[ARENA FOOTBALL]
Hawaiian Islanders quarterback Darnell Arceneaux broke the arenafootball2 record for rushing touchdowns last night, but the Arkansas Twisters dealt the Islanders an 83-73 loss. Twisters halt Islanders
in shootoutStar-Bulletin staff
Arceneaux, playing with a fractured right shinbone, scored three rushing TDs to give him 24 for the season, one more than the previous record. He also threw for five TDs.
But it was Ricky Hebert's night. The Twisters signal-caller fired nine touchdown passes as both defenses struggled.
The 156 points were nine short of the af2 record of 165 set three weeks ago in Tulsa's 102-63 victory over Arkansas.
"When you lose games like that, they're hard to take in the end," Islanders coach Chad Carlson said. "Our guys gave everything they've got."
There were four lead changes in the first half. The Islanders forged a 39-34 halftime lead and led by 11, 45-34, early in the third quarter.
But the Islanders fumbled twice and the Twisters scored 21 unanswered points. That surge proved to be the difference as both teams scored 28 points in the fourth.
Lennie Johnson caught four of Hebert's TD passes.
Nian Taylor led the Islanders' receiver corps with three of Arceneaux's TD strikes. Arceneaux also hooked up with Mike Tillis and Darrick Branch for scores.
Taylor also scored on a 14-yard interception return. Teammate Kohei Satomi added an interception to set up a touchdown.
Branch, the former University of Hawaii receiver, was playing in his first game for the Islanders. He was cut recently by the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League.
"Darrick played extremely well," Carlson said. "He came up with a big turnover and caught a big touchdown."
Branch's TD pulled the Islanders to within three points, 76-73, late in the game, but Darnell Small's 3-yard touchdown run sealed the Arkansas win.
Darrell Jones, who grew up in Arkansas, returned home for the first time in nine years. He was the Islanders' leading tackler with three solos and four assists.
The Twisters (9-5) helped their playoff chances, moving into a tie with Bossier City for second place and the National Conference Central Division's last playoff spot. Both teams trail first-place Tulsa (11-5) by one game.
The Islanders (3-11) fell to 0-7 on the road, but they return to Hawaii for their final home game next Saturday against Quad City at the Blaisdell Arena, where they are 3-4.
The Islanders finish their inaugural season on July 27 at Fresno (4-9), with third place in the National Conference West Division likely to be on the line.
Hawaiian Islanders