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Friday, November 17, 2000
Warriors, Bulldogs In a season of long football games for the University of Hawaii, tomorrow night's nonconference affair with Louisiana Tech may outlast "Gone with the Wind."
to air out differences
UH and Louisiana Tech
Maui gears for UH-Montana
both have versions of
the run-and-shootBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinEveryone knows June Jones' penchant for throwing the football, but he might have met his match in Bulldogs' head coach Jack Bicknell, who has never met a forward pass he didn't like.
Not only does Louisiana Tech line up in its own version of the run-and-shoot, the Bulldogs have had to learn how to use it this season against the likes of Kansas State, Penn State, No. 2-ranked Miami of Florida and Auburn.
Against that caliber of competition, Louisiana Tech is ranked No. 7 nationally in passing, averaging 314.5 yards a game and 23rd overall in total offense (424.4 yards). The Bulldogs throw 45 passes a game, while the Warriors average 50, prompting Bicknell to say yesterday, "This could be a long one."
It should also prove entertaining as UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa -- who has known Bicknell since the second-year head coach was in high school in Maine 20 years ago -- sees if he can defend an offense Jones helped popularize.
When Jones was asked after yesterday's practice, Coach, what's the secret of defending your own system, Jones laughed and said, "Yeah, right."
Not even Lempa was willing to give away too many details for fear it would fall into the wrong hands down the road.
"We have a good idea what we want to do," Lempa said. "The key is having a good pass rush to keep the quarterback from having too much time back there.
"So, you have to blitz some. The thing is, the offense is designed to burn you if you blitz too much, so, we have to pick the right times. What we really need is to put pressure with a four-man pass rush."
The difference between these two run-and-shoot offenses is Louisiana Tech uses a tight end. And what an end he is. Standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 244 pounds, David Newman can not only catch a football, but pass block with the best of them.
"When you look at their defensive front," UH associate head coach George Lumpkin said. "These guys make their tackles look small. And they're not."
The quick and funnel screens are what concern UH secondary coach Rich Miano the most. Louisiana Tech's top three receivers -- James Jordan, running back John Simon and Delwyn Daigre -- have caught a combined 216 passes for 2,167 and 15 touchdowns.
The Bulldogs are also solid on the ground. Simon has 513 yards on 102 carries and Corey Addison has managed 369 yards and six touchdowns.
"This is a very explosive team," Jones said. "In some ways, this offense is more dangerous than Wisconsin's because they can score from anywhere."
Hawaii will try to counter with the same starting lineup as last week that saw linebackers Anthony Smith, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Rinda Brooks get the start. This trio put a lot of pressure on Nevada last week and hopes it can do the same to true freshman Luke McCown this weekend.
"Luke really stepped in and did a good job when Brian Stallworth went down with a knee injury," Bicknell said. "He seemed to energize us when he took over.
"We struggled early on, but we have played a lot better lately, including beating our rivals (Louisiana-Monroe) last weekend. We're looking forward to playing a WAC team to see how we match up. We're also facing one of the top offensive minds around."
Louisiana Tech will try its hand at defending Hawaii's high-powered offense. The Bulldogs already have stared down the barrel of some quality offenses, so this shouldn't bother them that much.
Defensive back Bobby Gray is Louisiana Tech's leading tackler with 91. He also has one interception and two fumble recoveries. Fellow safety Michael John Lenard is second with 77.
"Both of our defenses should be able to recognize a lot of things because they've faced the offenses in practice," Bicknell said. "Like it does most of the time, it will come down to execution."
WAILUKU -- Maui will be the first neighbor island to host a regular season University of Hawaii Warriors football game. Maui gears up
for 2001 UH vs.
Montana kickoffGary T. Kubota
Maui correspondentMaui Mayor James "Kimo" Apana said the game between Hawaii and the University of Montana Grizzlies will take place at the 20,000-seat War Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8, 2001.
The Grizzlies are 9-1 in Division I-AA football this year.
Apana, who initiated the development of the event, said the college game will give visitors exposure to Maui and bring attention to the Maui stadium facilities and Maui Community College.
Grizzlies athletic director Wayne Hogan, speaking by telephone at a news conference on Maui yesterday, said the Grizzlies have a "tremendous following."
"I'm just excited for everybody," Hogan said.
Warrior coach June Jones said he thinks the university may take "a bit of a financial hit" for having the game on Maui but he was happy about playing one of the nine home games on the Valley Isle because he remembered his excitement the first time he saw a college game.
"It changed my dream of what I wanted to do," said Jones, who was then 13 and just starting to play football in Portland.
Jones said the game on Maui may inspire youths on the Valley Isle to become University of Hawaii football players.
Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida said the decision was made to hold the game on Maui because of Apana's effort to gather support, including corporate donations for the trip.
Yoshida said the game is also being held on Maui because the stadium is able to accommodate a relatively large number of people.
He indicated he didn't think facilities on other neighbor islands were capable of hosting a regular Hawaii football game.
"From a seating standpoint, that (Maui stadium) is the only one," Yoshida said.
As to whether a Hawaii game is played on Maui annually, Yoshida said, "We'll see how this plays out."
2000 UH Football Special
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
