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Hawaiian Islanders Game Notes

July 22, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Hawaiian Islanders News Release


QUICK FACTS:
HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS (10-5) vs. BAKERSFIELD BLITZ (7-7)
Date: Sunday, July 27, 2003
Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. HST (9:00 p.m. PDT)
Site: Neal Blaisdell Arena (capacity: 6,443)
Officials: Frank White (Referee), Phil Akana (Umpire), George Gusman (Head Linesman), Doug Awana (Linesman), Mike Goshima (Back Judge) Radio: Live on KUMU2 AM 1500 (John Miro, Scott Ka’alele)
Internet: Live on www.hawaiianislanders.com
Series Record: Bakersfield leads 3-2
Streaks: Hawaii: Won 1; Bakersfield: Won 2
Coaches: Islanders – Cal Lee (10-5, first season) Blitz – James Fuller (16-15, second season)

TICKET INFORMATION:

Walk Up Sales: Neal Blaisdell Arena, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On game day, the Box Office will open from 4:30 p.m. through halftime.

Ticketmaster Outlets including: UH Manoa Campus Center, MWR Naval Base Kunia, Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus, and selected Foodland/Sack N Save locations during their normal business hours.

Phone Sales: Ticketmaster (808) 526-4400.

Internet Sales: www.ticketmaster.com

Ticket Prices: (Lower level and Loge are sold out)
· $10 Upper level adult
· $7 Upper level Children (Age 4-17) (Convenience fees apply at all outlets)

Discounted Tickets: Receive a 15 percent discount on up to four general admission tickets when you show your Kupa'a Card at the Neal Blaisdell Center Box Office. (One Kupa`a Card per household) Ohana Hotels & Resorts offers a $2 discount per ticket for Ohana/Outrigger employees with company identification. (Valid at the Blaisdell Box Office only.)

POLICE APPRECIATION DAY:
· Free hot dog and soda for the first 500 fans through the gate
· Prize giveaway through CompUSA
· Blue Lights performs at halftime
· More prizes and giveaways

THE STAKES: With both teams now qualified for the playoffs, the season finale will match two teams that will meet in the first round of the af2 playoffs.

Hawaii has a 6-1 record at home while Bakersfield has a 2-4 record on the road.

THE SERIES: This will be the sixth meeting between the two teams with Bakersfield owning a 3-2 advantage. In Honolulu, Hawaii owns a 2-1 series lead.

THE IFs:

If the Islanders defeat the Blitz, it would …
· Give the ISLANDERS a 3-3 record with Bakersfield
· Give the ISLANDERS an all time record of 11-5 at home.
· Give the ISLANDERS an all time record of 4-2 record in the month of July.
· Give Hawaii Head Coach Cal Lee a 11-5 record
· Give Hawaii a record of 7-1 at home in 2003 and 10-1 dating back to last season.

HEAD COACHES: Cal Lee was named head coach of the Hawaiian Islanders on October 23, 2002 giving fans across Hawaii an added excitement for the upcoming season. Lee is the most prolific football coach in Hawaii high school history. In 21 years as a head coach at St. Louis High School (Honolulu), his teams have compiled a 241-32-5 record, which include 18 league titles and 15 state championships.

Bakersfield Blitz Head Coach James Fuller begins his second season in the af2, bringing six years of coaching experience and an admirable track record of success. Named as the 1st head coach in Blitz franchise history on December 7, 2001, Fuller posted a 9-8 record last season capturing a West division title and a playoff berth in the franchise’s inaugural season. Prior to joining the Blitz, Fuller spent two seasons in Oklahoma with the Wranglers of the Arena Football League; during his tenure he led the Wranglers to the No. 1 league rankings in total defense and pass defense in 2000.

COACHES LUNCHEON AT BIG ISLAND STEAKHOUSE Each Monday, join host Alema Harrington for The Coaches Luncheon at Big Island Steak House. Islander coaches and players gather for a roundtable discussion as they review and preview the 2003 opponents. See highlights from last week’s game as well a chance to meet your favorite player.

The luncheon runs from noon to 1 p.m. at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.

ISLANDERS’ WEEKLY:

Join host Alema Harrington for Islanders Weekly, an informative 30-minute look behind the scenes at the Hawaiian Islanders, the only professional franchise in the state. See highlights from last week’s game as well as a preview of upcoming opponents. You’ll also see interesting interviews with coaches, players and items that make the Islanders your only team in town.

The show airs Tuesday through Friday at 8:30 p.m. on Oceanic Cable 16.

KEY DATES IN TEAM HISTORY:

September 6, 2001 – The league offices of arenafootball2 announces Honolulu will be awarded a franchise for the 2002 season. Charles Wang and his daughter Kimberly will be the operators of the team. Hawaii becomes the ninth (of 10) expansion team named for the 2002 season.

January 7, 2002 – Former all-state quarterback Darnell Arceneaux is assigned to the Islanders making him the first player in team history.

January 19, 2002 - The Hawaiian Islanders hosts an open tryout at Central Oahu Regional Park. Over 30 players endured the soggy conditions and participated in the three-hour workout

February 4, 2002 – Islanders host Pacific Rim Training Camp where over 180 participants from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, and Fiji attended.

March 30, 2002 - Islanders defeat the Fresno Frenzy 50-47 before 4,376 fans at the Blaisdell Arena marking the first game, the first win and the first home win in team history.

June 14, 2002 – After suffering through a nine game losing streak, the Islanders defeat San Diego 53-34 as Darnell Arceneaux threw for three touchdowns and rushed for three more.

June 22, 2002 – Despite losing 56-48 at Bakersfield, quarterback Darnell Arceneaux rushes for an af2 record-tying five touchdowns.

July 20, 2002 – Hawaii rallies from a 21-0 deficit to upset the two-time defending af2 champion Quad City Steamwheelers 56-55 before 5,185 fans. Two days later, Nian Taylor was named National Ironman for the second consecutive week. Combined with his National Built Ford Tough award three weeks earlier, he becomes the first player to win three national awards in a four-week period.

July 27, 2002 – The Islanders defeat Fresno 46-36 for their first road win of the season. It was Hawaii’s first two game winning streak and four wins in their final six games.

October 23, 2002 – The Islanders announce that Cal Lee will become their new coach for the 2003 season.

March 12, 2003 – Training camp opens with 16 veterans making the 35-man squad. Islanders announced they sold nearly 1,200 season tickets compared to only 16 from last year.

March 30, 2003 – Exactly one year following the Islanders’ first season and first win against Fresno, Hawaii opens the 2003 season with a 48-37 win over Green Bay. The win also gives head coach Cal Lee his first win as an af2 coach.

April 4, 2003 – A missed extra point gives Hawaii a stunning 53-52 win over Quad City. It is only the third time in 25 games in which the Steamwheelers have lost a game at home. Hawaii becomes the only team at the time to have a winning series record against Quad City.

June 14, 2003 – The Hawaiian Islanders defeat the Peoria Pirates 44-43 for their sixth straight home victory in 2003 and their ninth straight dating back to last season.

July 5, 2003 – With Tennesee Valley Vipers defeating the Memphis Xplorers 51-36, the Hawaiian Islanders qualifies for the playoff…its first in franchise history.

FORWARD MOTION: The Islanders host round one of the playoffs on Friday, August 1 at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game will face either Quad City or Tulsa in round two on Saturday, Aug. 2.

LAST SERIES MEETING: HAWAII 50, BAKERSFIELD 48 (Saturday, May 10, 2003 – Neal Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI) – Josh “Zeus” White tied an af2 record with five rushing touchdowns lifting the Hawaiian Islanders to a 50-48 win over the Bakersfield Blitz before 2,937 fans at the Neal Blaisdell Arena.

White rushed only 7 times for 33 yards but when the Islanders needed a short yardage runner, White got the call as he scored on runs of 5, 1 (twice), 18 and 4 yards as he was named the game’s most valuable player.

“Zeus is such a load in carrying the ball,” said Islander Head Coach Cal Lee. “At 265 pounds, he’s a handful to take down, but he’s also a great pass rusher on defense too.”

White is one of five arenafootball2 players who have five rushing touchdowns in a game. The others are Fred Lester (Jacksonville, 2002), Melvin Hill (Raton Rouge, 2001), Darnell Arceneaux (Hawaii, 2002) and Matt D’Orazio (Rochester, 2002).

Hawaii’s Darrell Jones, who caught three passes for 29 yards as well as recorded 4.5 tackles, was named the games’ Ironman while Eddie Klaneski had four solos and four assists and made the key tackle on a two-point conversion was the ADT Defensive Player of the Game.

Like in most Arena Football League games, the outcome rested on one final play late in the game as with 5 seconds left, Bakersfield went for two-point conversion to tie the game but Chad Elliot’s run was stopped by Klaneski on the goal line.

Klaneski and Jones also hooked up on an unusual 51-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Tied at 36-all, Jones fielded the kickoff one yard deep in the endzone and scrambled to the Bakersfield 23. As he was about to be tackled, he pitched the ball to Klaneski who took it the remaining 23 yards for the score.

“These are two big time veteran players of Arena Football and they know how to play the game,” Lee said. “They’re athletic and they know how to make big pays such as what we saw tonight. You need people like that and like I said, they made the plays and went all the way.”

DROPBACK: HAWAII 34-26

(Friday, July 18, 2003 – San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA) – Darnell Arceneaux completing 18-of-27 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns while running for another as the Hawaiian Islanders defeated the San Diego Riptide 34-26 and eliminated their playoff hopes before 5,783 fans at the San Diego Sports Arena.

Arceneaux, who was named the game’s most valuable player, made his first start since injuring his hand six games ago. The defense, led by ADT Defensive Player of the Game Eddie Klaneski, held the Riptide to an Islander record low 26 points. The previous record set on May 24, 2003 when the Islanders held Cincinnati to only 28 points.

“The defense played a heck of a ball game,” said Islander head coach Cal Lee. “They (San Diego) really did a good job against our offense so we tried our best on defense to keep them down.”

The Hawaii defense stopped San Diego on five of their 10 possessions in the game. Among their stops included three interceptions, a missed field goal and two defensive stops inside the Hawaii 10 yard line.

Klaneski and Satomi led Hawaii with five solos and three assists each while Klaneski had two interceptions and two passes broken up.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

ARCENEAUX MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN AS STARTING QB: It was a triumphant return for quarterback Darnell Arceneaux as he got the start following a five week layoff due to injury.

Against San Diego, Arceneaux completed 18-of-27 passes for 205 yard and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 15 yards and a touchdown

Arceneaux was recently named head coach of St. Louis High School where current Islander head coach Cal Lee once led. Arceneaux takes over a Crusader program that won state titles in 1999 and 2002.

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