Arceneauxs finally united on field
By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
Darnell Arceneaux and younger brother, Anthony, had to wait a long time to finally hit the field together.
When Darnell was a senior on Saint Louis School's varsity football team in 1995, Anthony was a freshman on the junior varsity.
When Darnell was a senior at the University of Utah in 2000, Anthony was a redshirt freshman, so he didn't see any game action.
"At Utah we played on the same team, but I redshirted my first year so I didn't get a chance to actually play with him," Anthony said. "After that he was gone and I was still there."
This year, the brothers finally got an opportunity to play together as members of the Hawaiian Islanders.
Darnell, 25, has been the Islanders' starting quarterback in all seven games this season.
Anthony, 21, has played in six games as a wide receiver/defensive back.
A special moment for the brothers came last Friday night against the Wichita Stealth when Darnell completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Anthony in the third quarter to give the Islanders a 41-36 lead.
"It's my and Anthony's first touchdown pass together," Darnell said. "It's very special. I wanted to keep the ball and throw it to my mom (in the stands), but at that time we couldn't get a penalty."
When asked if Maria Arceneaux would have caught the ball, Anthony said: "Yeah, she's got some athleticism."
Another person who was happy with the Arceneaux-to-Arceneaux touchdown connection was Islanders head coach Cal Lee, who coached both brothers at Saint Louis.
"Anytime you got those two brothers involved and they're scoring touchdowns it feels good for the coaches and both of them because they work hard during practice," Lee said.
Darnell is the only Islander to start all 23 games in franchise history.
Last season, he completed 238 of 498 passes for 3,100 yards and 48 touchdowns. He also set arenafootball2 records with 439 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns.
This season, Darnell has completed 92 of 184 passes for 1,280 yards and 21 touchdowns.
In his rookie season, Anthony has caught two passes for 40 yards, made five tackles and recovered a fumble.
"It's always good to have his experience," Anthony said. "He's taught me a whole lot."
Anthony's playing time has increased lately and Darnell thinks his brother can soon be a major contributor.
"He didn't play a lot in the beginning, his head was kind of down," Darnell said. "He got an opportunity and made the best of it. He's a young guy and as long as he continues to get better the sky's the limit for him."
The next game for the Islanders (5-2) is tomorrow at the expansion Cincinnati Swarm (3-4). Kickoff is set for 8 a.m. (HST) at U.S. Bank Arena.
"I hope we'll see a lot more of those two hooking up in the future," Lee said.
Notes: The Islanders' road trip to Cincinnati is their longest of the season at 4,434 miles. ... The Islanders are 1-2 on the road this season. ... Wichita Stealth head coach Bob Cortese resigned earlier this week. Sean Ponder was named interim coach. ... The Islanders beat Wichita, 61-55, last Friday night.
National West Division
W L PF PA Streak
Hawaiian Islanders 5 2 335 329 W2
Wichita Stealth 4 3 315 298 L2
San Diego Riptide 4 3 329 314 W1
Bakersfield Blitz 1 6 283 328 L4
Tomorrow's games
Hawaiian Islanders at Cincinnati Swarm, 8 a.m. (HST)
Wichita Stealth at Peoria Pirates
Bakersfield Blitz at Green Bay Blizzard
Tulsa Talons at San Diego Riptide
