones wants McBriar up and ready to go.
Freshman walk-on Dan Berryman was the punter against Portland State. He did an admirable job, hitting six punts for a 40.2-yard average. The problem is Berryman doesn't get his kicks off fast enough, often exceeding two seconds from the time the ball is snapped until the time it is kicked, according to the coaches.
Fortunately for Hawaii, Portland State didn't attempt a punt block the entire night. Coaches usually want a kick to be away by 1.7 seconds at the latest.
"We're pretty sure UTEP is going to come at us hard next week," said Kleidon, who will continue to rest his right ankle this week. "If they saw the tape of our game last weekend, they know we didn't get the punts off quickly enough."
McBriar had some problems handling the snaps yesterday morning. He has played Australian rules football, but is not accustomed to the one-step scheme Jones favors.
Place-kicker Eric Hannum was listed as the backup punter. Much like Berryman, Hannum was forced to be the punter his freshman season after Chad Shrout sat out a semester due to the unexpected death of his mom.
"I averaged 39.8 yards that year," Hannum said. "But I think the coaches don't want me punting. They want me concentrating on the field goals and extra points."
Despite getting the kicks off too slowly, the punt team did a solid job on coverage. The Warriors averaged 36.2 yards in net punting, a statistic coaches will take anytime.
"We're hoping Greg will be back in there next week," Jones said. "But we have to have a contingency plan in place in case his ankle is too sore for him to punt."
Injury update
Several players remained sidelined with a variety of bumps and bruises. The most serious, however, is Nate Jackson's broken foot, and Vince Manuwai's broken right hand and rotator cuff problems in his left shoulder.Manuwai wore electrodes yesterday as the trainers try to relieve the pain he is experiencing in his shoulder. He will have to wear a light cast on his right hand during next week's game.
Jones said yesterday that defensive tackle Lui Fuga missed the morning workout because of an infection in his knee. He also is bothered by a sore shoulder that could require season-ending surgery.
Jackson did not suit up yesterday. He is still doubtful for UTEP, although the training staff refuses to rule him out just yet. He is still undergoing treatment daily.
Recruiting trails
You might have noticed how crowded the sidelines were for last Saturday's game with Portland State. That's because Jones and his staff invited about 50 local recruits for the opening game.Jones said yesterday that his coaching staff will concentrate hard this weekend on local recruiting because the Warriors have a bye week. His coaches will not make any recruiting trips during the four road games, including the one next week in El Paso, Texas.
"I think you have six evaluating days in September, so we're going to try to be as thorough as we can be in local recruiting," Jones said. "We're going to go hard this weekend because it's the last bye.
"I still believe you need to have about 60 percent of your recruits from here and 40 percent from the mainland. We've already offered several scholarships. These days, you have to lock down some of these guys early on."
Jones and his staff can't visit with the players face-to-face until December. Right now is considered an evaluation period.
The Warriors plan to offer as many as five scholarships to junior college recruits. Jones said that he has all of his initial 25 scholarships available.
"We feel like we have a good handle on recruiting," Jones said. "It's a year-round job for our coaches. You're always looking at film and evaluating who's out there. You never know until they're signed, but I feel like we're moving in the right direction in recruiting."
Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin
UH Volleyball Playbook
vs. UC Santa Barbara, UNLV
Tomorrow: Hawaii vs. Gauchos, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center. Saturday: Hawaii vs. Rebels, 7 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center.
Pat Bigold, Star-Bulletin
UH Soccer Playbook
Outrigger Hotels Festival
Al Chase, Star-Bulletin
Five consecutive conference road games in eight days to start the season wasn't on the wish list for Hawaii Pacific University women's soccer coach Mark Kane and his team, yet this was exactly the situation they faced. Small College Notebook
HPU women back in rhythm
This type of schedule is typically undesirable during any year, for any team, in any sport, but particularly this year for the Sea Warriors.
Though Kane has been with the program since it's inception seven seasons ago, this is the first year women's soccer has been recognized as an official sport by the Pacific West Conference with a conference title at stake. As the lone representative in the conference from the four local small colleges (others not fielding teams are Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Chaminade and University of Hawaii-Hilo), HPU had no choice but to play when and where conference officials dictated.
"It's never ideal to start on the road, especially with all conference games, one after the other," Kane said. "To have so much at stake without everybody even being warmed up was real difficult, but considering the circumstances and factors involved, I think we represented ourselves exceptionally well."
The Sea Warriors finished their only road trip of the season at 1-4, but they were competitive in all five games.
The tough schedule was made tougher because three-year starting goalkeeper Carissa Manangan was declared academically ineligible shortly before the season started.
Yoni Espiritu, who last played keeper in high school, was forced to step in, and she has done a capable job, according to Kane.
"Our defense was good during the road trip, but offensively we were still trying to find ourselves," Kane said. "By the last game of the trip against Humboldt, however, things started to fall in place. By the time we came home, we had a good idea where everybody fit."
Indeed, the Sea Warriors appear to have found their rhythm at home, reeling off 3 consecutive wins before a recent loss for a 4-5 record midway through the season. Though their last four games were against non-conference opponents, Kane is pleased with his team's improvement.
With only two conference games remaining in the season to be played in October, a shot at the PacWest playoffs and title is no longer realistic, but the opportunity for the program's first winning season is.
"It shows our team is heading in the right direction," said Kane, who is counting on four-year starter Tracie Ifuku to continue to anchor the defense from her sweeper position, while HPU's all-time scoring leader -- senior Jannicke Snildal (21 career goals) -- leads the offense.
The Sea Warriors play Cal State Hayward at HPU Windward Field today.
Juliano Player of Week
HPU sophomore forward Darren Juliano was cited as the PacWest Player of the Week on Tuesday. Last week, the former Damien Memorial High standout from Aiea scored two goals in helping the Sea Warriors' men's team to a pair of shutout wins over Pacific Lutheran.Juliano scored the game winner and the only goal of the first contest, a 1-0 double-overtime victory. He was the Sea Warriors leading scorer last year with seven goals
Volleyball teams back in action
Out of action since the Hawaiian Style Classic on Labor Day weekend, all four local women's volleyball teams resume play this weekend against each other.The upcoming matches represent the start of the PacWest conference schedule.
The unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the nation -- HPU (7-0) -- visits Chaminade (1-6) on Friday before playing at UH-Hilo (3-4) on Saturday. Defending national champion and current No. 9 BYUH (4-3) visits Chaminade, also on Saturday.
Brandon Lee, Special to the Star-Bulletin