[ARENA FOOTBALL]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaiian Islanders running back Josh White dragged Quad City's Chris Anthony and Cory Bern last night at the Blaisdell Arena. White fumbled inside the 1-yard line and the Steamwheelers recovered. The Islanders beat the defending af2 champions.
The Hawaiian Islanders passed the biggest test in their history with a noble, improbable comeback to upset defending league champion Quad City 56-55 last night in front of a roaring announced crowd of 5,185 at Blaisdell Arena. Islanders beat defending champs
By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comAfter taking a sound beating by Quad City for three quarters, the Islanders scrapped back, outscoring the Steamwheelers 25-7 over the final 8:29.
With just seven seconds left, quarterback Darnell Arceneaux scrambled and found tight end Taulia Lave for a 2-point conversion and the go-ahead points. That followed Arceneaux's 9-yard TD toss to Nian Taylor.
"(Coach) Chad (Carlson) couldn't have called a better play," Lave said after the game-winning catch. "I was asking for it all game. He finally called it at the right time."
Lave said he had a hard time getting across the middle, but credited Arceneaux with waiting for him to get open.
"Our guys are relentless," Carlson said. "Darnell and Lave came through with a great play. That's called believing. One thing you'll never see from us is quitting."
At one point, the Islanders trailed 48-31, but they didn't give up. After scoring on a safety, the Islanders began to rev it up when Taylor cut left, made a few moves and sped into the end zone for a 54-yard kickoff-return touchdown to cut the gap to 48-40.
Islanders defensive back Niko Vitale picked off a Mike Cawley pass and scooted 25 yards for a touchdown and Arceneaux ran home the 2-point conversion for a 48-48 tie, putting the fans and the Steamwheelers in a state of shock with 6:21 left.
Quad City (9-6) scored next on Cawley's 39-yard bullet to Ira Gooch with 55 seconds to go, and it looked like the Islanders (4-11) were doomed, trailing 55-48.
But the home team continued to claw back and pulled off the touchdown and 2-point magic.
A mistake-filled first quarter against the high-powered Steamwheelers defense almost led to the Islanders' downfall.
The first big mistake came on a 20-yard gallop by Islanders fullback Josh White to the Quad City 1-yard line. White dropped the ball and the Steamwheelers' Frank Trentadue recovered in the end zone. That miscue coupled with Robert Kemfort's drop of a Arceneaux pass in the end zone created a deep hole.
The Steamwheelers clicked on offense right away, as Cawley threw for touchdowns of 20 and 45 yards to Gooch for a 13-0 lead after one quarter. The second TD represented another Islanders gaffe as defenders Kohei Satomi and Kemfort bit on the outside of Gooch after the catch and he slipped away on the inside, speeding the final 25 yards untouched to the end zone.
The opening 15 minutes marked just the second time the Islanders failed to score in a quarter this year. They were also held to zero points in the second quarter of a 31-27 loss to Wichita.
In the face of continued pressure by the Quad City defense in the second quarter, the Islanders showed resilience, scoring 19 points as Arceneaux hooked up with Taylor for a 45-yard score and ran around right end for an 11-yard TD. Kimo Naehu added a 52-yard field goal and the Islanders converted two 2-point conversions.
Cawley added two TD tosses and a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter for the Steam-wheelers, who took a 34-19 halftime lead. Cawley's 22-yard scoring toss to a wide-open Chris Anthony down the right sideline showed more vulnerability in the Islanders' defensive backfield. Instead of playing deep with 30 ticks left in the half, Vitale came up to cover for the short pass and Anthony zipped past him.
That vulnerability haunted the Islanders again early in the second half as Gooch caught a short Cawley pass on a 1-yard hitch and somehow made it down the right sideline for a 19-yard score.
Even though the Islanders outscored the Steamwheelers 12-7 in the low-scoring third quarter, they still trailed by 10, 41-31, heading into the final 15 minutes. Darrell Jones' 30-yard interception return for a TD gave the Islanders a big spark.
The fourth quarter started out looking like it would be all Quad City. Cawley found Anthony for another TD for the 48-31 advantage and Hiawatha Phifer followed with an interception in the end zone to halt a sustained Islanders drive.
But the Islanders somehow found the way to pull it out.
"We got a few breaks in the second half," Carlson said. "They had some breaks in the first half. We wanted it more and that's why we won."
At Blaisdell Arena Islanders 56, Steamwheelers 55
Steamwheelers (9-6) 13 21 7 14 -- 55 Islanders (4-11) 0 19 12 25 -- 56 First Quarter
Steamwheelers -- Ira Gooch 20 pass from Mike Cawley (Brian Hegnauer kick).
Steamwheelers -- Gooch 45 pass from Cawley (Hegnauer kick).Second Quarter
Steamwheelers -- Hiawatha Phifer 8 pass from Cawley (Gooch pass from Chris Anthony).
Islanders -- Kimo Naehu 52 field goal.
Islanders -- Darnell Arceneaux 11 run (Josh White run).
Steamwheelers -- Cawley 1 run (kick failed).
Islanders -- Nian Taylor 45 pass from Arceneaux (Mike Winters pass from Arceneaux).
Steamwheelers -- Anthony pass from Cawley (Hegnauer kick).Third Quarter
Islanders -- Taylor 8 pass from Arceneaux (Pass failed).
Steamwheelers -- Gooch 21 pass from Cawley (Hegnauer kick).
Islanders -- Darrell Jones 30 interception return (Pass failed).Fourth Quarter
Steamwheelers -- Anthony 6 pass from Cawley (Hegnauer kick).
Islanders -- Team safety
Islanders -- Taylor 54 kick return (Naehu kick).
Islanders -- Niko Vitale 25 interception return (Arceneaux run).
Steamwheelers -- Gooch 39 pass from Cawley (Hegnauer kick).
Islanders -- Taylor 9 pass from Arceneaux (Taulia Lave pass from Arceneaux).
RUSHING -- Islanders: Arceneaux 6-39, Josh White 4-19, Mike Tillis 1-3. Steamwheelers: Cawley 2-4; Josh Fourdyce 1-(-1).
PASSING -- Islanders: Arceneaux 13-34-2-200. Steamwheelers: Cawley 22-43-2-351.
RECEIVING -- Islanders: Taylor 8-120, Tillis 2-21, Darrick Branch 1-23, Robert Kemfort 1-21, Jones 1-15. Steamwheelers: Gooch 9-186, Anthony 8-110, Jeff Hewitt 3-35, Phifer 2-20.
Kalani Simpson contributed to this report.
Hawaiian Islanders