Rainbows are wary
of Matadors’ offense

Cal State Northridge can
score points, as it showed in
last week's 63-23 win

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Perhaps Don Lindsey can spare a couple of hours and take his University of Hawaii defense over to St. Louis School to practice against the run-and-shoot.

Granted, the Crusaders don't have the same speed at receiver as Cal State Northridge. Nor do they have a quarterback as proficient as the Matadors' Aaron Flowers.

But they could simulate this chuck-and-duck attack much better than Hawaii will be able to at this week's practice. After all, St. Louis' Cal Lee has been running a similar system for years.

"Heck, they might get 500 yards off of us, too," Lindsey said, then smiled. "The run-and-shoot offense is tricky to defend because there are always three or four receivers running patterns all over the place. But while most teams using this offense don't run as much, Northridge can and will.

"They have a good quarterback, who understands the ins-and-outs of this formation. He and his receivers work well together. Just look at the statistics in last week's game against Boise State -- a team we barely beat last year -- and you can see that. It's going to be a difficult task for our defense. Nothing easy about it."

Still, on paper, it would seem the Rainbows hold most of the advantages. Northridge is a Division I-AA program that offers about half as many scholarships. The Matadors have a new coach and play an ambitious schedule -- their first three games are on the road against Division I opponents.

But this team is still dangerous. The Matadors have nothing to lose by coming here, and everything to gain if they manage the big upset. And it's not beyond the realm of possibility, either, that they will do just that for the second week in a row.

Even without star receiver Jerome Henry, who has a stress fracture, Flowers completed 31 of 40 passes for 441 yards and six touchdowns in the 63-23 win over Boise State last Saturday.

University of California transfer Brian Comer was his favorite target. He caught nine passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Drew Hill added eight catches of his own for 115 yards, while sophomore Aaron Arnold pulled in six receptions for 109 yards and two scores.

"Flowers and his receivers seem to communicate well," Lindsey said.

"That's so important in the run-and-shoot because they can see what defense you're in and run the play accordingly at the line of scrimmage.

"Our job will be to put pressure on Flowers like we did against Minnesota. The front seven is important because you can't defense well against a run-and-shoot if the quarterback can sit in the pocket and have time to throw. If that happens, he'll eat you up."

One thing working in Hawaii's favor is the Northridge defense.

Last year, the Matadors' secondary yielded 25 touchdown passes in 11 games. Boise State generated 438 yards last week, 261 through the air, so this should allow senior quarterback Tim Carey to have a better game than he did against in the 17-3 win over Minnesota.

The Rainbows will try to establish the run -- much like they did in the opener -- and try to get into a better offensive rhythm. Hawaii had its moments, but for the most part, the offense struggled, generating only 174 yards.

This is something offensive coordinator Wally English must improve on, and in a hurry, if the Rainbows are to be successful in the high-scoring Western Athletic Conference.

He said after yesterday's practice that Hawaii will use the same personnel, although freshman Charles Tharp may see some more playing time than he did last week.

"We're probably going to be using the same people through most of the season," English said. "We've just got to do a better job of establishing our running game and then that should open things up in the pass.

"Northridge uses a similar defense to what Minnesota ran against us. They come at you in an eight-man front to try to create pressure in the passing game and slow down the run. They have some athletes.

"I kind of compare them to a junior college where the first-string players are good, but depth is a problem because they just don't have the scholarship numbers of a Division I program."

Last week against Boise State, Northridge fell behind 16-0 and appeared to be in big trouble. But over the last two-and-a-half quarters, the defense yielded only seven more points, while the offense scored a team-record 63.

"They're a dangerous team that we can't afford to look past," English said. "But I do think you'll see our offense play better than we did last week. Tim will be a little more comfortable and I think our offensive line has a better idea of what we're trying to get done."

INJURY REPORT: Linebackers Rinda Brooks and Mark Mollner left practice early yesterday with nagging injuries.

Mollner is still battling a bad case of shinsplints, while Brooks has a variety of ailments that include a strained stomach muscle, hamstring pull and bruised hip, all located on the left side.

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