Islanders play
Stealth for leadThe West Division's top
two teams face off tomorrow
As coach of an arenafootball2 team, Cal Lee is proving adept at juggling.
The Hawaiian Islanders' first-year coach has had to shuffle his lineup several times already this season as injuries and work commitments have forced players out of action.
The Islanders left on their third road trip in the last five weeks last night, and again they'll be less than full strength when they face the Wichita Stealth tomorrow.
"In a situation like that you're lucky if you can get some guys to fill in," Lee said.
The Islanders (3-1) meet the Stealth (3-1) at 2:30 p.m. (Hawaii time) at the Kansas Coliseum tomorrow with sole possession of first place in the National West Division on the line.
The contest is the third of a five-game stretch against division opponents for the Islanders.
"Every game is going to be a big game for us," Lee said. "It's really coming into the meat of our division and it's an added thing when you play a team in your division."
The Islanders will be without starting linemen Roy Maafala and Tiki Sagapolutele, who stayed in Hawaii to take care of job commitments. Matt Elam may sit out this week with a shoulder injury.
But the team will regain the services of Taulia Lave, who missed last week's 51-43 win over San Diego due to family reasons. Lee said Peter Salavea could also see more playing time on the line this week.
"Sometimes you have things like that you can't really plan on," Lee said. "Hopefully by Saturday they'll be ready."
Islanders receiver/defensive back Nian Taylor is expected to be back on the field tomorrow after leaving in the first quarter of the San Diego game with an Achilles tendon injury. Taylor leads the team with 248 receiving yards and six touchdowns and returned to practice this week.
Leroy Shelton filled Taylor's spot last week and pulled in three passes for 43 yards, but Taylor's return should boost the Islanders' offense.
"(Shelton) is another tall target to look at, he had a chance to play and he did a marvelous job of filling in the big shoes of Nian," Lee said. "But when you have a guy like Nian you feel that he brings more than physical stature. He's a leader and he works well with Darnell (quarterback Arceneaux). They have that chemistry."
The Islanders' defense also has more depth with the addition of defensive back Kohei Satomi. He played five games with the Islanders last year and began this season with the Indiana Firebirds of the Arena Football League before being assigned to Hawaii by af2 this week.
The Hawaii secondary will be tested by Wichita offensive specialist Michael Dritlein, who leads af2 in receiving and scoring.
Dritlein has 34 receptions for a league-high 526 yards and 14 touchdowns. He caught 12 passes for 212 yards and five scores in the Stealth's 56-49 win over previously undefeated Tulsa last week.
The Wichita defense is led by Lee Vaughn, the league's top tackler with 27.5 in four games.
Hawaiian Islanders