Three injured players hope to see action against BYU
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Three ailing University of Hawai'i football players remain questionable for Saturday's game against ninth-ranked Brigham Young.
Advertiser library photo
Weak-side linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who has missed two games because of a stress fracture in his right fibula, said it is "50-50" as to whether he will be available to play. Tinoisamoa said he will wait until after tomorrow's practice to see how his leg feels.
"If I can go, I'm going to play," Pisa Tinoisamoa said.
"If I can go, I'm going to play," he said.
Strong-side linebacker Matt Wright, who has a sprained right knee, also said he will evaluate his condition after tomorrow's practice. He did not participate in contact drills yesterday.
"It's still kind of tender, but from Thursday until now, it's improved dramatically," Wright said. "I don't wear a brace anymore because I don't feel I can get as much range."
Wright said medical tests did not show any tears. "It's a slow process," he said. "Unfortunately, you can't hurry it."
Right defensive end Travis Laboy, who aggravated a sprained left ankle against Air Force Nov. 24, also is suffering from a sprained right shoulder. Laboy, who is considered to be the Warriors' best pass-rusher, said he can play with the shoulder injury but not on the sprained ankle.
"If you can't run around, you can't play," he said.
Joe Correia has started in place of Laboy. Keani Alapa, who also has a shoulder injury, will open at weak-side linebacker if Tinoisamoa cannot play. Safety Robert Grant, if needed, could play strong-side linebacker.
• A boo-tiful matchup: Only a handful of Warriors played against BYU in 1998, the last time the teams met. Still, UH safety Jacob Espiau said, "We really want to get them."
Espiau said the Warriors are peeved that the Cougars and seven other schools seceded from the Western Athletic Conference in 1999 — abandoning eight teams, including UH — to form the Mountain West Conference.
"Just the fact that they left the WAC gets under your skin," Espiau said. "It's like a slap in the face. It's like saying, 'You're not good enough.' It's not a good feeling."
Because the Warriors wanted to be the first to defeat the Cougars (12-0), the players were put in the awkward position of rooting for their rivals last week.
"My dad can't stand BYU," Espiau said. "My dad said it took him three quarters to say, 'Let's go BYU.' He said, 'OK, we need BYU to win (last week) to have a good game down here.'"
• Top draw: According to the NCAA, UH leads the WAC in football tickets issued this year.
UH has issued 263,345 tickets for seven football games at Aloha Stadium this season. Fresno State is second, issuing 256,815 tickets for six home games.
UH is ranked 49th nationally (out of 115 NCAA Division I-A schools).
Michigan leads with 659,447 tickets issued for six home games.
And Fresno State leads the WAC in tickets issued per game (42,803). UH is second (37,621).
