[ UH FOOTBALL ]
Only the games
beat the storiesLove, hate and screwdrivers:
It's time for UH-Fresno State
Phantom police escorts. Stolen playbooks. Flying screwdrivers.
This is how rivalries blossom -- regardless of whether the tales of gamesmanship and disrespect from both sides are fables or true accounts. Over the years, minor slights, misunderstandings and bizarre little mishaps become chips on shoulders that grow into boulders.
On the surface and at its deepest levels, the Hawaii-Fresno State football series is one of mutual loathing.
One UH player put it bluntly the other day, though anonymously: "We hate them and they hate us. But we love to play each other."
There are the accusations that seem silly later ... like the charge of UH collusion in the case of an HPD escort that never showed up to usher the Bulldogs to Aloha Stadium. Or a missing Bulldogs playbook in 1999 that some in the Fresno camp still insist ended up in UH hands. Or the screwdriver that flew through the air last year to supposedly land like a quivering Bowie knife in the grass on the Hawaii sideline -- but did it really come from the Bulldog Stadium stands, or merely fall from a Warrior equipment manager's toolbelt?
Depends on whom you ask.
The shenanigans, real and imagined, continue tomorrow at Aloha Stadium. And, if history repeats itself, the fans get to see a really good football game, too.
"I never heard about that one until Monday," UH coach June Jones said of the missing playbook.
The funny thing is Jones and Fresno State coach Pat Hill are friends. Not just shake-hands-at-midfield friends, but hang-out-and-have-a-beer friends.
"I'd say he's a good friend," said Jones, who first met Hill when both were NFL assistants. "He's a close friend as a coach. When he comes to Hawaii he calls me. When I go to Fresno I call him."
At the Western Athletic Conference preview in Boise, Idaho, last summer, Hill greeted anyone from Hawaii with, "Where's June? When does he get in?"
Hill, with his two sons, even visited Jones here last spring -- at practice.
They're an odd pair, two coaches who represent their team's nicknames in appearance and temperament; Jones with the bearing and command presence of a general, Hill with the demeanor of a compact but tenacious canine.
"He's a blue-collar coach who is destined for good things to happen because he pays attention to detail and his players play (hard) for him," Jones said. "I gotta believe the Bulldog fans love him. He's one of them, blue-collar, farmboy kinda deal. He is of their makeup."
The friendship is suspended this week, though, as the two try to figure out a way to beat each other. The Bulldogs (3-3, 1-0 WAC) and Warriors (2-3, 1-1) have battled injuries and other misfortunes all season and desperately need a win tomorrow.
Jones doesn't expect Hill to be at Fresno State forever.
"He'll end up probably in the Pac-10 in time," Jones said of Hill yesterday after practice. Hill was rumored as a candidate for the Arizona job. "I know he's not interested. He loves where he is. But they'll come after him eventually because he freaking wins."
Hill has led Fresno State to a 49-33 record since taking over in 1997, despite playing one of the toughest nonconference schedules each year, and despite having to mostly settle for the leftovers after bigger programs get their pick of the Central California recruiting litter.
One puzzle Hill can't seem to solve, though, is how to beat Hawaii here. UH has knocked off talented Fresno State teams the past four meetings at Aloha Stadium, including all three since Hill's arrival. As an added insult, the Warriors finally beat the Bulldogs at Fresno last season, 31-21.
"It's always a very tough game," Hill said. "I know I'll have to answer that question this week about why we haven't won in Honolulu in such a long time," he said. "We have to go there and play very well to beat them at home. We need to play our best game of the year. I think we're due for one."
Hawaii vs. Fresno State
When: Tomorrow, 6:05 p.m.Where: Aloha Stadium
Tickets: $25 sideline, $22 south end zone, $17 north end zone (adult), $12 north end zone (students/seniors, age 4-high school), UH students free (super rooter only). Call 800-944-2697.
TV: KFVE (Channel 5), delay at 10 p.m., with rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m. Also available live on Pay-Per-View. Call 625-8100 on Oahu or (866) 566-7784 on neighbor islands to subscribe.
Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM.
Parking: Gates open at 2:30 p.m. Parking is $5. Alternate parking at Leeward Community College, Kam Drive-In and Radford High School.
