Defensive specialist Halakilangi Muagututia has shown to be a valuable mid-season acquisition.

All three played key roles in the Islanders' pulsating 62-59 victory over the Louisville Fire last night at Blaisdell Arena.

Withy-Allen completed a go-ahead 19-yard touchdown pass to Arceneaux on a fourth-and-12 with 36 seconds remaining, and Muagututia batted away a pass intended for Tony Stallings in the end zone on the final play of the game as the Islanders ended a two-game home losing streak.

It was the home finale for the Islanders, who kept their slim arenafootball2 West Division title hopes alive.

"First of all we have to thank the fans," Islanders head coach Cal Lee said. "The players knew this was the final game in front of the fans. At the end, their support was tremendous."

The Islanders (8-6) are still two games behind the Bakersfield Blitz in the West Division. The Blitz beat Central Valley (Fresno, Calif.), 45-19, last night.

The lead changed eight times in the second half, and Louisville appeared to be in good shape when the Islanders turned the ball over on downs at their 14 with under five minutes left and Louisville (8-6) leading 59-55.

Three plays later, Louisville fullback Marvin Constant fumbled and Islanders linebacker Vai Notoa recovered at the 4.

Things looked bleak for the Islanders when they stalled at the Fire 19, but Withy-Allen hit Arceneaux in the back of the end zone on fourth down to put them ahead 62-59.

"They decided to play zone on us," said Withy-Allen, who set a franchise record with 374 total yards. "Anthony runs that route so well, you can't stop it unless you go to man coverage."

On Louisville's next possession, it reached the Islanders' 4 with 20 seconds left, but Matt Sauk threw three consecutive incompletions to finish the game.

On the last play, Sauk was looking for Stallings in the back of the end zone, but Muagututia knocked it away at the last instant.

"Coach (Doug Semones) called man, so we were locked up," said Muagututia, who played his fourth game with the Islanders after starting the season with the Central Valley Coyotes. "I lost him for a second, saw him reach up and I ran over there and batted the ball down."

Withy-Allen, who served as Darnell Arceneaux's backup for the first 11 games of the season, completed 24 of 33 passes for 326 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran five times for 48 yards and two more scores.

"The more he plays the better he gets," Lee said. "You can't practice this at our practice facility. This is a part of the growing experience."

Withy-Allen, a rookie, was starting his third consecutive game, and already has the confidence of a veteran.

"We knew if we could get the ball with under a minute left we were confident," he said. "We knew the defense could hold them in the final half minute."

Anthony Arceneaux caught four passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns, but he fumbled away a golden opportunity to score early in the second quarter.

The Islanders had the ball first-and-goal from the 1. On second down, Anthony took a handoff, was hit behind the line of scrimmage and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by defensive lineman Nick Myers at the 2. Sauk completed four consecutive passes, including a 25-yard scoring strike to James Scott that gave Louisville its largest lead of the game at 28-14 with 5:37 remaining before halftime.

"I wanted to redeem myself," Anthony said. "In this game, you need a short memory and you have to forget about the bad plays and look ahead."

The Islanders' Nian Taylor caught 11 passes for 119 yards and two scores, and Gabe Amey had eight grabs for 111 yards and one touchdown.

The Islanders finish up the season at Central Valley next week and then at Bakersfield.