Opener a bit wacky
It took all of one conference game for the Western Athletic Conference to get interesting.
Overshadowing Fresno State’s near upset of Texas A&M and Boise State’s flop at Washington was this little score out of Louisiana: WAC favorite Hawaii 45, WAC bottom dweller Louisiana Tech 44 – in overtime.
Even more interesting than trying to determine what that says about the conference is what transpired off the field.
Hawaii was penalized 15 yards before the game started because the Rainbows performed the haka, a native dance. After the game it was revealed that the Bulldogs’ first-year head coach may have made inappropriate comments to a Hawaii player.
The Honolulu Advertiser said slotback Davone Bess “was the target of curse-peppered remarks made by Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” Bess told the newspaper. “But at the same time, I feel offended, you know. Somebody of his stature … to disrespect me like that, it was unnecessary.”
Before the game, the Hawaii players gathered on a grass hill overlooking the field, faced their fans’ section and did the haka, a Maori war chant they began doing before games last year.
“I talked to the officials prior to the game, because I know that was a point of emphasis this year,” Dooley said. “What the referee told me was that as long as we weren’t on the field, they can do the haka. I guess we were out there in pregame, and they did it, so that’s why they were flagged.”
After receiving a complaint the WAC made an off-season suggestion the team not chant at road games.
“The rule hasn’t changed since last year and we were allowed to do it,” Rainbows coach June Jones said. “For someone to micromanage outside the NCAA rules, that’s not right.”
He told The Advertiser that it appears the Warriors are being singled out. Instead, he said, the haka should be celebrated as a cultural act that “is a positive thing for the conference. The haka has international recognition. It brings our conference identity. It’s talked about all over the world.”
As for the surprisingly close game, Jones said, “I’m happy with that one-point win. You don’t build character without any kind of adversity. To withstand the adversity that we withstood … that makes an average team a great team. Boise had three of those types of games last year. It does more than beating a team 70-10.”
Delayed impact
Middle linebacker Jo’Artis Ratti didn’t start in Idaho’s 20-13 win over Cal Poly (sore foot), but he replaced redshirt freshman Adam Shamion of Post Falls early in the game and finished with five tackles and a fumble recovery.
After coming up with the ball at the Cal Poly 41 early in the fourth quarter, Ratti toted the ball to the sideline and handed it to head coach Robb Akey.
“He was pretty fired up and so was I,” Akey said. “He said he had a little gift for me, so he brought it to me. I was happy about that. We talk about that before games, before scrimmages. I tell these guys, ‘Hey, go bring me a ball, would ya?’ He followed through on it. It was awesome.”
Quick kicks
It’s non-conference rivalry week in the WAC. In addition to Idaho going to Washington State, San Jose State goes to Stanford and UTEP is at New Mexico State. Total travel distance for the three teams is 76 miles. … Vandals RB Brian Flowers (hamstring) and DE Aaron Lavarias (ankle) are out for the WSU game. … The UI defense improved immensely against Cal Poly. In the first four possessions the Mustangs had drives of 10, 12, nine and 14 plays but only got three points. The Mustangs had one second-half first down until midway through the fourth quarter. … Senior safety Antonio Taylor, Utah State’s leading tackler, was suspended for the season for a violation of team rules. Coach Brent Guy would not elaborate. … After only two games, Louisiana Tech has eight sacks, one more than it had the entire 2006 season.