Posted on: Sunday, June 29, 2003
Islanders lose at home, 54-36
By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
| Q.C. Steamwheelers (10-2) 14 13 9 18—54 Hawaiian islanders (9-4) 6 17 13 0—36 First Quarter Haw—Isaac White 20 interception return (kick failed) QC—Tim Dodge 5 pass from Tony Zimmerman (Paul Savich kick) QC—Dodge 24 pass from Zimmerman (Savich kick) Second Quarter QC—Josh Fourdyce 3 run (kick failed) Haw—Taulia Lave 9 pass from Mike Tillis (Kimo Naehu kick) QC—Zimmerman 1 run (Savich kick) Haw—FG Naehu 49 Haw—I. White 23 pass from Tillis (Naehu kick) Third Quarter Haw—I. White 39 pass from Tillis (Naehu kick) Haw—Morrie Roe 11 pass from Tillis (kick failed) QC—Jeff Hewitt 6 pass from Zimmerman (kick failed) QC—FG Savich 36 Fourth Quarter QC—Hewitt 23 pass from Zimmerman (kick failed) QC—Dodge 8 pass from Zimmerman (Savich kick) QC—Asa Francis safety QC—FG Savich 20 RUSHING—Quad City Steamwheelers: Brian Berg 7-19, Zimmerman 2-3. Hawaiian Islanders: Josh White 4-44, Tillis 4-11. PASSING—Quad City Steamwheelers: Zimmerman 19-43-1—237. Hawaiian Islanders: Tillis 9-20-1—170. RECEIVING—Quad City Steamwheelers: Dodge 10-118, Hewitt 7-78, Danny Thomas 1-21, Ira Gooch 1-20. Hawaiian Islanders: Anthony Arceneaux 3-62, I. White 2-62, Darrell Jones 2-26, Roe 1-11, Lave 1-9. |
Quad City (10-2) scored the game's final 27 points to rally for a 54-36 arenafootball2 victory before a season-high home crowd of 4,596.
Quad City extended its winning streak to 10 while the Islanders' home win streak dating to last season ended at nine.
"We made some very crucial mistakes during the game," Islanders head coach Cal Lee said. "When you make those kinds of mistakes it'll cost you the game."
The Islanders (9-4) scored 23 consecutive points over a 7:16 span bridging the second and third quarters to take their largest lead at 36-27.
"The thing I always tell the team is you got to stick together," Quad City head coach Rich Ingold said. "Things are going to go their way especially in this hostile environment. This is a tough place to win. We believe we're a good football team, and if we keep working things will go our way."
The Steamwheelers' rally started when Jeff Hewitt caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tony Zimmerman to cut the deficit to 36-33 with 5:34 left in the third quarter.
Paul Savich kicked a 36-yard field goal to tie it with 11 seconds left in the third and the Steamwheelers took the lead for good on a 23-yard pass from Zimmerman to Hewitt with 11:10 left in the game.
Zimmerman tossed a 6-yard scoring pass to Tim Dodge, Asa Francis sacked Islanders quarterback Mike Tillis in the end zone for a safety and Savich capped the scoring by kicking a 20-yard field goal with 11.2 seconds to play.
The Islanders went scoreless over the final 25:30, failing to score on their final four possessions.
Tillis finished 9 of 20 for 170 yards and four touchdowns. He was under constant pressure the entire game.
"They knew if we had time to set up we'd kill them, so, of course, they wanted to rush hard," Tillis said.
Francis, a defensive specialist, had seven solo tackles, including four sacks for 40 yards.
"Asa Francis, there is no one like him in the league," Ingold said. "It's hard to throw the ball, five-step drops, with our pass rush coming like it was."
Quad City, of the National Midwest Division, had already clinched a playoff berth earlier in the day when the Peoria Pirates lost to the Bakersfield Blitz, 45-35.
The Steamwheelers lost consecutive games to open the season — the Islanders on April 4 (53-52) and the Tennessee Valley Vipers on April 11 (62-59). The Islanders and Tennessee Valley have a combined 21-4 record.
"We'll probably get the respect we deserve," Ingold said. "Hawai'i is an excellent football team, well-coached, played hard. Everyone is questioning us, we haven't beaten teams with winning records. Just line them up, we'll play them."
Islanders leading receiver Nian Taylor pulled his left hamstring on his team's second play from scrimmage and missed the remainder of the game. On the previous play, Taylor dropped a sure touchdown pass from Tillis.
"Nian is a big loss; he's our go-to guy," Lee said. "When you lose him in the first minutes, it's going to hurt you a little bit."
The only silver lining for the Islanders yesterday was they retained their one-game lead in the National West Division because the Wichita Stealth lost to the San Diego Riptide.
The Islanders, who are 6-1 at home this season, have a bye next week and will play at the Tulsa Talons July 12.
"We'll rest our bodies a little bit and prepare for Tulsa," Lee said. "This game is forgotten."
