Islanders rally past
Riptide to maintain
division lead
SAN DIEGO >> The Hawaiian Islanders continue to live a charmed existence while the San Diego Riptide must be wondering what they've done to anger the football gods.
Fortune smiled on the Islanders once again as they pulled out a 39-38 road win over the Riptide yesterday at the San Diego Sports Arena.
Hawaii took the lead with 45 seconds left when quarterback Mike Tillis tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Arceneaux for the go-ahead score.
San Diego kicker Ryan Geisler, who made four field goals in the game, then missed a 33-yard attempt with no time left to send the Riptide (4-8) to their fifth consecutive loss.
"We were very fortunate to win this one," Islanders coach Cal Lee said. "We did just enough to win and we still needed a little bit of luck at the end."
The Islanders earned their third one-point win of the season to improve to 9-3 and maintain a one-game lead for first place in the National Conference West Division over Wichita, which defeated Arkansas 57-35 yesterday.
Josh "Zeus" White sparked the Islanders on both sides of the ball. He rushed for 52 yards and three touchdowns on offense. On defense, he registered two sacks among his six tackles and forced two fumbles.
White swept the game awards as he was named the most valuable player, ironman and defensive player of the game.
"The defense stepped it up when they had to, especially Zeus toward the end," Lee said.
The Islanders' win overshadowed a stellar performance by San Diego quarterback Kane Claunch, who completed 27 of 38 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns.
Former University of Hawaii receiver Dwight Carter caught a game-high nine passes for 81 yards and two scores for San Diego. Former Warrior defensive back Quincy LeJay had seven tackles and broke up four passes.
The Islanders and Riptide traded the lead eight times through the first three quarters before San Diego opened up its biggest lead of the night at 32-26 on a 28-yard field goal by Geisler early in the fourth period.
Hawaii responded with White's 3-yard scoring run to take a 33-32 lead. But the Riptide jumped ahead again on Claunch's 20-yard TD pass to Carter to give San Diego a 38-33 lead with 2:19 left in the game.
Tillis then drove the Islanders to the Riptide's 9 and found Arceneaux open in the right corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score. White was stopped on the 2-point conversion attempt.
After a touchback on the kickoff, Claunch moved the Riptide into Islanders territory with 3.2 seconds left.
Geisler then lined up for the potential game-winning field goal, but his kick went wide left.
At San Diego Sports Arena
FIRST QUARTER
Hawaiian Islanders (9-3) 14 6 6 13 -- 39 San Diego Riptide (4-8) 10 12 7 9 -- 38
SD--FG Ryan Geisler 31
HI-- Josh White 4 run (Kimo Naehu kick)
SD--Lamont Webb 34 pass from Kane Claunch (Geisler kick)
HI--Nian Taylor 5 pass from Mike Tillis (Naehu kick)SECOND QUARTER
SD--FG Geisler 26
SD--FG Geisler 18
HI--Taylor 8 pass from Tillis (kick failed)
SD--Dwight Carter 4 pass from Claunch (kick failed)THIRD QUARTER
HI--J. White 1 run (pass failed)
SD--Webb 8 pass from Claunch (Geisler kick)FOURTH QUARTER
SD--FG Geisler 28
HI--J. White 3 run (Naehu kick)
SD--Carter 20 pass from Claunch (run failed)
HI--Anthony Arceneaux 9 pass from Tillis (run failed)RUSHING -- Islanders: J. White 9-52, Tillis 2-5. Riptide: Claunch 2-1, Webb 1-1.
PASSING -- Islanders: Tillis 14-26-0-157. Riptide: Claunch 27-38-0-269.
RECEIVING -- Islanders: Taylor 5-35, Darrell Jones 1-10, Darrick Branch 3-58, Isaac White 2-29, Arceneaux 2-21, Taulia Lave 1-4. Riptide: Carter 9-81, Ryan Smith 3-23, Eddie Miller 5-44, Webb 7-94, Altie Parker 2-27, Tiki Sagapolutele 1-0.
