VonAppen, official meet
on controversial call

Hawaii head coach Fred vonAppen visited yesterday with Bill Leavy, who is the head of Western Athletic Conference officials, to discuss the controversial call in last Saturday's 30-13 league loss at Texas-El Paso.

Leavy told him he wouldn't render a verdict until viewing the film himself, but did concede he was upset with the length of time it took for the flag to fly.

"I told him nobody was illegally down field," vonAppen said after yesterday's workout at Cooke Field. "He said he would reserve judgment on that issue until seeing the film.

"But here's the thing: We don't know what we would have done with the football had the fake punt stood, but the momentum would have been in our favor. You'd like to think we would score at least three points to tie the game (at 16-16 in the third quarter). But who knows?"

What the Rainbows do know is the play went against them at a crucial point in the game. UTEP eventually scored the last two touchdowns in the fourth quarter -- one off an interception by ailing quarterback Dan Robinson -- to send Hawaii to its 14th consecutive defeat dating back to 1997.

"And that's really the bottom line," vonAppen said. "We need to win some football games before this thing is through for our own mental health."

INJURY UPDATE: Quarterback Josh Skinner is not only out for this game, but will probably miss the remainder of the season with a nasty hamstring pull.

It occurred early in the second quarter as Skinner turned to escape the rush by running out of bounds. He knew it right away.

"And it's a shame because Josh was really moving the football," vonAppen said. "We're also getting pretty thin back there and at linebacker. We've got a lot of banged up players and we still have a month to go in the season."

The latest linebacker to bite the dust is Stephen Gonzales. He suffered a stinger in his neck and is listed as doubtful. Earlier this year, he missed two games with a nasty ankle sprain.

Joaquin Avila is also out for this game as are fellow linebackers Rinda Brooks (concussion), Jeff Ulbrich (knee) and Steve Dietschy (knee), and offensive lineman Adrian Klemm (knee).

Strong safety Phil Austin continues to make good progress from his knee injury. He was upgraded to doubtful for this week's game and questionable for Fresno State.

Cornerback Donnell Williams (neck and strained thumb) is doubtful. Calvin Mims was upgraded to questionable. Fellow fullback Anthony DiIeso (broken leg) was listed as questionable as well.

FALLING IN POLL: Hawaii slipped to No. 154 in the nation in the Scripps-Howard computer poll that ranks the 233 Division I and Division I-AA teams.

The Rainbows are tied with Eastern Michigan and Western Kentucky with a power rating of 69.6. San Jose State comes in at No. 87 with a power rating of 83.4.

Factoring in the four points for having home-field advantage, Hawaii still should be about a 10-point underdog to San Jose State.

By comparison, Ohio State is ranked No. 1 nationally with a power rating of 115.7. That means on a neutral field, Ohio State would be favored over Hawaii by about 46 points.

LUMFORD IN MIX: With the injury to Skinner, Ricky Lumford moved into the quarterback rotation for this weekend's final Western Athletic Conference game at Aloha Stadium.

The redshirt sophomore from Los Angeles has primarily been used on the scout team the last three years. Quarterbacks coach Tim Green gave Lumford a crash course at the beginning of yesterday's practice, especially on the option phase of the offense.

Lumford played quarterback at Crenshaw High School. He ran a basic option offense. Last week, he was listed as the emergency quarterback, prompting Lumford to say, "I think I know two plays."

The 5-foot-8, 170-pounder has been at cornerback since vonAppen came on the scene in 1996. But several weeks ago, he moved to wide receiver.

"With Josh out and Dan still hurting, that means Bronson Liana is our only healthy quarterback," vonAppen said. "We need to get Ricky up to speed, in case he has to go in there."

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By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin