BOISE, Idaho >> The Hawaii football team arrived here late last night after spending most the day on a charter flight from Honolulu. Patton and West fill in
Division II Notebook
for injured pairBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comThe Warriors practiced yesterday morning in preparation for tomorrow's game against the Broncos (2:05 p.m. Hawaii time, KFVE-TV, 1420-AM). Coach June Jones said he was happy with the way the two-hour workout went.
As expected, cornerback Abraham Elimimian and running back Mike Bass did not make the trip due to injuries. Kenny Patton will replace Elimimian for the second consecutive game, and John West replaces Bass as Thero Mitchell's backup.
The Warriors were scheduled to hold a closed practice today.
Prospect joins Warriors: Defensive back Brown Faavae, a top prospect from Mater Dei High School in California two years ago, has walked on at UH after leaving West Virginia.
Faavae was highly recruited as a 6-foot, 205-pound safety. He has not played in college yet, but must sit out a year before he is eligible to play for UH due to NCAA transfer rules.
Chillin': Temperatures dropped into the 40s yesterday with rain, but last night's forecast for the weekend called for clear skies and temperatures ranging from the 40s to the 70s.
Jones said if the weather does turn bad, it won't change anything. "No, there's no advantage either way," he said.
The scout: Very few of the UH players had been to Boise until they arrived last night. Senior right guard Vince Manuwai is the exception, as he represented the Warriors at July's Western Athletic Conference media preview here.
"Yeah, a lot of the guys have been asking me about the place," Manuwai said. "I tell them it's kind of like BYU. The buildings look like the ones there, no one's there at night, but during the day you see a lot of people walking around."
Just another game, sort of: Jones tried to dispel the notion that this is the WAC's game of the year, although it is only the third conference game for UH and the first for Boise State.
"The only reasons the game is important are because it's on the road and it's in the conference," he said.
Short yardage: Three busloads totaling 133 Hawaii fans arrived from Salt Lake City yesterday. They had caught a flight from Honolulu on Wednesday night. ... A crowd of more than 25,000 is expected tomorrow. ... Boise State quarterback B.J. Rhode said he is excited about seeing his brother, UH backup QB Jeff Rhode. "We have lots of family coming in for the game (from Eugene, Ore.). They're really happy because they don't get to see us often during the season, especially Jeff."
BACK TO TOP |
The first NCAA Div. II West region poll was released yesterday, with one notable absence and one notable addition. Chaminade breaks
into West region pollBy Jerry Campany
jcampany@starbulletin.comBrigham Young-Hawaii (12-0) is in the No. 2 spot as expected, but Chaminade debuted at No. 4 after extending the Seasiders to five games. The Silverswords are 8-2 and will take being No. 4 in the region over being ranked in the national poll -- where they have not received a single vote this season -- because the regional poll is the one that will be used to determine which teams are invited to the regional tournament at the end of the season.
"It is a nice perk if we do (get ranked nationally)," Chaminade coach Glennie Adams said. "But HPU is first (on our agenda)."
Hawaii Pacific is ranked No. 24 in the national poll but was shut out of the regional poll, which ranks the top 10 teams in the West region.
Cal State San Bernardino tops the regional poll with a 14-0 record. The Coyotes are also the only team separating BYUH from the top spot in the national poll.
More honors for Hilo: A week after learning that it had the highest graduation rate among student-athletes in NCAA Div. II, Hawaii-Hilo athletes started pulling in individual awards.
Scott Prather, who graduated as a Pacific West Conference first-teamer last year, was awarded the Division II Commissioner's Award for Academics last week.
Also, junior setter Emily Hutchinson was named one of 26 members of the NCAA Div. II student-athlete advisory committee. She will hold the title until she graduates.
Seasiders still own tennis: Four members of the BYUH tennis team won their opening matches in the ITA West Regional at Pomona, Calif., yesterday.
Jan Krejci, Peter Madarassy, Adrienn Hegedus and Amy Sun all won in straight sets, with Sun blanking her opponent 6-0, 6-0. Krejci and Madarassy teamed up to win two doubles matches.
Play continues today and tomorrow with a national berth on the line.
Local teams in top five: The Brigham Young-Hawaii and Chaminade water polo teams are ranked in the top five of the initial Western Water Polo Association rankings released yesterday.
The Seasiders received 39 points to nail down the third spot while Chaminade (7-1), which plays BYUH four more times this season, got 36 points and a No. 4 ranking.
UC San Diego, which beat BYUH 9-4 earlier this season, is No. 1 with 45 points. Although the Seasiders are only 3-4, they beat Chaminade and Air Force to claim the third spot.