HawaiÎi homegrown report
Gesser unfazed by QB comparisons
By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Hawai'i Homegrown Report, a staple in The Honolulu Advertiser from 1988-98, makes its return.
It will appear every Wednesday in The Honolulu Advertiser.
If you know of any Hawai'i athletes at Mainland colleges, give us their names, high schools, colleges and sports. We'll check them out.
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Think Washington State quarterbacks Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf.
Associated Press
Those are the names St. Louis School graduate Jason Gesser finds himself compared to after his 432-yard, four-touchdown passing performance Saturday that led undefeated Washington State to a 51-20 rout of California in Pullman, Wash.
Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser, right, ran past California safety Bert Watts during Saturday's game at Pullman, Wash.
"I don't even think about it (comparisons)," Gesser said. "All I think about is winning."
Gesser's effort was the third highest single game passing yardageÊtotal in Washington State history, behind Bledsoe (476 vs. Utah in 1992) and Leaf (447 vs. Arizona State in 1997).
As long as we're throwing names around, let's add Mark Rypien and Fran Tarkenton. Gesser's total offense of 412 yards tied Rypien for the second highest in school history, and WSU coach Mike Price has compared Gesser's scrambling style to Minnesota Viking Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton.
Said California coach Tom Holmoe, a former 49er: "Gesser is better out of the pocket than he is in the pocket.ÊHe threw two touchdown passes on his back."
On his back is where Gesser was much of the first half as Cal blitzed repeatedly.
"I was getting tired of getting hit," Gesser admitted. "It got old. I got hit every play of the half. ... In football, you're going to take hits. You've got to get off the ground and keep playing."
WSU changed its blocking to better protect Gesser and he began to exhibit the maturity of the fourth-year player (red-shirt junior) that he is. "When they blitz, they're one-on-one with the receivers, and you have to take advantage of that, especially with the kind of receivers we've got," he said.
Gesser threw three touchdown passes in the third quarter before handing the game to backups, and three receivers gained more than 100 yards each for the first time in WSU history.
He impressed everyone with his ability to "take whacks," as Price said. A hard hit in the third quarter sent Gesser off the field for a play, but on his first play back, he threw an 18-yard touchdown pass before he was leveled again.
At a school noted for its development of NFL quarterbacks, Gesser is only the fifth to pass for more than 400 yards in a game. His previous best was 348 last season.
The season stats are a nice read in Honolulu, too. Tim Chang of Hawai'i, who followed Gesser as the starting quarterback at St. Louis in 1998, ranks No. 1 in total offense in NCAA Division I with 348.0 yards per game. Gesser is No. 7 at 316.0.
In passing efficiency, arrived at by a formula that considers completion percentage, interceptions and touchdowns as well as yardage,ÊGesser is ninth at 171.4 and Chang 25th at 137.6.
Gesser said he checks UH scores but doesn't have time to do more.
"Tell everybody (at home) I said, 'What's up?' "
Tim Marsh, assistant director, Washington State News & Information, contributed to this report.
EXTRA POINTS: Washington State is 3-0. ...WSU offensive lineman Gerald Cook (Campbell) is out for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. ... Defensive lineman Ing Aleaga ('Aiea) has slipped to third string. Aleaga, who was highly recruited, never returned to form after injuries two years ago. ... Jason Gesser's 2000 season ended in the ninth game, against Oregon, with a broken left fibula that required surgery. He finished as the Pac-10 leader in passing efficiency with a rating of 132.5. He was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week three times last season, but did not win the award for Saturday's performance. ... Gesser set the Washington State record for touchdown passes in a game with six last year in an overtime loss at Arizona.
MORE FOOTBALL
• Paul Alejo (Damien), Whitworth (Wash.): Alejo, of 'Ewa Beach, kicked the game-winning extra point with 7:04 to play as Whitworth defeated Pacific Lutheran, 27-26, ending a 32-game losing streak in the intrastate Washington rivalry. Whitworth, of Spokane, had not defeated PLU since 1965. The Pirates (2-0) have nine players from Hawai'i on their roster.
• Fred Salanoa (Radford), Eastern Washington: Salanoa, a senior quarterback, completed 25 of 36 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns in a 50-26 victory over Weber State, his second 300-yard performance in as many games after having none in his first 13 outings for Eastern Washington. He has completed 67.6 percent of his passes this season for 680 yards, seven touchdowns, one interception and a passing efficiency rating of 173.3.
• Clifford Russell (Campbell), Ryan Kaneshiro (Iolani), Ed Ta'umu (Iolani), Utah: The senior wide receiver caught the go-ahead touchdown pass and senior kicker Kaneshiro made four-of-four extra-point attempts, providing the margin of victory as the Utes defeated Indiana, 28-26.
Russell, the fastest Ute ever timed with a 4.27 over 40 yards, leads Utah in receiving after three games with 16 catches for 207 yards.
Ta'umu, a senior offensive guard, made his first start after a two-game suspension for his arrest for assault this summer.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
• Nicole Garbin (Baldwin), Oregon: After five games, not one in which she started, Garbin, a freshman, leads the team in goals (5) and already has tied the 1997 school record for game-winning goals (3). Oregon is 3-1-1. Its next highest scorer has two goals.
• Sarah Takekawa (Kailua), St. Mary's College: Freshman Takekawa has started all six games for the unbeaten Gaels and has scored the winning goal in three of them. She is second in scoring (4 goals, 1 assist). She scored two goals last Wednesday in a 3-0 victory over Nevada in the Gaels' home opener at Moraga, Calif.
Sophomore defender Chelsea Montero (Kamehameha) of Mililani also has started all of St. Mary's games.
MEN'S SOCCER
• Nate Adams (Iolani), Bradley (Ill): The senior goalkeeper has waited five years for his moment in the sun, and is making the most of it. Adams has won three different athlete of the week awards this season from the Missouri Valley Conference and Bradley.
He was named Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his career-high nine saves and shutout in Bradley's upset at then 12th-ranked Santa Clara. After mainly sitting in the shadow of an All-American the past two seasons, Adams shut out three of the Braves' first five opponents after he became the starter. His goals-against average for the first seven games (4-2-1) is 1.02.
Adams' 3.39 grade-point average in business-management also helped him earned both Bradley and conference Scholar-Athlete awards.
• Ben Swan (Konawaena), Arcadia (Pa.): Swan is well on his way to breaking his own school season record of 21 goals. Swan, a junior, has scored nine goals and 21 points in Arcadia's first seven games.ÊÊHe was selected Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the second time Monday after scoring six goals in two games last week. Arcadia is 6-0-1 and is ranked sixth in the Mid-Atlantic region of NCAA Division III by coaches.
WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
• Ku'ulei Kamana'o (Iolani), Portland (Ore.): Kamana'o is starting at defensive specialist. Kamana'o walked away from a scholarship at Massachusetts last season and walked on at Portland to get closer to home and get warmer. So far, "I absolutely love it here. I enjoy everything about this place," Kamana'o said. Kamana'o was all-state in 1999.
