5 Valley players named All-State

MAT-SU — A handful of local players have been named first-team All-State by the Alaska State Football Coaches Association.

Colony placed a trio of players on the first unit. Senior tackle Matt Packa was honored on offense, while senior defensive back Collin Murphy and senior defensive end Chris Krieg were each listed on the other side of the ball.

Senior middle linebacker J.D. Mitchell and junior kick returner John Daly represented Palmer on the first team.

Valley schools placed 28 athletes on the first team in the last two years, but only had five representatives this season.

Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said the low number may be attributed to the fact that no Valley team advanced to the second round of the large-schools playoffs.

“It seems like it’s probably skewed a little bit too much to how you do at the very end,” Christiansen said.

The two schools that played in the large-schools state championship game on Saturday at Anchorage Football Stadium — Service and Juneau-Douglas — and North Pole, a state semifinalist, can claim the major awards.

Juneau-Douglas senior Alex Fagerstrom was the most popular pick during the All-State selection meeting, held Sunday in Anchorage.

Fagerstrom was named the Alaska State Football Coaches Association Player of the Year. He was also the offensive player of the year, utility player of the year and earned first-team honors at running back and defensive back.

Leo Aukustino, who led Service to a 22-14 come-from-behind win over Fagerstrom and the Crimson Bears in the state final, was named the defensive player of the year.

Richard Henert, who led North Pole to the Railbelt Conference title and an undefeated record during the regular season, was named coach of the year. North Pole’s Jackson Collins is the lineman of the year.

Murphy finished his senior campaign among the top players in the state, in terms of all-purpose yardage, but had to settle for second-team honors at quarterback.

Murphy accounted for more than 1,700 yards of total offense and 22 touchdowns as Colony’s signal caller. He threw for 753 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 970 yards and 13 scores.

Murphy’s efforts were recognized on defense, along with Krieg. The duo helped the Colony defense allow only 17.25 points per regular season game, which ranked the Knights third in the conference in scoring defense and fifth in the state.

Packa helped pave the way for a CHS offense that amassed more than 3,900 total yards during nine games.

Mitchell captained a Palmer defense that allowed only 100 regular season points, good enough for third in the state in total defense.

Mitchell is a three-year varsity letterman with the Moose who started seeing regular playing time at linebacker as a sophomore.

“He’s been a force inside for us,” Christiansen said.

Daly established himself as a top special teams threat in the state. Christiansen said by the end of the season opponents refused to even kick to Daly.

“He didn’t get a lot of touches, but the ones he did were very good,” Christiansen said.

Eleven Valley players were named to the second team, including five from Palmer.

Senior guard Daniel Contini, senior wide receiver Mitch Swetzof, senior defensive lineman Kevin Priestley, junior running back Brennan Bohman and junior kicker Zach Zegzdryn were each named second-team.

Murphy was joined by teammates Balin Babock (center) and Tim Jaronik (wide receiver) on the second team.

Wasilla also landed three players on the second unit.

Senior running back Chris Crane, senior linebacker Casey Katchinska and senior tight end Tim Orr represented the Warriors.

Houston senior

named all-state

HOUSTON — Houston High senior Anthony Origer was named first-team All-State in the small-schools class by the Alaska State Football Coaches Association on Sunday.

Origer, the lone Houston player to be selected to the first team, earned his spot at defensive line.

“Anthony Origer is one of the hardest working kids we’ve had in a long time,” Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said of Origer, who was also named first-team All-Northern Lights Conference on the defensive line.

A pair of Hawks also received second-team honors. Senior wide receiver Bryan Mason and senior tight end Jon Stinson were both listed on the first-team unit.

Soldotna senior Anthony Griglione, who led the Stars to a third straight small-schools state title on Saturday, was named the small-schools offensive player of the year. Kodiak’s Gary Anthony was the defensive player of the year.

The complete small-schools list was not available prior to press time.

2008 Large-Schools All-State Football Team

Individual Awards

Alaska State Football Coaches Association Player of the Year — Alex

Fagerstrom, Juneau. Offensive Player of the Year — Alex Fagerstrom,

Juneau. Defensive Player of the Year — Leo Aukusitino, Service. Lineman

of the Year — Jackson Collins, North Pole. Utility Player of the Year —

Alex Fagerstrom, Juneau. Assistant Coaches of the Year — Numi Ilalio Jr.

and Tim Davis, Service. Coach of the Year — Richard Henert, North Pole.

First Team Offense

Center — Joe Sokimi, Service. Guard — Anu Poleo, East; Michael Perkins,

South; Matt Lehrbach, Juneau. Tackle — Matt Packa, Colony; Jack Perkins,

Juneau; Clay Tidwell, North Pole. Tight End — Patxi Colbern, South. Wide

Receiver — Mathew Weedman, Service; Max Harvey, Eagle River. Quarterback

— Colin Graham, South. Fullback — Jamal Hale, Bartlett; Taylor Lewis,

North Pole. Running Back — Marcus Mendez, Bartlett; Leo Aukusitino,

Service; Alex Fagerstrom, Juneau; Dane Ebanez, North Pole.

Second Team Offense

Center — Balin Babcock, Colony. Guard — Richard Faaaliga, Service; Mike

Sewell, North Pole; Daniel Contini, Palmer. Tackle — Alex Lutton, Dimond;

Kendall Nickson, Bartlett; Corey Lindamood, Service. Tight End — Tim Orr,

Wasilla. Wide Receiver — Mitch Swetzof, Palmer; Tim Jaronik, Colony.

Quarterback — Collin Murphy, Colony. Running Back — Marcus Spencer,

South; Gibson Scanlan, Dimond; Chris Crane, Wasilla; Brennan Bohman,

Palmer.

First Team Defense

Defensive End — Patxi Colbern, South; Chris Krieg, Colony. Interior

Linemen — Anu Poleo, East; Greg Howard, Chugiak; Jackson Collins, North

Pole; Enoch Fifita, Juneau. Linebacker — Brown Faaaliga, Service; Matt

Higgins, South; JD Mitchell, Palmer; Jack Perkins, Juneau; Kevin Ward,

North Pole; Lee Jones, North Pole. Defensive Back — Leo Aukusitino,

Service; Alex Fagerstrom, Juneau; Collin Murphy, Colony; Steve Wright,

North Pole.

Second Team Defense

Defensive End — Zac Carey, Service; Phillip Warwick, North Pole. Interior

Linemen — Anthony Ainsworth, Dimond; Troy Masalosalo, Bartlett; Kevin

Priestley, Palmer; Matt Craft, West Valley. Linebacker — Gabe Diaz,

Dimond; Jeremy Elliot, East; Gene Ghramm, Chugiak; Trevor Hash, Bartlett;

Lincoln Maka, Juneau; Casey Katchinska, Wasilla. Defensive Back —

Christopher Tuohy, South; Caleb Holly, East; Jordan Blount, Bartlett; Vic

Wisel, West Valley.

First Team Specialists

Kicker — Amanda Dotten, Service. Punter — Kyle Dotson, Dimond; Dane

Ebanez, North Pole. Kick Returner — John Daly, Palmer. Long Snapper —

Ryan Holta, Dimond.

Second Team Specialists

Kicker — Zach Zegzdryn, Palmer. Kick Returner — Neil Miyaoka, Service.

Long Snapper — Aaron Mabee, Lathrop.