[ UH FOOTBALL ]
Injury knocks out
USC’s top corner
Southern California cornerback Kevin Arbet is out for the season because of a stress fracture in his right foot. Arbet missed last season with the same injury after hurting the foot in fall camp in 2002. He started both games this year and was in on five tackles (one for a loss), with a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
Some consider Arbet the Trojans' best cover cornerback, and USC coach Pete Carroll said he would have been a key to slowing Hawaii's run-and-shoot passing attack Saturday at the Coliseum.
"It's a big setback for us. Unfortunately, he's a really good football player," Carroll said. "He was playing well. He'd have been a big factor in this football game.
"I like our depth; I'm not worried about that part of it at all but I wish we had Kevin's experience of having been out there for us."
Will Poole, a senior transfer from Ventura Junior College, will start in his place.
No 2 for 1: There isn't much of a rivalry between USC and Hawaii, but a small rift broke out last weekend that ended with no game tapes exchanged between the two schools.
Usually, schools exchange game tapes on Sundays, but a problem developed because USC played two games and Hawaii one. Hawaii wanted copies of both USC games, but the Trojans preferred each school trade one tape.
But Hawaii balked at USC's proposal and no tapes traded hands.
"They didn't want to do it," Carroll said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Southern California coach Pete Carroll walked the sidelines during a win over Brigham Young on Saturday in Los Angeles. Carroll's team will host Hawaii on Saturday.
Hawaii coach June Jones claimed to view a copy of ABC's telecast of the USC-Brigham Young game.
"We didn't have a tape exchange so we saw (the BYU game) on television," Jones said.
A more likely scenario is that Auburn and BYU were asked to supply tapes, because colleges record games at much better angles for coaches than TV broadcasts.
PC on TC: The Heisman talk about Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang isn't only in Hawaii. Though Chang has yet to take a snap this season because of a first-game suspension, Carroll mentioned him a couple of times in his weekly media luncheon yesterday.
"I think it's warranted. A guy has a huge year like he did, he deserves all the attention he is getting," Carroll said. "He has a chance to put up huge numbers. They have the necessary ingredients coming back and confidence in the system. He is deserving."
Chang also has the respect of senior defensive end Omar Nazel, who intercepted a pass for a 16-yard score last week against Brigham Young. Nazel said yesterday that the Hawaii offense will be a good challenge for the Trojans.
"They use their running backs real well. They run a lot of screens and quick passes," Nazel said. "They have a lot of elusive receivers. The quarterback is very dangerous. He's mobile and he has a good arm."
Chang is equally concerned with figuring out a way to attack USC's defense.
"I'd say I'm looking at an extra 30 to 40 minutes of tape each day, more than the usual," Chang said, "just to clear things up and be a little more prepared. Over the past two weeks I've watched a lot of tape of these guys. They're a great team."
Island vacations: Carroll spent some time over the summer in Haleiwa.
"I go as much as we can. I'm a sponge boarding guy," Carroll said yesterday.
USC quarterback Matt Leinart's girlfriend is professional surfer Veronica Kay, who starred on the WB's "Boarding House: North Shore." The show was a reality series based on the pro surfing tour in Hawaii.
Quotebook: USC offensive lineman Fred Matua on UH's defensive line: "There's a lot of Samoans, I've got to hit some of my cousins." ... Chang on the rigors of a long two-game road trip: "We're not going up there to have fun. We're going up there to play games."
Sartz to safety: With strong safety Darnell Bing bothered by a sore ankle and missing practice yesterday, Carroll moved sophomore linebacker Dallas Sartz to safety. Sartz played safety in high school and he might be more valuable there against Hawaii's run-and-shoot offense.
"He actually did pretty well there," Carroll said. "Whether it factors into this game, I don't know."
Short yardage: Former Punahou, USC and NFL fullback Mosi Tatupu won't be at the Coliseum on Saturday to see his son, linebacker Lofa Tatupu, play against Hawaii, but does promise to be at the Trojans' Oct. 18 contest at Notre Dame. ... The Warriors are 2-2 against ranked teams under Jones, including the 62-7 loss to No. 21 USC that began his tenure at UH in 1999. Hawaii's last venture against a ranked team was a 72-45 victory over No. 9 Brigham Young on Dec. 8, 2001.
The Los Angeles Daily News contributed to this report.
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[ HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS ]
Iolani’s Low looking
forward to college
after visiting WSU
Iolani senior Derrick Low loved what he saw on his visit to the Washington State University campus last week.
The trip came a month after the two-time Star-Bulletin all-state high school basketball player of the year orally committed to the school, site unseen.
"I didn't need to visit to make my decision, but now that I've been there and seen it, I know I made the right decision," said Low, the heavily recruited point guard. "I'm even more excited to go there next year."
Low likes the fact that the campus town of Pullman, Wash., is isolated and not near any major cities.
"On the drive from Spokane to Pullman, there's no view or anything. Nothing but grass," he said. "But Washington State makes up the majority of the small little town of Pullman and everything revolves around the college. And even though it's out of the way, there are still a lot of things to do."
Low met all of the Cougars players and played some basketball with them. He also chatted with Marcus Moore, the senior point guard who is a potential NBA player.
"It was fun getting to know all of the rest of the players, doing a lot of stuff together and getting used to each other," he said.
Low also sat down to talk with Cougars coach Dick Bennett.
This fall, Low is continuing to train for his senior season and is looking forward to being a part of what he thinks is going to be a "solid team."
Na Alii in the hunt: Ask people for a list of contenders for this fall's new Division II state football tournament and three teams --Waimea, Kapolei and Iolani -- keep cropping up.
At this point in the season, Aiea (2-1, 2-0 OIA White Conference) also looks like a strong contender.
Na Alii are led on offense by senior slotback Ben Ah Mook Sang.
"He can play almost any position," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "He's our backup quarterback, backup running back and return specialist, and he plays defensive back for us, too. He does it all, except play on the line. He could kick if we needed him to."
Brandon Puckett, an OIA soccer goalkeeper, is handling the kicking duties.
"He always wanted to go out for football, and he finally did," Say said.
Senior middle linebacker Lawrence Leovao is one of Aiea's defensive leaders, along with defensive backs Aveni Leung-Wai and C.J. Tausauga.
Na Alii are playing on a newly renovated field this year, thanks to work done by the state.
"Our field was in terrible shape, and the track, too," Say said. "The drainage was a mess and the roadside beside the track would have eroded if it wasn't fixed. Then the light poles may have collapsed. So they put in a retaining wall and a new field to correct the drainage problems."
One of the team's goals is to get into the state tournament.
"We made it to the Division I tournament two years ago and we want to get back for a return trip, this time in D-II, and try to win it all, if possible," said Say, whose team is coming off a 35-14 win over Kaiser. "But we've got to get through our season first of all."
Say was impressed with the performance put in by Waialua against Kapolei in a White Conference game last weekend. The Bulldogs led 14-12 at the half.
"They really gave them a run for their money, and they had only 20-something guys suited up to Kapolei's 60-something," Say said. "If that doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will."
Moanalua system in place: The inexperienced Moanalua football team is 0-3, but coach Arnold Martinez is excited about what his kids are learning.
He's hoping it translates into future benefits.
"We're playing with one returning starting lineman and that's unbelievable," said Martinez, a former University of California assistant who's in his first year with the Menehunes.
He has instituted some tough team rules and that has led to a depletion of some players.
"We've got 36 guys on the roster, but every one of those 36 are contributors somewhere on the field," he said. "We're not going to keep dead weight, no players that are out there just to wear a uniform."
Grade checks, study hall, team meetings, position meetings and weight lifting sessions are all mandatory.
If anyone misses a meeting or a practice, it's dawn-patrol time --Saturday morning at 6 a.m. for a 5-mile or more run.
Martinez's brightest moments so far have been the times when he learns that an academically troubled student "does a complete 360" in his schoolwork.
On the field, he was particularly pleased with a drive that took up most of the first quarter in a loss to Kaiser.
Menehunes senior quarterback Steve Arakaki has been a solid leader on offense, and sophomore backup Stanford Leti is a "rising star" at the position, according to Martinez.
The coach has also been getting some solid play from returning running back Wally Coleman, receiver John Estores, middle linebacker/fullback Quinton Tang, and cornerback Nigel Ross.
