[ UH FOOTBALL ]
Hawaii’s season
could be at stakeToday’s game against
Fresno State would be
a good place to start
a season turnaround
Fresno State's always a big one for Hawaii, but this might be the game for the 2003 Warriors.
Every college football team has one encounter each year that can later be pointed to as affecting the rest of the season the most -- an outcome that turned out to mean much more than a single win or loss in the standings.
For Hawaii in 2000, it was the season-opening 45-20 loss to Portland State that set the sour tone for a 3-9 flop. Conversely, in 2001, the Warriors beat Southern Methodist 38-31 on the road, in overtime, in the fourth game of the schedule; it was the springboard for victories in eight of UH's final nine games and a ledger of 9-3.
Hawaii vs. Fresno State
When: Today, 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.
That bigger-than-the-others game for this year could be tonight's as UH tries to turn around its fortunes. The Warriors (2-3, 1-1 Western Athletic Conference) host the Bulldogs (3-3, 1-0) at Aloha Stadium, where Hawaii has yet to lose this season and has won its last five WAC games.
If UH is to have a chance of meeting its goal of winning the conference championship, this is the first of six must-win games. A crowd in excess of 35,000 is expected to show up to see the rivals play for the 36th time; most hope to see the Warriors (16-18-1 in the series) beat the Bulldogs for the fourth straight time and fifth in a row at home.
But most of those UH teams featured current NFL players Ashley Lelie, Vince Manuwai, Lui Fuata and Pisa Tinoisamoa, and Hawaii's recent history is not pretty.
UH put itself in a corner by losing 27-16 at Tulsa last week. The preseason favorite of many to win the league title is now in revival if not survival mode after losing to a Golden Hurricane team that was 2-21 the previous two years.
"I thought for sure we have this one in the bag and we're going to come home 2-0 in the WAC and get ready for Fresno," said slotback Chad Owens, who watched on TV at home while finishing out a two-game suspension. "But unfortunately it didn't happen like that. What can you say? We lost. Now this is a must-win game for us. We can't settle for nothing less. We got to win and that's the bottom line."
Quarterback Tim Chang couldn't find receivers at key points, and he didn't look for excuses later.
"It was a hard loss," Chang said. "We didn't execute. We've yet to put together a full game. We have to keep correct and keep pushing and keep striving forward and keep trying to get better."
Chang was the hero of UH's 31-21 victory over the Bulldogs last year, the first time Hawaii won at Fresno since 1973. One of the program's biggest road victories ever, it was the signature game of the 10-4 season.
Chang led a 22-point fourth quarter that also featured two interceptions by Kelvin Millhouse.
"He's a great quarterback who finds a way to make big plays. With him you can never put your guard down," Bulldogs safety James Sanders said. "And we pretty much had a disaster in the last four minutes of that game. No way we should have lost. All we had to do was keep playing like we had been the whole game."
While Fresno State indeed melted down, the Warriors made big play after big play when they needed them -- something that has been missing most of this season.
Part of the reason is injuries to defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga, wide receiver Jeremiah Cockheran (who leads the WAC with 107.0 receiving yards per game) and slotback Nate Ilaoa, and Owens' suspension.
Ilaoa is out for the season, but Owens will play tonight and Cockheran may, too. Cockheran practiced this week, but his sprained right ankle could still keep him out if he can't make quick cuts.
"I would say he's not going to play," UH coach June Jones said after Thursday's practice. "We'll see how he is game day. But he relies on his speed."
Middle linebacker Chad Kalilimoku missed three practices with sore ribs, but the Warriors' leading tackler will probably play at least some tonight. His backup is Lincoln Manutai, who is moving back to the middle from outside linebacker.
"I don't know. He's still kind of nursing those ribs," defensive coordinator George Lumpkin said of Kalilimoku. "(Manutai) will be fine. He played inside linebacker at JC so it's kind of like old home week for him."
Hawaii's defense has been disappointing so far, but so has Fresno State's offense.
The Warriors haven't been able to force turnovers; five of the opponents' nine came in one game, against Rice.
The Bulldogs average 19.7 points per game, despite possessing some of the best offensive weapons in the conference, like receiver/returner Bernard Berrian. A first-team All-American two years ago, Berrian has battled double teams all season. Also, running back Rodney Davis, who set a school rushing yardage record last year, doesn't even start now; he was beaten out by Dwayne Wright (81 carries for 481 yards).
The Bulldogs are also hurting, having lost three starting offensive linemen for at least the rest of the regular season. The latest is right tackle Matt Stevenson; Fresno's most experienced remaining lineman suffered a third-degree sprain on the MCL in his left knee in the Bulldogs' 34-10 loss to Colorado State last week.
FSU is expected to start two freshmen, two sophomores and a JC transfer junior on the line; it is almost identical in youth to Hawaii's line, which also has two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior (third-year starter Uriah Moenoa, at right guard).
Bulldogs coach Pat Hill tried to downplay the possibility of vulnerability on his line, especially with sophomore starting quarterback Paul Pinegar on the mend himself from a pectoral injury that kept him out until last week's game.
"Pinegar's fine," Hill said of senior Jeff Grady's replacement. "He just hasn't had a lot of time on the field this season, so he might be a little rusty. But he's a helluva player.
"Sure, we've got three starters (on the line) out," the coach added. "But in 1999 we used a walk-on at left tackle."
That was a game that the Bulldogs lost, 31-24 in overtime, as Hawaii continued to march through its magical turnaround season. A lot of breaks went UH's way in that one -- a recurring theme when Fresno State comes to town.
Hill is a superstitious sort who pockets lucky coins and wears lucky hats. But he dismisses the idea of his team's misfortunes here having to do with any kind of hex.
"We've been out-executed. Hawaii's gotten it done and we haven't. That's the bottom line," he said.
Jones knows the Bulldogs are much better than their record. Two losses were at Tennessee and Oklahoma -- you can call them by their numbers: 13 and 1, according to the Associated Press pollsters.
"Playing tough games makes us better. Now we've played in these tough arenas and we're ready to go into Hawaii and mount a victory," Sanders said. "We know Aloha Stadium will be louder than Tennessee was at times, but playing at Tennessee helped us prepare for this."
And if it comes down to special teams, some of the Hawaii fans might wish they'd gone to the Steely Dan concert. The Bulldogs have blocked six punts or kicks already this fall, while Hawaii's kicking game has been shaky at best.
If there's a get-well victory to be had here, it won't come cheap for the Warriors.
"Fresno is Fresno. We've had some great games with them," Jones said. "They're a good football team and we're going to have to play very good to beat them."
Probable starters
FRESNO STATE
Offense
Defense
WR 1 Marque Davis 6-0 195 Sr. LT 50 Dartangon Shack 6-2 300 So. LG 63 Kawika Edwards 6-4 300 Jr. C 59 Kyle Young 6-5 320 Fr. RG 70 Sean Finnerty 6-3 285 So. RT 79 Chris Denman 6-6 260 Fr. TE 86 Duncan Reid 6-6 220 Jr. FB 49 Stephen Spach 6-4 250 Jr. WR 2 Bernard Berrian 6-2 190 Sr. QB 13 Paul Pinegar 6-4 220 So. TB 32 Dwayne Wright 6-1 210 So.
Specialists
DE 55 Brian Morris 6-2 250 Sr. or 47 Claude Sanders 6-3 240 Jr. DT 56 Fai Satele 6-1 290 Jr. NT 99 Donyell Booker 6-2 305 Jr. DE 71 Garrett McIntyre 6-3 250 So. OLB 5 Bryce McGill 5-11 225 Sr. MLB 31 Marc Dailey 6-1 233 Sr. OLB 35 David Adamo 6-2 235 Jr. or 94 Ricky Miller 6-4 240 Fr. CB 29 Raymond Washington 6-1 200 So. SS 23 James Sanders 5-11 205 So. FS 10 Dee Meza 5-8 185 Sr. CB 27 Awan Diles 5-9 180 So.
PK 38 Brett Visintainer 6-0 185 Jr. P 37 Mike Lingua 6-0 190 Fr. Snap 86 Duncan Reid 6-6 220 Jr. Hold 16 Jordan Christensen 6-3 185 Fr. KR 2 Bernard Berrian 6-2 190 Sr. and 18 Adam Jennings 5-10 175 So. PR 2 Bernard Berrian 6-2 190 Sr. HAWAII
Offense
Defense
LWR 84 Britton Komine 5-10 187 Jr. LSR 2 Chad Owens 5-9 174 Jr. or 82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 172 Fr. LT 70 Tala Esera 6-3 283 Fr. LG 64 Samson Satele 6-3 289 Fr. C 59 Derek Faavi 6-1 273 So. RG 69 Uriah Moenoa 6-2 365 Jr. RT 66 Brandon Eaton 6-3 3-1 So. RSR 38 Gerald Welch 5-8 205 Jr. RWR 19 Jeremiah Cockheran 6-0 190 Sr. QB 14 Tim Chang 6-2 194 Jr. RB 1 Mike Bass 5-7 174 Jr. or 6 Michael Brewster 5-6 180 Jr. or 16 West Keliikipi 6-1 266 Jr.
Specialists
LE 93 Houston Ala 5-11 260 Sr. LT 99 Lui Fuga 6-1 299 Sr. RT 92 Lance Samuseva 6-0 309 Sr. RE 1 Travis LaBoy 6-4 254 Sr. SLB 46 Keani Alapa 6-1 229 Sr. or 5 Chad Kapanui 6-0 225 Jr. MLB 56 Chad Kalilimoku 5-11 240 Sr. WLB 51 Ikaika Curnan 5-11 218 So. CB 37 Abraham Elimimian 5-10 173 Jr. S 33 Hyrum Peters 5-8 188 Sr. S 42 Leonard Peters 6-1 174 So. CB 3 Kelvin Millhouse 6-1 205 Sr.
P 25 Kurt Milne 6-0 204 Fr. K 47 Justin Ayat 5-11 205 Jr. Snap 45 T.J. Moe 6-0 220 So. PR 21 Clifton Herbert 5-7 159 Sr. KR 82 Ross Dickerson 5-10 173 Fr. Hold 8 Jason Whieldon 6-1 187 Sr. Schedules
Fresno State (3-3, 1-0 WAC)
Hawaii (2-3, 1-1 WAC)
Aug. 30 at Tennessee L, 6-24 Sept. 6 Oregon State W, 16-14 Sept. 13 at Oklahoma L, 28-52 Sept. 20 Louisiana Tech W, 16-6 Sept. 27 Portland State W, 42-16 Oct. 4 at Colorado State L, 10-34 Today at Hawaii Oct. 25 Rice Nov. 1 at SMU Nov. 8 at Nevada Nov. 15 San Jose State Nov. 22 Boise State Nov. 29 at UTEP
Aug. 30 Appalachian State W, 40-17 Sept. 13 at Southern California L, 32-61 Sept. 19 at Nevada-Las Vegas L, 22-33 Sept. 27 Rice W, 41-21 Oct. 4 at Tulsa L, 16-27 Today Fresno State Oct. 18 at Louisiana Tech Oct. 25 UTEP Nov. 1 at San Jose State Nov. 15 at Nevada Nov. 22 Army Nov. 29 Alabama Dec. 6 Boise State Per-game comparison
Fresno State Category Hawaii 19.7 Scoring 30.2 143.0 Rushing 89.8 171.3 Passing 353.4 314.3 Total Offense 443.2 15.0 First Downs 22.6 5.8 FD Rushing 4.8 8.5 FD Passing 15.8 0.7 FD Penalty 2.0 24.3 Points Allowed 31.8 204.2 Rushing Allowed 174.6 229.8 Passing Allowed 177.0 434.0 Total Offense Allowed 351.6 12-93 Interceptions -- Yards 5-4 38.4 Punting 39.3 37-365 Penalties 37-338 6-1 Fumbles-lost 11-6 28:24 Time of Possession 30:24 27-78 Third Down Conversion 28-92 5-11 Fourth Down Conversion 2-3 Key players
Rushing A Yards Avg TD Dwayne Wright, FSU 81 481 5.9 2 Bryson Sumlin, FSU 38 215 5.7 4 Mike Bass, UH 28 158 5.6 1 John West, UH 21 117 5.6 2 Passing A C I Yards TD Jeff Grady, FSU 175 93 6 917 4 Paul Pinegar, FSU 19 11 2 111 0 Tim Chang, UH 220 132 6 1,306 6 Jason Whieldon, UH 53 30 3 461 5 Receiving Rec Yards Avg TD Bernard Berrian, FSU 24 247 10.3 2 Marque Davis, FSU 13 193 14.8 0 Jeremiah Cockheran, UH 28 428 15.3 4 Chad Owens, UH 23 255 11.1 3 Tackles S A Tot FL/S Bryce McGill, FSU 26 13 39 3/0 James Sanders, FSU 18 13 31 4/0 Awan Diles, FSU 18 12 30 1/0 Raymond Washington, FSU 21 8 29 2/0 Dwayne Andrews, FSU 14 13 27 1/0 Chad Kalilimoku, UH 20 20 40 5/1 Ikaika Curnan, UH 21 18 39 4/1 Travis LaBoy, UH 22 9 31 7/4 Hyrum Peters, UH 22 8 30 0/0 Leonard Peters, UH 14 10 24 0/0 WAC Standings
Today
CONFERENCE OVERALL W L Pct W L Pct Str Nevada 2 0 1.000 3 2 .600 W2 Boise State 1 0 1.000 4 1 .800 W2 Tulsa 1 0 1.000 3 2 .600 W3 Fresno State 1 0 1.000 3 3 .500 L1 UTEP 1 0 1.000 2 4 .333 W2 Hawaii 1 1 .500 2 3 .400 L1 Rice 1 1 .500 1 4 .200 W1 Louisiana Tech 0 2 .000 2 3 .400 L2 San Jose State 0 2 .000 1 4 .200 L4 SMU 0 2 .000 0 5 .000 L5
Nevada at Washington
Tulsa at Boise State
SMU at San Jose State
Louisiana Tech at UTEP
Fresno State at Hawaii
