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The Hawaiian Islanders' Nate Jackson scored the team's first touchdown against the Central Valley Coyotes on Saturday.
Riptide have strong
island tiesSan Diego brings former Islanders
consultant Darrel 'Mouse' Davis
and former UH players
The San Diego Riptide's trip to Hawaii this week will give a few team members a chance to catch up with friends in the islands.
First-year head coach Darrel "Mouse" Davis served as a consultant with the Hawaiian Islanders last season and is looking forward to visiting with Islanders coach Cal Lee and his staff.
The trip is also an opportunity for offensive specialist Dwight Carter and defensive specialist Quincy LeJay to reconnect with former UH teammates.
But the San Diego coaches and players are also approaching tomorrow's arenafootball2 game with the Islanders as a key point in their season as the Riptide play catch-up in the West Division standings.
"Every team in our division is pretty much even," Carter said. "It's up for grabs still. All it takes is for one team to get on a roll real quick, and I think we have what it takes to do that."
Kickoff for the second meeting of the season between the Islanders (5-2) and Riptide (2-5) is set for 6:30 p.m. at Blaisdell Arena.
San Diego might be battling the Islanders for first place in the division if not for three losses by three points or fewer.
But the Riptide pulled off a stunning 62-52 win over top-ranked Quad City last week and hope the momentum carries over to tomorrow's game.
"It's a whole new game when you tee it up the next week, but certainly it's a confidence booster and one that gets you jacked up and excited about playing," Davis said.
Islanders quarterback Darnell Arceneaux scored on a 2-point conversion in overtime to send San Diego to a 55-54 loss on May 8. A Bakersfield field goal at the buzzer lifted the Blitz to a 39-36 win the following week.
But San Diego's victory over Quad City may have signaled that the Riptide have turned the corner heading into the halfway point of the season.
"It's the first time we played a whole game," Carter said. "We usually don't start playing until the second quarter or the second half, so it was good for the team to see that we can play a whole game and how good we can be when we do that."
Davis is regarded as the architect of the run-and-shoot offense and Carter has benefited from the Riptide's new scheme. He leads the Riptide with 50 receptions for 681 yards and 12 touchdowns.
"It's pretty much (UH coach June Jones') offense from college," he said. "It took a minute for the whole team to get the concept because the old offense was way different, but everyone pretty much has it now."
LeJay ranks third in af2 in tackles with a team-high 38 1/2 stops.
Both defenses struggled in the first meeting between the teams as they combined to score touchdowns on 13 of the game's first 14 possessions before the Islanders pulled out the win.
But with their confidence boosted by last week's win, the San Diego coaches and players are hoping the tide turns their way this time.
"Sometimes there's not a great deal of difference between winning and losing," Davis said. "So you're always looking for those little things that turned it for us."
Coming and going: The Islanders have lost their second offensive specialist in as many weeks, as Craig Stutzmann has decided to leave the team.
The former UH slotback started the last two games and caught two passes. He didn't catch a pass in last week's win over Central Valley, but returned four kickoffs for 84 yards.
Lee said Stutzmann informed him of his decision at practice this week and indicated he'll leave the door open should Stutzmann choose to return.
"He has a full-time job and he has coaching, so he has a lot on his plate," Lee said. "It was kind of a shock, but you have to believe he has his reasons. He told us about his intentions and it's all good."
Mike Miller, who caught 19 passes in four games, was released last week and returned to the mainland.
Lee said either Anthony Arceneaux or Nian Taylor will move to offensive specialist.
The Islanders also activated lineman Evile Puna and receiverlinebacker Robert Kemfort yesterday and added lineman Tiki Sagapolutele and fullbacklinebacker Chauncey Ako to the roster.
Sagapolutele had been on Bakersfield's "refused to report" list, but was waived by the Blitz on Tuesday and picked up by the Islanders.
Ako was a second-team All-WAC linebacker for Boise State in 2002. He replaces Fabian Manumaleuna, who joined lineman Mose Tuia (knee) and FBLB Keiki Misipeka (knee) on the short-term injured-reserve list.
