Owens might play Saturday

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

On further review, University of Hawai'i slotback Chad Owens might be available for Saturday's game against Cincinnati at Aloha Stadium.

Owens, a third-year sophomore from Roosevelt High, has missed the last four games because of a sprained right knee. Owens was expected to return for the Nov. 30 game against Alabama. But he practiced yesterday, and said there is a possibility he might play against Cincinnati.

"It depends on how I feel, and it's up to the coach to see if he wants me to play," Owens said. He said a decision is expected after tomorrow afternoon's closed practice.

Owens said his right knee is "not 100 percent, but it's getting there."

UH coach June Jones said, "hopefully, he'll get in for a few snaps. If he has an adverse reaction (in practices today and tomorrow), we won't put him in. I don't want him to risk getting hurt anymore. It's a knee (injury), and you don't want to mess with the knees."

Owens is third in receptions (36) and receiving yards (456).

• The man upstairs: UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said he no longer misses life at the top.

In the middle of the 2000 season, his first at UH, Lempa was asked to coach on the sidelines during games instead of from the coaches' box on the loge level.

Jones said he wanted Lempa to take advantage of the "great rapport he has with the players. When you go upstairs, you lose touch. To be honest, game-day adjustments and how you communicate them are what the game is all about. It's not so much the other things."

Lempa admitted it was not an easy transition. "I was always up in the box, so I felt very comfortable," he said. "On the field, I couldn't see anything. I still can't see anything."

But, he said, "You can tell a lot more when you're on the field. Up in the box, it's kind of like watching (the game) on TV. On the field, you're in the middle of the action. You can talk to the players, you can feel the emotion. I like it better now."

It has been a dizzying season for Lempa, who said he waits for the completion of one game before preparing for the next opponent.

"Some coaches break down the tapes in advance," he said. "I don't, because I get confused. I get mixed up over who I'm looking at. I don't look at (video of a future opponent) and I don't think about it until after the game."

While Jones, who coordinates the run-and-shoot offense, has one basic game plan for the entire season, Lempa has to produce 13.

"We see different formations, different personnel groups and different offenses," he said. "We can see option one week and a one-back offense the next week. We have to be flexible and have a good scout team and a good coach to take care of the scout team."

Graduate assistant Rinda Brooks coaches the scout-team offense during defensive drills. "We get a good picture of what we'll see on Saturday," Lempa said. "The game is won during the week. It's won on the practice field."

During a typical week, the UH defenders will participate in conditioning drills Monday. "We have some new thoughts we try to do on Tuesday," Lempa said. "We try to work on the run phase of (the defense) on Wednesday and the pass phase of it on Thursday. We put it together on Friday."

• All in the family: Not only are the Warriors recruiting wideout Ray Bass, the younger brother of running back Mike Bass, but they also have expressed a strong interest in linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa's brother.

Mike Tinoisamoa, who is 6 feet and 200 pounds, is an outside linebacker at Palomar College in California. He graduated from high school in 2000, then worked for a year before enrolling at Palomar. He did not start until this season.

Still, he has received offers from California and Arizona State.