KEEPING TABS

Bryan Addison and Marlowe Lewis are not only getting a chance to live in one of the most desirable locales in the United States, they are part of one of the nation’s top college football teams.

Addison, a senior defensive back from Chatsworth High, and Lewis, a sophomore slotback from Grant, play for Hawaii, which is ranked sixth by The New York Times’ computer. The newspaper ranks teams based on an analysis of their scores with an emphasis on margin of victory and quality of opposition.

The Rainbows, who are not ranked in the AP top 25, are 3-0, 2-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, after going 4-7-1 and 3-5 last season.

The pair played key roles in the Rainbows’ 36-32 victory over visiting Brigham Young on Sept. 26. Hawaii led, 29-10, early in the fourth quarter, but BYU rallied for a 30-29 advantage. However, Lewis scored the winning touchdown, catching a nine-yard pass from Ivin Jasper with 37 seconds left.

“That was a great feeling,” Lewis said. “Our defense was usually the ones winning the game, but this time the offense had to come back and we proved that we could.”

Addison intercepted a pass from Ryan Hancock and returned it 46 yards for a third-quarter touchdown. He also figured in one of the season’s most controversial plays.

When Byron Rex, an All-WAC tight end, caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Hancock to give the Cougars a 30-29 lead with 5 minutes 1 second left, Rex taunted Addison, then tossed the ball at him. Rex then turned to the crowd and yelled an obscenity several times before spitting toward the spectators.

The incident received a great deal of media attention, but it is not a big deal to Addison.

“Everybody does it,” Addison said. “Everybody gets excited. He just got caught on television being a little more out of hand.”

According to Addison, Rex stuck the ball out before reaching the end zone, and Addison took a swipe at it, trying to cause a fumble.

“I don’t think he saw me and we fell on each other,” Addison said. “As we were getting up, he threw the ball in my face. The other stuff was to the crowd.”

Addison, who leads the team with 23 tackles, is playing for the first time since 1989. He missed the 1990 and ’91 seasons because of academic reasons. “I missed football so much, I don’t even know how to explain it,” Addison said.

Moving up: Sean Burwell ranks fourth on Oregon’s all-time rushing list after gaining 115 yards in 25 carries in the Ducks’ 30-20 victory over Arizona State on Saturday. The former Cleveland standout has 1,979 yards. Burwell had a nine-yard touchdown run and caught a two-point conversion pass against the Sun Devils.

Quick healer: When Washington State’s Derek Sparks sustained a dislocated shoulder during an Aug. 21 practice, there were fears that the former Montclair Prep standout would miss the season.

But after undergoing arthroscopic surgery Sept. 1 and missing the Cougars’ Sept. 5 opener against Montana, Sparks returned to the lineup Sept. 12.

Sparks had 35 yards in 11 carries in Washington State’s 51-10 victory over Temple on Saturday and is the team’s second-leading rusher with 112 yards in 31 carries.