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Monday, October 9, 2000
Reality bites: The reality of the 0-4 start bit into the University of Hawaii football team like the cold, rainy wind that blew in the Warriors' faces as they left the hotel for Amon Carter Stadium last Saturday morning.
Hawaii off to
damp 0-4 start
TCU and Heisman hopeful
Tomlinson do the latest drag-
down of the Warriors
SMU struggles, too
Warrior Football Notebook
By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin
What awaited Hawaii was a Texas Christian squad that wasn't bothered by the flea-flicker to open the game or the ensuing touchdown pass from Timmy Chang to Channon Harris that had the Hawaii sidelines hopping, well, like Frogs.
Even when TCU's halftime lead was only 24-14, you got the sense that the weather, LaDainian Tomlinson and a hardened Horned Frog defense were only warming to the task. The real test comes after the adjustments are made at the half.
Like a patient boxer working the body the first six rounds, TCU came out after intermission and methodically beat the Warriors to death. There were those two drives of 88 and 64 yards that were punctuated by a pair of punishing touchdown runs from inside the 10 to key the 41-21 win.
Hawaii countered with too many three-and-outs on offense, critical turnovers and a variety of penalties that follow the team from city to city. Even the bright moments carry asterisks.The examples? James Fenderson rushes for 107 yards, but on his long of 25, he fumbles. After the special teams put the Warriors in a hole on the second drive of the first quarter, the defense manages an apparent goal-line stand, but it's nullified by a personal foul. TCU eventually scores and takes a 14-7 lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The magic of last year is gone. Instead of everything going right, too much is going wrong. The injury list is reminiscent of 1998 when the 0-12 team finished with 13 healthy players on defense. Former UH defensive coordinator Tom Williams lamented at season's end, "We don't have 24 healthy guys and that plays hell on a depth chart."
Hawaii isn't to that point yet, but the pain was evident in the locker room. Keani Alapa had to be helped from the field after the loss. Special teams coach Dennis McKnight ran down a flight of steps with no shirt on in conditions that bordered on freezing just to help the fallen linebacker make it in safely.
A beleaguered June Jones, dressed nattily in a Pebble Beach sweater and slacks, told a small gathering of reporters, "I only want to do this once." Ask him about what's gone wrong and you get standard fare. Look hard for a positive and he'll help you find it.
Surprisingly, it was the play of the offensive line. Tackles Lui Fuata and Kynan Forney kept the outside rush at bay -- TCU didn't have a sack -- and inside players Brian Smith, Vincent Manuwai and Manly Kanoa made sure the surges from the middle were kept to a minimum."I think they hit me five times all day," UH freshman quarterback Chang said. "My line did a great job of protecting me. We just aren't making enough plays."
And too often the wideouts are at fault. Ashley Lelie caught another touchdown pass in the fourth quarter long after the outcome had been decided. Had he hauled in that long pass in the third quarter when Hawaii was still in the neighborhood, perhaps the Warriors keep it close. Who knows?
But one thing is clear. This team is not as good or as fortunate as last year's 9-4 squad that went to a bowl game. Barring a miracle finish, the Warriors won't be playing in the Aloha Bowl this year. Right now, it's time to hunker down and prepare for the future.
Of the six fifth-year seniors, Anthony Smith, fellow linebacker Robert Kemfort and place-kicker Eric Hannum are the only ones contributing on a regular basis.
Joaquin Avila and Ricky Lumford are used primarily on special teams. Wideout Davey deLaura finally got his opportunity to play. "I tried to make the most of it," said deLaura, who caught two passes for 37 yards.
Several other seniors, in their fourth seasons or junior college transfers, are also contributing in a major way. Chief among them are Dee Miller, Kynan Forney, Rinda Brooks, Miles Garner, Avion Weaver, Afatia Thompson, Joe Correia, Flex Armstrong and Doug Sims.
"We're kind of banged up, but guys just have to step up and play," Jones said. "TCU was a good football team and you almost have to play a perfect game to win. We didn't do that. We continue to play hard, which is good. But we need to get that winning feeling again and soon."
Next week
HAWAII VS. SMU, 6:05 P.M.
Southern Methodist and the University of Hawaii opened the season with great expectations. Now, the two Western Athletic Conference schools are playing this weekend at Aloha Stadium to see who will be in last place. SMU squad
struggling, tooBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinThe Mustangs fell to 1-5 after losing at home to San Jose State last weekend. Head coach Mike Cavan is under increasing pressure to win. Another losing season might cost him his job.
Such is not the case for UH head coach June Jones, but like Cavan, a victory would go a long way in setting some things right. Hawaii wants to avoid the worst-to-first-to-worst scenario.
To do that, the Warriors must eliminate their own mistakes and force more of their own against the opposition. SMU has a penchant for committing turnovers and penalties as well.
"We've both struggled this season," Jones said. "I saw some positive things in our loss to TCU. We're making some progress on both sides of the ball. But until you get a win, you don't feel good about yourselves."
Cavan made similar comments in the Sunday Dallas Morning News. He took full blame for the loss to the Spartans and said there would be some lineup changes, including quarterback.
"If I were the coaches, I would think about starting someone else," SMU quarterback Josh McCown said. "But I can't worry about that. I have a job to do."
Season statistics
Team
Hawaii Opp FIRST DOWNS 74 82 Rushing 16 43 Passing 53 23 Penalty 5 11 RUSHING YARDAGE 255 827 Yards gained rushing 365 901 Yards lost rushing 110 74 Rushing Attempts 79 208 Average Per Rush 3.2 4.0 Average Per Game 63.8 206.8 TD’s Rushing 1 9 PASSING YARDAGE 1157 736 Att-Comp-Int 199-92-6 100-53-3 Average Per Pass 5.8 7.4 Average Per Catch 12.6 13.9 Average Per Game 289.3 184.0 TDs Passing 7 6 TOTAL OFFENSE 1412 1563 Total Plays 278 308 Average Per Play 5.1 5.1 Average Per Game 353.0 390.8 KICK RETURNS No.-Yards 21-379 8-152 PUNT RETURNS No.-Yards 9-66 13-123 INT RETURNS No.-Yards 3-38 6-86 FUMBLES-LOST 12-6 9-5 PENALTIES-YARDS 46-345 29-248 PUNTS-AVG 27-35.7 17-40.1 3RD DOWN CONV. 17/61 29/68 4TH DOWN CONV. 5/13 2/5
Rushing
Att. Yds. TD Long Weaver 30 116 1 15 Fenderson 12 107 0 25 Thompson 21 90 0 18 Rolovich 6 14 0 18 Tinoisamoa 1 0 0 0 Stutzmann 1 -2 0 0 Harris 1 -11 0 0 Berryman 1 -11 0 0 Chang 5 -22 0 0 Liana 1 -26 0 0
Passing
Att. Comp. Int. Yds. TD Chang 114 58 4 709 4 Rolovich 85 34 2 448 2
Receiving
No. Yds. TD Long Lelie 22 290 4 33 Colbert 17 256 1 74 Harris 15 218 1 58 Weaver 13 122 0 18 Stutzmann 10 133 0 31 Welch 8 75 0 16 Fenderson 4 9 0 13 deLaura 2 37 0 26 Thompson 4 17 0 17
Punting
No. Yds. Avg. Long Berryman 22 795 36.1 65 McBriar 5 168 33.6 38
Tackles
UT AT TT Brooks 28 19 47 Espiau 24 15 39 Jackson 16 10 26 Smith 16 9 25 Kemfort 11 13 24 Armstrong 16 5 21 Iosua 10 8 18 Tucker 15 1 16 Brown 10 5 15 Fuga 12 1 13 Sims 11 2 13 Correa 8 4 12 Garner 8 4 12 Peters 6 5 11 Miller 7 3 10 Ala 5 2 7 Alapa 5 2 7 Tinoisamoa 4 2 6 Samuseva 2 2 4 Correia 1 2 3 Dietschy 3 0 3 Fenderson 3 0 3 Gilmore 2 1 3 Liana 1 2 3 Berryman 2 0 2 Clowers 1 1 2 Ala 1 0 1 Butte 0 1 1 Grant 1 0 1 Kauka 0 1 1 Riccardi 1 0 1 Thompson 1 0 1 Welch 1 0 1 Williams 1 0 1
Conference standings
Overall Conference W L T PCT. W L T PCT. PF PA Texas-El Paso 4 2 0 .667 3 0 0 1.000 116 34 Texas Christian 5 0 0 1.000 2 0 0 1.000 82 31 San Jose St. 4 2 0 .667 2 0 0 1.000 64 26 Fresno St. 2 2 0 .500 1 0 0 1.000 27 24 Tulsa 3 3 0 .500 2 1 0 .333 54 70 Nevada 1 4 0 .200 0 1 0 .000 10 41 Southern Methodist 1 5 0 .167 0 2 0 .000 30 72 Rice 1 5 0 .167 0 3 0 .000 56 79 Hawaii 0 4 0 .000 0 3 0 .000 42 104
Last week's results
TCU 41, Hawaii 21
Fresno St. 27, Rice 24
UTEP 40, Tulsa 7
San Jose St. 35, SMU 10
UNLV 38, Nevada 7
Coming up Saturday
SMU at Hawaii
UTEP at San Jose St.
Tulsa at New Mexico St.
Nevada at Fresno St.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii