DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Miles Garner left the field after the Islanders beat the Fresno Frenzy in their first game March 30. The Islanders, whose slogan is "Light the Fire," finished their inaugural season strong, winning four of six games after enduring a nine-game losing streak.

The Islanders try to build on the
momentum from their first season

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By Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.com

The Hawaiian Islanders didn't let nine straight midseason losses get in their way.

The arenafootball2 team finished its inaugural season by winning four of its last six games, including the final two, to wind up 5-11.

Despite the losing record, co-owner Kimberly Wang called it an "absolutely" successful first season. Wang, 30, is the daughter of billionaire Charles Wang, the other Islanders co-owner who also owns software giant Computer Associates, the NHL's New York Islanders and the Arena Football League's New York Dragons.

One of Kimberly's many goals is to quiet those who don't believe arena football is in Hawaii to stay.

"Hopefully, we'll put a lot of doubt to rest in our first game next year," she said.

Wang readily admits the team didn't turn a profit, but she's not shocked.

"We're budgeted to operate at a loss this year and next year and possibly our third year," she added.

The team's commitment to the league is for three years, but Wang can easily see the franchise sticking around a lot longer than that.

DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM "Everybody busted their tails to get the job done." --Kimberly Wang, Islanders co-owner

"My intent is to have it continue indefinitely, but we've gotta be in the black at least one year (eventually)," she said. "It would break my heart if we get to a fourth and fifth year and the books aren't in the positive. Even if it's just $100.

"If there was ever a time I don't see growth or progress, I would be a terrible business person (to keep it going)," she said. "But even within this one season, our last home game we sold more merchandise than ever in a game and we had more people (5,185) there than before. Already, I see an increase in interest and revenue."

The team's average announced crowd was 3,632 fans for eight home games.

Behind the scenes, the pace was steadily hectic since January.

"I can't tell you all the things that went wrong, because we'd be here for weeks," Wang said. "Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The fact that we finished up winning four of the last six, that all players actually had a uniform to wear, that we got them on the correct flights is incomprehensible. Unless you were here in the office to witness it, you'd never know how crazy it was, but everybody busted their tails to get the job done."

After a mid-March training camp, the team got off to a great start with an exciting 50-47 victory over Fresno on March 30.

That win may have given them a false sense of af2 security, because they then went on a nine-game losing streak.

During that span, general manager Jerry Kurz was replaced by assistant coach Chad Carlson, and then head coach Guy Benjamin was replaced by Carlson.

Carlson's hyper-positive approach produced some late-season results. No negative words about anyone associated with the Islanders ever left Carlson's lips and the team went 4-7 with him at the helm, including the last five losses of the long losing streak.

The highlight of the season came on July 20 when the team entertained its biggest crowd of the year with a shocking 56-55 upset of two-time defending champion Quad City.

The Islanders followed that victory with their first road win, 46-36 over Fresno last Saturday in the season finale. It was their first two-game winning streak, and it was also their first series win, 2-1 against the National Conference West Division-rival Frenzy. It also guaranteed a third-place (instead of last) division finish.

Several of the losses were painful, including an anemic 31-27 outing against Wichita. They also got beat 52-50 on a last-second field goal by San Diego, and they trailed Arkansas by three points until the final moments of an 83-73 loss.

With two late-season wins against Bakersfield and San Diego, the Islanders avoided being swept by any of their three division rivals.

The competition was fierce throughout the season, as eight of the Islanders' 16 games came against first-place teams.

The team had plenty of big-time contributors, including multi-talented quarterback Darnell Arceneaux, bulldozing running backs Josh White and Derek Zoller, possession receivers Robert Kemfort, Isaac White and Mike Tillis, and knock-your-socks-off hitters Chris and Sae Paogofie.

Nian Taylor, a late-season acquisition, was an immediate spark, winning three national honors and scoring 13 touchdowns in just five games.

Niko Vitale, a professional kickboxer, also provided some late-season two-way help as a receiver and defensive back.

Linemen shuffled in and out of the starting lineup all season and Taulia Lave, Andy Ramos and Olen Rosehill were the three starters left standing at the end of the season.

Lave, a tight end on offense, was the hero of the Quad City win, catching the winning 2-point conversion pass from Arceneaux with seven seconds left.

But a recap of the season wouldn't be complete without mentioning Darrell Jones, who did whatever was asked of him.

Early on, the 5-foot-7 Jones was the team's leading receiver and kick returner. By the end, he was a hard-hitting defensive back, pulling his weight (all 165 pounds) at the position where the Islanders needed the most help.

Arceneaux broke two af2 records -- most rushing touchdowns (26) and yards (439) in a season.

Easy, big-play touchdowns by the opponents played a part in most of the Islanders losses, and the defensive backfield, at times, was a glaring weakness.

A minor stir was caused when the field was measured and found to be 40 yards from goal line to goal line instead of the regulation 50 yards.

What was originally thought to be a league record-breaking 63-yard field goal by Tulsa's Tony Dodson wound up being about 50 yards. The league ruled the field goal was not a record, but no official yardage for the kick has been determined.

A bigger field wouldn't have fit inside the Blaisdell, so the league gave the Islanders an exemption for the smaller field in order to bring pro football to town.

Nevertheless, until the yardage revelation, Islanders fans hadn't been informed that every five hash marks measured 4 yards instead of 5.

Still, in spite of the long drought and the office hurdles, the team's season-ending surge left the proper building blocks for next year.

There are also changes afoot.

Wang has been talking with Cal Lee, Hawaii's winningest high school football coach, about a job as the Islanders head coach.

Off the field, a move from their Queen Street office to a bigger office with a better view is likely.

"There'll always be a certain amount of change," Wang said. "Our primary goal as an organization for next year is for it to run smoother, so we're not totally stressing out and pulling our hair out with emergency after emergency."

In other words, next year, she wants the Islanders to avoid having their lives summed up by Ozzy Osbourne blaring from the Blaisdell Arena sound system during a home game: "I'm going off the rails on this crazy train."