4 Valley teams open conference schedules at home

PALMER — Last year, the Palmer Moose opened the season with three tough losses before getting back on track with a win over Kodiak. This year, the Moose are, once again, off to an 0-3 start. And once again, the Moose will try to right the ship when they host Kodiak Friday at 7 p.m. at Machetanz Field in Palmer.

“We are young. There’s a lot of learning,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said after a loss to Service in Anchorage during the second week of the season.

The young Palmer squad has been forced to learn while starting the season with three teams that advanced to the postseason last year. Palmer built a 19-0 lead against North Pole in the season-opener, but the Patriots scored 20 unanswered points and grabbed a 20-19 win over the Moose. The following week, Service scored 20 unanswered in a 27-6 victory over Palmer. Last week, Palmer and Colony were locked in an 8-8 tie late in the first half, but Colony scored a combined 31 points during the final three minutes of the second quarter and the third, and posted a 39-8 win over the Moose.

North Pole and Colony are both 3-0 heading into the fourth week of the season.

Kodiak is off to a 1-2 start. After opening the season with a 21-8 win over Division III Homer, the Bears have suffered consecutive losses to Thunder Mountain and Eielson. Defending small-schools (Now Division III) state champion Eielson beat Kodiak 24-7 in Kodiak last week.

Friday’s game marks the Northern Lights Conference opener for both teams.

West Valley at Wasilla

The Wasilla Warriors also open their conference schedule, hosting West Valley Friday at 6 p.m. at Wasilla High’s Veterans Memorial Field.

Last season, the Wasilla-West Valley matchup decided the final playoff berth in the Division I Railbelt Conference. Wasilla’s 36-28 win over the Wolfpack in Fairbanks proved to be the difference, and the Warriors snagged the conference’s fourth and final spot in the state tournament.

It’ll mark the second straight week that Wasilla hosts a team from the Interior. Last week, North Pole topped Wasilla 50-34 in a shootout.

“They’ll fight till the last whistle,” Wasilla head coach Will Stout told the Frontiersman after the loss. “Things will be touch and not always go your way, but you’ve got to fight till the end and make the most of your opportunities.”

Wasilla fell behind 22-0 early, but jumped right back into the game. Senior quarterback Aeron Milliron tossed four touchdown passes, including a pair to Riley Devine.

Wasilla is 1-2.

West Valley is also 1-2, dropping two straight since beating defending small-schools state champion Eielson 17-15 during the first week of the season. Chugiak beat West Valley 60-12 last week in the Railbelt opener for both teams.

Monroe Catholic at Houston

The Houston Hawks open their Division III Aurora Conference schedule Friday at 7 p.m. against Monroe at Houston High. Houston improved to 2-1 last week with a 34-0 victory over Seward on the road. The Hawks were simply thrilled to get back onto the field, head coach Glenn Nelson said, after Voznesenka forfeited its game during the second week of the season.

“The kids were pretty excited to get out and play some ball,” Nelson said.

Monroe is also 2-1 following a 26-9 win over Voznesenka last week in Homer.

Seward at Redington

Redington is also one of four Valley teams opening their conference schedule Friday night. The Huskies host Seward at 7 p.m. at Redington.

The Huskies dropped to 2-1 with a 40-8 loss to Barrow at home last week. Redington had started the season with consecutive victories over Monroe and Valdez.

Seward has lost two straight since opening the year with a win over Valdez.

Colony at West

The Colony Knights played at West Anchorage Thursday night. Results were not available prior to press time. See frontiersman.com/sports for more.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.