Full Court Press
[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
THE best thing about Saturday night's football game may have been the field. Maui experience mixed
bag for WarriorsIn only a matter of days, grass guru George Toma took a beleaguered playing surface at Maui's War Memorial Stadium and returned it to respectability practically overnight.
While the Hawaii football players reflected on their 30-12 victory over Montana at the open end of Baldwin High's gym, Toma stood out front talking up his blades of grass better than Walt Whitman himself.
"She held up beautifully," Toma said. "Just a couple of skid marks here and there."
Now, if only Hawaii could execute the run-and-shoot as well as Toma grows and mows grass, Warriors head coach June Jones could watch the game from a lawn chair, sprinkler in hand.
Instead, Saturday's mixed bag of a football game was a little like the entire Maui experience. There were some good things about it and there were some bad.
The good part? Hawaii handled Montana as a solid Division I program should. The Warriors won the game up front on both sides of the football, something they didn't do a year ago in the numbing loss to Portland State.
Despite numerous injuries that forced defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa to use a substitution pattern that didn't always run smoothly, the front line played well enough to allow the linebackers to shine.
Too often in 2000, the safeties were making the plays downfield. This time around, the D-line's persistence allowed linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa to roam free, leaving the Grizzlies tie-dyed and confused.
After riding the tradewinds to a 20-6 halftime advantage, Jones came out in the second half and agreed to let the Grizzlies not only have the football, but told them put the breeze at your backs. We believe in our defense.
The Warriors responded with a third-quarter shutout en route to a victory that left the players feeling good about themselves. Jones was happy to get his first season-opening victory as a UH head coach. The two previous debacles with USC and Portland State can finally be shelved.
What's left is not so easily put away. The game drew only 11,254 people. The walk-up crowd of 100 was not exactly what UH officials had in mind when they decided to play a game on a neighbor island.
Thanks to the deep pockets of several corporate sponsors -- whose stockholders must have had their backs turned-- the game was labeled a sellout. Maui mayor James Apana said from the safety of the sidelines that 22,000 tickets were sold. TV guys were saying it was the largest crowd ever to file into War Memorial Stadium.
If this were Florida, somebody would demand a recount.
NOT THAT JONES was fretting over how many cheeks were in the seats. The cozy setting appeared full enough as Hawaii prepares for its league opener in sky-high Nevada this weekend. The Wolf Pack are as bad as ever, giving the UH faithful hope that the Warriors will return to Aloha Stadium on Sept. 29 with a 2-0 record and an extra week to prepare for Rice University's dreaded option attack.
As for UH's offense, well, it was hit or miss against Montana. Sophomore quarterback Tim Chang threw two touchdown passes, two interceptions and ran one option play that resulted in him fumbling after getting nearly cut in half. It prompted former UH quarterback Dan Robinson, now a graduate assistant, to comment, "You won't see that play again."
What Jones hopes to see are long, spectacular completions to Justin Colbert and Ashley Lelie, key third-down tosses to Craig Stutzmann and more running plays for Mike Bass. There are a lot of yards in their future. If they're as nice as George Toma's, there's still some hope yet.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.
Email Paul: parnett@starbulletin.com.
