[ARENA FOOTBALL]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaiian Islanders quarterback Darnell Arceneaux ran past Bakersfield's Nathan Buergey last night.
Islanders bake Blitz With an inspired display of football in the second-half, the Hawaiian Islanders upset division rival Bakersfield 49-35 last night at the Blaisdell Arena.
Hawaii's af2 team shuts down
Bakersfield for much of the second halfBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comThe Islanders grabbed a 30-28 halftime lead with some trickery, then promptly stopped the Blitz's first three second-half drives.
The home team scored the only touchdown of the third quarter -- Niko Vitale's 1-yard touchdown sweep -- for a 37-28 edge.
The Islanders held the Blitz to zero second-half points until just 4:18 remained in the game, when quarterback Chad Elliott found Nathan Munson for an 11-yard TD to trim the lead to 37-35.
The Islanders (3-10) immediately went on a touchdown drive to wrap it up in front of an announced crowd of 3,512. Quarterback Darnell Arceneaux and running back Josh White kept the ball moving with lengthy first-down runs, and Arceneaux finished it by floating a 13-yard scoring pass to Nian Taylor, streaking left to right across the end zone. A botched snap killed the extra-point try, but the Islanders had a comfortable 43-35 margin with exactly a minute to go.
With just two seconds left, Chris Paogofie picked up an Elliott fumble and raced 18 yards to score the final points. Olen Rosehill and Evile Puna forced the fumble with a hit on the scrambling Elliott.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Islander QB Darnell Arceneaux threw for 170 yards and five TDs last night against Bakersfield.
"We talked at halftime about not letting games slip away," White said. "We kept pounding and pounding and pounding and we knew they would eventually crumble."
The Islanders' victory kept the Blitz (7-5) from maintaining their big arenafootball2 National Conference West Division lead over San Diego. The Riptide (7-6), after a 67-33 win over Fresno last night, are just a half-game behind Bakersfield.
"We let it slip away," Blitz coach James Fuller said while shaking his head in disbelief. "Hawaii wanted it. They played an aggressive game and they beat us up and we didn't handle it so well. Unfortunately, we stumbled. Now we're in a dogfight just to make the playoffs."
Fresno (4-8) could still dislodge either the Riptide or the Blitz from the postseason.
It was an evenly played first half, with each team scoring four TDs. Islanders kicker Kimo Naehu was responsible for the two-point halftime difference, connecting on a 35-yard field goal and missing one of his extra-point attempts.
But the big momentum shift for the Islanders came at the halftime buzzer on Arceneaux's 36-yard TD bomb to Taylor. Arceneaux fired the ball high off the end-zone net and Taylor positioned himself like a small forward waiting for a rebound. The ball floated down into his waiting hands.
The Blitz's feared Elliott-to-Steve Wofford connection burned the Islanders for big-play TDs of 45 and 34 yards in the first half. It looked like more easy scores would be in the Blitz's future, but the Islanders' defense stiffened in the last 30 minutes.
"We made eight stops tonight," said Islanders defensive coordinator Doug Semones. "And that's, by far, the most we've had all season.
Taylor's speed and sparkle gave the Islanders a big first-half push. Aside from his rebound TD, he was the recipient of a 45-yard TD strike. He also returned a missed field-goal attempt 48 yards to set up Arceneaux's 5-yard TD toss to Taulia Lave, and in the second half, he stopped a Blitz drive with an interception in the end zone.
It was Taylor's first home game. He played most of the season with the Richmond Speed before coming on board just before last week's 56-48 loss to the Blitz in Bakersfield.
White and the Islanders' pass rushers put loads of pressure on Elliott all night, especially in the second half. In the first half, White and Puna each rambled through the Blitz's line to sack Elliott and stall drives.
Semones praised the play of defensive backs Satomi Kohei, Darrell Jones and Vitale, playing as a unit for the first time.
"These guys are true DBs. They have man-coverage skills," Semones said. "They made the quarterback hold on to the ball longer, and the defensive line just kept putting the pressure on, making it even tougher to complete passes. In the past, we played with some strong safeties and linebackers and it wasn't cutting it."
Islanders line coach Al Noga was thrilled about the final touchdown.
"That's exactly the way you're supposed to finish a game," Noga said. "We had the lead, and we still kept putting the pressure on."
Islanders head coach Chad Carlson credited the defense as well.
"No doubt about it, our defensive stops were the big momentum swing," Carlson said. "Even after they (defensive backs) got beat in the first half, they came back out and didn't let it happen in the second half.
"We weren't going to lose tonight. We've been tested a whole bunch of times here at home in the second half and now we're learning to believe."
Islanders 49, Blitz 35
Bakersfield 14 14 0 7 -- 35 Islanders 17 13 7 12 -- 49 HI -- FG Naehu 35
Bak -- Wofford 45 pass from Elliott (Baker kick)
HI -- Taylor 45 pass from Arceneaux (Naehu kick)
HI -- Lave 5 pass from Arceneaux (Naehu kick)
Bak -- Wofford 34 pass from Elliott (Baker kick)
HI -- Kemfort 14 pass from Arceneaux (Naehu kick)
Bak -- Wofford 6 pass Elliott (Baker kick)
Bak -- Corley 22 pass from Elliott (Baker kick)
HI -- Taylor 36 pass from Arceneaux (kick failed)
HI -- Vitale 2 run (Naehu kick)
Bak -- Munson 39 pass from Elliott (Corley kick)
HI -- Taylor 13 pass from Arceneaux (run failed)
HI -- C Paogofie 18 fumble return (pass failed)
Rushing -- Blitz: Yearwood 1-7, Buergey 1-0. Islanders: Arceneaux 9-36, J White 5-41.
Passing -- Blitz: Elliott 21-33-1 316; Islanders: Arceneaux 12-28-0 170, Tillis 0-1-0 0.
Receiving -- Blitz: Wofford 9-156, Munson 4-67, Bivins 4-39, Sloth 2-23, Corley 1-22, Drucker 1-9. Islanders: Taylor 4-99, Tillis 4-35, Kemfort 2-25, I White 1-6, Lave 1-5.
Hawaiian Islanders