Injuries plague
Rainbows’ scrimmage
Linebacker Rufus Ayeni
By Paul Arnett
sprains his knee and might miss
the opener; Brooks also is hurting
Star-BulletinThe thing University of Hawaii head coach Fred vonAppen has tried so hard to avoid, paid a visit to the University of Hawaii football team during yesterday's Aloha Stadium scrimmage. On a routine play, starting outside linebacker Rufus Ayeni suffered a sprained knee that left him questionable for the season opener with the University of Minnesota.
"It was the same kind of thing that happened to me in the Air Force when I hurt my other knee," Ayeni said while viewing the scrimmage from the bench.
"I was inside the pile and somebody fell on my left leg. They said I had a No. 3 sprain when I hurt my right knee. This is a No. 2. I could be out two to six weeks, depending on how bad it is."
Team doctors last night upgraded his status to questionable after it was determined he sprained the medial meniscus ligament. Unlike a torn anterior cruciate ligament, an MML can heal itself over time.
"It's pretty frustrating because I felt like I was ready to play," Ayeni said. "All I can do is rehab it and try to get back in there as quickly as I can."
Defensive coordinator Don Lindsey felt for the senior from Long Beach, Calif. Granted, Hawaii is deep at linebacker, but you don't like to lose an experienced player.
"And he's one of our most experienced guys back there," Lindsey said. "You hate to have any injuries, but unfortunately, they are a part of this game."
Outside linebacker Rinda Brooks also reinjured a nagging hamstring. He sat down the bench from Ayeni, facing away from the field, lost in thought.
"It's frustrating because I can't go all-out," Brooks said. "I've been trying to rest it as much as I can, but nothing seems to work."
The UH training staff said the only way the hamstring would heal itself was with complete rest. Brooks can play with the injury, but he will experience varying degrees of pain.
Most of the other defensive players came out unscathed. Free safety Eddie Klaneski had a huge ice pack covering the top of his head. The senior was just glad to go helmet-to-helmet in a scrimmage.
"It felt good to get out there," Klaneski said. "I know the coaches are trying to keep us hungry, but we need more work like this to prepare for Minnesota.
"It was fun and exciting. I think we had maybe 10 plays before this scrimmage. It was great. You saw how we were out there. We were hungry to hit people."
Lindsey used the scout team offense to work not only on what Minnesota might throw at the Rainbows in the Aug. 30 opener, but what he perceives are the weaknesses of his team.
"We scripted this scrimmage to work on our weaknesses," Lindsey said. "Sometimes the offense likes to script it for success to build confidence.
"I like to script it so the offense attacks the weakness of our defense so we can correct and maybe strengthen it. That's what the scrimmage today was, move the ball regardless of what we do, to make sure we have those situations covered.
"And try to give ourselves situations that might confuse us, or put us in a position to be weak, rather than strong. And attack it from that standpoint."
Lindsey thought the defense did all right in those situations. He still has to review the film to give a definitive explanation, but there weren't any major busts.
"The main area we have to pick up on is defending the run," Lindsey said. "We're never going to be outstanding against it. But we've got to get better."
The offense continued to improve, especially on pass-protection. Quarterbacks Tim Carey and Dan Robinson spent less time running for their lives than in Tuesday night's scrimmage.
That's the good news. The bad news is, Hawaii's receivers and tight ends don't catch the football consistently enough. There were several drops yesterday afternoon, something that has to be addressed for the Rainbows to be successful.
"The thing we wanted to work on most today was pass protection," UH offensive coordinator Wally English said. "I thought we did a better job in that area than the other night."
ANCHORS AWEIGH: The Naval Academy is scheduled to play Hawaii on Nov. 20, 1999, a Midshipmen spokesman confirmed today.
The nonconference game will reunite Navy offensive coordinator Ken Niumatalolo with family and friends. Niumatalolo left the Hawaii program in 1995 to serve as quarterbacks coach for then offensive coordinator Paul Johnson.
Hawaii athletic director Hugh Yoshida sent the contract for Navy officials to sign. The Rainbows have three other nonconference openings that year.
Yee, who was awared the 1997 Charles Ushijima Rainbow Service Award, will be given a proclamation from Gov. Ben Cayetano. It will be read by former NFL tight end Russ Francis.
Yee has been associated with the program for 32 years. He began as an active volunteer in 1965 under head coach Clark Shaughnessy.
Murphy will present Na Koa with a check for $50,120 from his July 17 fund-raiser held at his downtown restaurant. It is the second consecutive year that Murphy has held a fund-raiser for the football team. He raised $38,000 last year.
1997 Rainbow Football Schedule
