Old School Ironman Effort From Smith Leads East To Victory

Sunday November 3, 2013

 HONOLULU – Ironman football might be a thing of the past, but it was alive and well on Saturday in the first of two exhibition games for AFL China in Honolulu. Terrance Smith had a receiving touchdown and two interceptions which were returned for touchdowns to lead the East All-Stars to a 67-63 victory over the West All-Stars on Saturday at Blaisdell Arena.

Smith is an ironman by nature. Two seasons ago with the Jacksonville Sharks, he had 30 touchdowns as a receiver. Last season, he turned around to play the other side of the ball and had 11 picks.

“It’s easy,” said Smith, the MVP for the East All-Stars. “It’s something that comes naturally to me. I wish my coach in Jacksonville would let me play on both sides more often.”

The second interception in the fourth quarter really turned the tide of the game, as it took an opportunity to take the lead for the West away and put the men clad in red up two scores, a lead that would not be relinquished. The West All-Stars scored a whopping 40 points in the second half to be led to victory. Three of the team’s 10 touchdowns came with the offense sitting on the sidelines. Smith had the two interceptions returned for touchdowns, while Larry Beavers had a kick return for a score in the third quarter.
Both Randy Hippeard and Dan Raudabaugh had great days for the East All-Stars. Raudabaugh completed 10-of-19 passing for 83 yards with three touchdowns, while Hippeard went 8-for-13 for 132 with four scores. Neither man was picked off on the evening.

Marco Thomas finished up the day with eight catches for 129 yards and two TDs, but he came up just short of being the West’s MVP. Mario Urrutia, who won the NET10 Rookie of the Year honor in 2013 with the Utah Blaze, had seven catches for 124 yards and a game-high five touchdowns.

Turning the ball over was a big problem for the West All-Stars. All three of the team’s quarterbacks threw an interception on the day, and only Nick Davila completed more than 41% of his passes. Carson Coffman started off by going 9-for-22 for 138 yards with four scores. Local Hawaiian Winston Togiailua went 5-for-13 for 99 yards with two TDs.

“It wasn’t about winning and losing,” said Head Coach Kevin Guy after the defeat. “It’s just going to be great to get out there and compete again.”

The victory was a measure of sweet revenge for East Head Coach Clint Dolezel, who beat Guy for the first time in four meetings between the two in the last two seasons. Guy won ArenaBowl XXV and XXVI against the Philadelphia Soul, which Dolezel was the offensive coordinator for in the first game and the head coach for in the second game.

These same two teams will pack their bags and head to China on Monday night, where they will meet once again at Capital Indoor Arena on Sunday, November 10th.