Ending skid rivals
rivalry for ’Bows
Beating BYU would end
By Paul Arnett
Hawaii's 18-game road losing
streak in WAC
Star-BulletinThe rivalry for the Brigham Young-University of Hawaii football game was born out of frustration more than anything else. After Hawaii won four of the first five from 1930 to 1974, the Cougars regularly beat the Rainbows after joining the Western Athletic Conference in 1979.
BYU reeled off a decade's worth of victories from 1978 to 1988 with the help of some of the 50th state's best players. Former head coach Dick Tomey never beat the Cougars. Neither did any member of the famed Noga family.
To make matters worse, there were several close calls in that run. BYU won by five in 1984, the year it won the national championship. Even after Bob Wagner took over in 1987, the jinx continued. The Rainbows lost by two points that season and by one the next before winning in 1989.
Hawaii stunned BYU, 56-14, that season. And to prove it wasn't a fluke, the Rainbows won hours after Ty Detmer learned he was the Heisman Trophy winner in 1990. The final score -- 59-28.
Brigham Young wasn't used to losing to any team in the WAC on a regular basis. So instead of coming to Aloha Stadium as the Cougars had all but one year in the 1980s, they scheduled the Rainbows home and away.
Since that happened in 1991, Hawaii has beat BYU once. The Rainbows haven't won in Provo, Utah, in six tries, and the Cougars have won the last four games by a combined score of 144-71.
So is the rivalry still as intense for the Rainbows? It depends who you ask.
"It's not like it was when I was in high school," All-WAC senior safety Eddie Klaneski said. "I guess it was because they never were able to beat them.
"I don't think it's the same kind of rivalry, but it's still a very big game for us. We've never won there and we'd like to win one on the road before we graduate."
Senior tight end Lonn Kalama also wants to snap the 18-game road losing streak in WAC games, but unlike Klaneski, he views this as the game.
"Oh, heck yeah, heck yeah, this is a really big game for us," Kalama said. "It is for me because I'm one of the few Mormons on the team. I always wanted to go to BYU.
"Now that I'm here, I just want to kick BYU's butt. We're coming off a big win and we want to keep it going. As long as I've been here, this has been the biggest game because of all the local kids playing against each other."
You won't get any argument from BYU head coach LaVell Edwards. BYU often has the better talent, but Hawaii always comes to play.
"I was impressed at how they looked against Fresno State and they always seem to play us hard," Edwards said yesterday. "No matter what the records are, it's always a very spirited football game."
UH head coach Fred vonAppen hopes it remains that way. With the Rainbows' recent road record, he'll take anything that might give his team an emotional lift.
But he doesn't have history on his side in the series. No one on his coaching staff played for the Rainbows or were involved in those storied games in the 1980s.
Most of Hawaii's players are from the mainland and know little about what this game means..
"Don't get me wrong, I want to win it as badly as the next guy," senior Johnny Macon said. "But I've never understood why a school 4,000 miles away is your biggest rival. To me, it should be San Diego State."
Fellow senior Gary Ellerson disagrees.
"It's a big deal to me because we haven't beaten them since I've been here," Ellerson said. "We've come close a couple of times, but we couldn't get it done. I want to beat them so bad because they are viewed as the best team in the league. And this is the last chance for me."
Guard Hauoli Wong is the only player from Hawaii starting for the Cougars. Donny Atuaia is listed as the No. 2 running back.
"As offensive linemen, we get fired up because Hauoli left the team," starting right guard Gary Krug said. "But for me, it's just another game on the schedule."
Tackle Kaulana Noa agreed.
"It's not like it once was, at least, I don't get that feeling from other players," Noa said. "We just want to go out and keep winning. It doesn't matter who we play."
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