Was this really the same place?

On Friday night the Aloha Stadium press box shook as if Oahu was being hit by an earthquake. But if you’d been in the facility before for a state championship football game involving Kahuku, you knew not to be alarmed. When the North Shore comes to Halawa en masse for a big game — especially when coupled with an opponent with a strong following like Saint Louis — the joint rocks.

It used to be like that for University of Hawaii games, too.

But not Saturday against San Jose State, and not in a long time. The turnstile attendance of 11,625 to see UH fall 42-23 for its ninth straight loss paled in comparison to the nearly 20,000 that saw Kahuku and Radford win state championships the previous night.

UH interim head coach Chris Naeole was among those who braved the heavy rain Friday to see the high school games.

"Oh, yeah, gotta support the kids, and the alma mater," said Naeole, a Kahuku graduate. "You kind of knew (the difference) driving up to the stadium (Saturday). You could feel the emptiness."

Few of the loyalists spread out in the 50,000-seat stadium seemed overly disappointed or surprised as the Spartans rolled to a 35-0 lead in the first half. Even though this was San Jose State … San Jose State of the 4-6 record, a program similar to UH in that it is burdened by serious financial and recruiting challenges.

Attendance has also been a constant battle for the Spartans over the years. And Hawaii has become a full-fledged member of that club of which no one wants to be a member.

If there’s any silver lining, the fans who remain are polite and supportive. We’ve gotten to the hard core that has a soft heart.

They didn’t bother to boo them off the field at halftime, a normal occurrence earlier this season, as well as the four previous losing years. Apparently those who like to jeer are among those who have had enough and don’t come to the stadium.

It’s not apathy, but it’s acceptance, and that’s almost as bad.

Effort can be difficult to measure in a sport where merely going onto the field is an act of courage.

But Naeole acknowledges that players and even some coaches have checked out. With one game left, he said he will continue to sort them out and reward those who practice with the same enthusiasm of when this team was 2-1 in September.

What else can he do?

Maybe give someone else a look at quarterback?

I’m among the many who are curious to see what Beau Reilly can do in a game. But I’m also quite sure if he were deemed anywhere close to being ready to play quarterback in a Division I college game now, the second-year freshman would’ve been thrown into action by now.

And it would make no sense to burn Aaron Zwahlen’s redshirt season with one game left.

With Max Wittek recovering from surgery, that leaves just Ikaika Woolsey.

"He’s a tough kid, but he doesn’t play smart," Naeole said, citing the interception Woolsey threw into the end zone killing a first-half drive. "He takes some shots. He gets up and keeps going."

Most noteworthy in that regard was the pass Woolsey threw that somehow ended up in Devan Stubblefield’s hands after a deflection. While Stubblefield completed the 77-yard touchdown, Woolsey writhed on the turf and eventually worked his way up off the turf and downfield to join the celebration.

It was part of a second half you can say Hawaii "won" 23-7, with Paul Harris running wild and Rigo Sanchez displaying his value with a punt to set up a safety and two successful onside kicks.

The late surge took away some of the sting of the big picture: the scoreboard, the second winless Mountain West season in three years, the uncertainty of an athletic department in deepening deficit.

There’s one game left, at home against Louisiana-Monroe; even more pitiful than UH at 1-10. Forget about the fans showing up or not. You have to hope the Rainbows don’t spot the opponents five touchdowns again before they finally get going on senior night.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.