[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
IF you were wondering if there were any hard feelings for Hawaii quarterback Jared Flint throwing a 45-yard pass to Neal Gossett to set up Hawaii's final touchdown in last night's 66-7 shellacking of Texas-El Paso, don't. Miners head coach Gary Nord understands the nature of the run-and-shoot. Nord knows: Hawaii
runs, Hawaii shootsHad Nord harbored any resentment, Hawaii coach June Jones did his best to explain the intent of throwing the football with UH up by 52 points with only nine minutes remaining. It's just the nature of the beast.
"The wishbone doesn't start throwing at the end," Jones said. "We do what we do. It doesn't matter what the score is. Obviously, we ran the ball more at the end. Our kids practice all year. There's kids who have never been in the game in two years and that's what they know."
Nord took it well. He greeted Jones at midfield, offered his hand and patted Jones on the back as the two broke for their respective locker rooms.
"That's the kind of offense they run, you can't blame them for that," Nord said. "We just didn't do a very good job on defense."
Wright stuff
Hawaii linebacker Matt Wright knew he was on the bubble at the conclusion of Jones' first spring as the Warriors' head coach.Trying to clear some room for incoming players more suited to his style of play, Jones cut more than a dozen players from the spring roster in 1999 and told others they needed to contribute right away if they wanted to be invited to fall camp the following August.
Wright did a little bit of everything for former head coach Fred vonAppen, but never had established himself as a regular contributor. He played linebacker, defensive line and even ran the ball some as a fullback in hopes of making the team.
The past two years have been a growing experience for Wright, who refused to abandon his dream of playing for Hawaii. The Iolani graduate from Kailua first made a name for himself on special teams before finally working his way up the depth chart as an outside linebacker.
He made the most of his opportunity as a starter in last night's lopsided Hawaii win over UTEP, returning an interception 90 yards for a touchdown in what Jones said was the turning point in the game.
"I wish we played UTEP every game," said Wright, who in last year's loss at UTEP scored when he landed on a blocked kick in the end zone. "I kind of released into the flat on the play and was covering the fullback, who didn't come out of the backfield. The tight end was open behind me, so I was kind of surprised when the ball came my way. I almost dropped it before gaining control."
Bass comes through
Running back Mike Bass continues to impress coaches, players and fans alike. The freshman rushed for 146 yards and had three receptions for 34 yards as well. He scored on a 3-yard run and also caught a 12-yard pass for a score."I'm getting more comfortable every week," Bass said. "This offense is so much fun. I look forward to getting my hands on the ball because there's so much you can do in the open field."
Paul Arnett is sports editor at the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached at: parnett@starbulletin.com
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
