Hawaiian Islanders Game Notes
April 21, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Hawaiian Islanders News Release
QUICK FACTS:
HAWAIIAN ISLANDERS (2-1) vs. SAN DIEGO RIPTIDE (2-1)
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. HST (10:30 p.m. PDT)
Site: Neal Blaisdell Arena (capacity: 6,443)
Coin Toss: Kavai Markham, Age 12 (Aiea Inter. School)
National Anthem: Tino Isaacs
Parking: $3.00 (Open throughout the day)
Officials: Steve Strimling (Referee), Kevin Matthews (Umpire), James Joseph (Head Linesman), Paul Caldera (Linesman), Todd Prukop (Back Judge)
Radio/TV: (none)
Series Record: San Diego leads 2-1 Streaks: Hawaii: Lost 1; San Diego; Lost 1
Coaches: Islanders Cal Lee (2-1, first season) Riptide Cree Morris (10-11, second season)
TICKET INFORMATION:
Walk Up Sales: Neal Blaisdell Arena, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Box Office will open on Sunday at approximately 4 p.m. through halftime on game day.
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 Blaisdell Box Office. (One Kupa`a Card per household)
THE STAKES: First place is on the line in the Western Division as the Hawaiian Islanders face the San Diego Riptide. This is Hawaiis second home game while the Riptide begin a three week road swing.
THE SERIES: This is the fourth meeting between the two teams with San Diego owning a 2-1 series advantage. In Honolulu, the series is tied 1-1. San Diego won the first Honolulu meeting 52-50 on May 11 while Hawaii took the second game 53-34 on June 14.
THE IFs:
If the Islanders defeat the Riptide, it would
Give the ISLANDERS a 2-2 record with San Diego
Give the ISLANDERS an all time record of 6-4 at home.
Give the ISLANDERS a 2-4 record all time in the month of April.
Give Hawaii Head Coach Cal Lee a 3-1 record
Give Hawaii a three game winning streak at home dating back to last year.
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. San Diego Head Coach Cree Morris is in his second year with the team. Morris spent three years at San Diego State, before transferring to Division II St. Marys (CA). In two seasons with the Gaels, he threw for 3,451 yards and 24 TDs, and six rushing scores. He is listed 16 times in the schools all-time record books after leading them to consecutive winning seasons in just 15 starts.
THIS WEEKS QUOTES:
Head Coach Cal Lee on the San Diego Game: Weve got a lot to work on this week because San Diego is a real good team. Our coaches are going to work extra hard on San Diego because they are talented and we need to work on a number of things to stay competitive with them.
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 weeks game as well as a preview of upcoming opponents. Youll 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.
ISLANDERS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status WR/DB Eddie Klaneski Hip Day-to-Day WR/LB Robert Kemfort R.Ankle Short IR WR/DB Mike Funaro Back Short IR OL/DL Peter Salavea Hamstring Short IR DS Feiamma Armstrong Knee Questionable OL/DL Roy Maafala Thumb Day-to-Day WR/DB Darrick Branch Hamstring Questionable OL/DL Matt Elam Finger Day-to-Day QB Darnell Arceneaux Back Day-to-Day OL/DL Taulia Lave Hand Probable
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 Hawaiis 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 with a 48-37 win over Green Bay and gives head coach Cal Lee is first win as an af2 coach.
FORWARD MOTION: The Islanders will make their third trip in five weeks when they travel to Wichita, Kansas to meet the Stealth on Saturday, May 3.
LAST SERIES MEETING: HAWAII 53, SAN DIEGO 34 (Saturday, June 14, 2002, Honolulu). The Islanders snapped their nine game losing streak with a convincing win over its Western Division rival. Although Hawaii was out-gained in total offensive yards (285 to 210), the Islanders forced five fumbles and recovered two. Quarterback Darnell Arceneaux threw for 151 yards but it was his leadership that helped Hawaii to a commanding 31-14 halftime lead. He also rushed for 28 yards and scored three rushing touchdowns.
DROPBACK: BAKERSFIELD 58, HAWAII 43 (Saturday, April 19, 2003, Bakersfield, Calif.) When the ball takes a funny bounce, look for opportunities to happen and Bakersfield took advantage of that chance to beat Hawaii 58-43. With the Blitz leading 31-23, the kickoff to Hawaii hit the cross bar and bounced high in the air when Bakersfields Ryan Sloth scooped up the loose ball and scored on a 1-yard net recovery. Hawaii did manage to rally and was going for the tying two-point conversion but the Darnell Arceneaux pass to Channon Harris was deflected at the line of scrimmage.
HAWAIIS SECOND SEASON TRAVEL LOG: The Hawaiian Islanders will embark on eight road trips for the 2003 season Heres a list of destinations and their approximate miles from Hawaii to the city and back:
Quad City (Moline, Illinois), 8,564 miles
Bakersfield, California, 5,286 miles
Wichita, Kansas, 8,714 miles
Cincinnati, Ohio, 8,868 miles
Little Rock, Arkansas, 8,607 miles
San Diego, California, 5,222 miles
Tulsa, Oklahoma, 7,843 miles
San Diego, California, 5,222 miles
Total Expected Air and Bus Travel in 2003: ** 58,326 miles **
RUN BABY RUN! Hawaii is an impressive 6-3 when the team rushes for 50 or more yards in a game. Here is a list of games where Hawaii rushed for 50 yards or more.
IS 2-0 A GOOD START? Is starting off 2-0 mean anything? In 2002, 11 teams started 2-0 and eight qualified for the playoffs. If Quad City wasnt on probation the number would have been nine.
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
TRYING TO STOP NIAN TAYLOR: Another game means another good performance from Islander WR/DB Nian Taylor.
Against Bakersfield, Taylor caught five passes for 71 yards with a touchdown, returned two kicks for 51 yards and recorded three tackles. Overall, he leads the team with 14 receptions for 237 yards and six touchdowns. He also ranks tops in scoring and all-purpose yards and is the third leading tackler with 10.5.
Last year, Taylor caught 29 passes for 543 yards and 11 touchdowns in five games. In addition, he scored touchdowns on a kickoff return and an interception.
Taylor earned three player of the week awards in a four weeks span which has never been done before.
HAWAII SPELLS DEFENSE...E D D I E: One teams loss is another teams gain and that how Hawaii feels about Defensive Specialist Eddie Klaneski. The former Fresno Frenzy star is having an impressive three game performance so far.
Klaneski leads the team in tackles with 13 solos, and 8 assists. In addition, he also leads the team in pass breakups with 5 and has a tackle for loss. When Klaneski has the ball, he is dangerous. Through two weeks, he has one field goal return for 39 yards.
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