[ARENA FOOTBALL]
A record-breaking five rushing touchdowns wasn't enough for Darnell Arceneaux to lead the Hawaiian Islanders to victory last week in Bakersfield, Calif. Islanders anxious to
‘get over the hump’They play the Blitz again after
losing a tough game last weekBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comThe Blitz's Chad Elliott had more of a say in the outcome, throwing for eight TDs in a 56-48 edging of the Islanders.
The two National Conference West Division rivals play again tonight at 7 at the Blaisdell Arena.
"We're coming off a pretty hard loss," said Islanders coach Chad Carlson. "It's time to get over the hump with Bakersfield."
The Blitz also beat the Islanders 52-32 the second week of the season.
Olen Rosehill, a steady lineman all year for the Islanders (2-10), thinks the division-leading Blitz (7-4) can be beat.
"The whole game of football comes down to which team makes the big plays," Rosehill said. "We give up a lot of big plays, but we gotta make more big plays --make big plays on special teams.
Who: Bakersfield Blitz vs. Hawaiian Islanders ARENAFOOTBALL2
When: Today, 7 p.m.
Where: Blaisdell Arena
Tickets: $10 and up
Radio: Delayed on KCCN 1420-AM
TV: Oceanic Cable Pay-Per-View, live. The game will be replayed Monday at 8 p.m. on OC-16.
"It's about getting turnovers, stopping them on third down, getting good blocking on special teams so we have good field position. The small things add up."
Rosehill was instrumental in the Islanders' victory two weeks ago against San Diego. Late in the game, he recovered a kickoff off the net to set up a key touchdown.
Last week, despite heavy pressure from the defensive line that led to three sacks of Elliott, the Islanders' secondary was burned by the Blitz's signal-caller. Five of his eight touchdown throws went to Gerrick Bivins.
The aerial onslaught led Carlson to say, "We've got to stiffen our (defensive) backfield again."
As has happened often this season, the Islanders were a few defensive stops away from victory.
Nian Taylor, who made his Islanders debut last week after playing part of the season with the Richmond Speed, proved to be a valuable addition.
"Nian was an awesome player for us last week," Carlson said. "He catches and returns; he had three knockdowns and five tackles. He was all over the place, and he came in with just one practice with us."
Taylor's previous trip to Hawaii was in 1999 as a member of the Washington State football team for what turned out to be a victory over UH.
"This (the Islanders) is a real good team, actually," Taylor said. "The only thing that is lacking is finishing in the fourth quarter. We've got to keep playing the first three quarters and then turn it on in the fourth."
Taylor compared Arceneaux to Jason Gesser, the Washington State quarterback who is being touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate this year.
The similar style is no coincidence. Both Arceneaux and Gesser were St. Louis School standouts.
"They're able to scramble and throw the ball and have defenders on their toes, having them guess --run or pass. It also gives receivers time to get open," Taylor said.
Mike Tillis had his second straight big game for the Islanders last week, with seven catches for 80 yards. Tiki Sagapolutele led the defensive line's rampage with 1 1/2 sacks.
While Bivins made a big dent against the Islanders, Bakersfield has other potent weapons. J'Sharlon Jones is among the 34-team-league leaders in four defensive categories and Julian Yearwood is tied for first in the league with four fumble recoveries.
In the Blitz's first victory over the Islanders, Steve Wofford had three TD receptions.
Bakersfield is 1 1/2 games ahead of second-place San Diego and trying to maintain its grip on first.
After playing the Blitz, the Islanders have a bye week, followed by a trip to Arkansas for a July 12 game against the Twisters. Their last home game is July 20 vs. Quad City, and their season finale is at Fresno on July 27.
But Bakersfield is all Carlson and the rest of the Islanders are thinking about now.
"The guys aren't down," he said. "We're ready to play 'em again and aren't a team to sit and sulk about the past. We'll do whatever it takes."
Schedule (All times HST) Hawaiian Islanders (2-10)
Home games in caps at Blaisdell Arena
Date Opponent Result/Time March 30 FRESNO W, 50-47 April 13 BAKERSFIELD L, 52-32 April 20 at Quad City L, 69-39 April 27 at Wichita L, 31-27 May 4 TULSA L, 70-42 May 11 SANDIEGO L, 52-50 May 18 at Tulsa L, 73-48 May 25 at Fresno L, 55-48 June 1 at San Diego L, 44-34 June 8 PEORIA L, 64-50 June 15 SANDIEGO W, 53-24 June 22 at Bakersfield L, 56-48 June 29 BAKERSFIELD 7 p.m. July 12 at Arkansas 2 p.m. July 20 QUADCITY 7 p.m. July 27 at Fresno 4:30 p.m.
RUSHING Individual leaders
Player No. Yds. Avg Lg TD Darnell Arceneaux 61 269 4.4 20 20 Josh White 24 115 4.8 21 4 Derek Zoller 31 74 2.4 8 5 PASSING
Player Comp. Att. Int. Yds. TD Lg Darnell Arceneaux 181 382 8 2,243 31 45 Erik Wilhelm 10 22 2 177 2 38 Jared Flint 5 12 1 81 1 40 RECEIVING
Player No. Yds. Avg Lg TD Darrell Jones 56 598 10.7 45 7 Robert Kemfort 37 556 15.0 41 9 Isaac White 35 537 15.3 41 4 Mike Tillis 28 366 13.1 38 5 Chris Paogofie 12 135 11.2 27 3 Niko Vitale 3 80 26.7 34 2 Nian Taylor 4 76 19.0 29 0 KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No. Yds. Avg Lg TD Darrell Jones 48 1,057 22.0 56 1 Nian Taylor 6 144 24.0 38 0 William Lackey 3 70 23.3 36 0 Chris Paogofie 5 59 11.8 20 0 Robert Kemfort 3 53 17.7 38 0 SCORING
Player TD XP FG 2pt Tot. Darnell Arceneaux 20 0 0 3 126 Jake Huggins 0 31 9 0 58 Robert Kemfort 9 0 0 0 54 Darrell Jones 8 0 0 0 48 Chris Paogofie 7 0 0 1 44 Isaac White 5 0 0 0 30 Derek Zoller 5 0 0 0 30 Mike Tillis 5 0 0 0 30 Josh White 4 0 0 0 24
Hawaiian Islanders
