Big games highlight Week 7

PALMER — Some might argue playoffs for Colony start tonight when the Knights host the West Valley Wolfpack. Colony head coach Brian McIntosh disagrees.

“We approached Lathrop as our first playoff game, and we’ve been fighting ever since,” McIntosh said about his team’s 39-19 win over Lathrop last week in Fairbanks.

Colony and West Valley, teams with identical 2-2 conference marks, meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Colony High. The winner could take a major step toward solidifying a state playoff berth. McIntosh knows the importance of tonight’s game. But he also knows his Knights wouldn’t have been in this position if they fell to Lathrop last week.

“We knew going up to Lathrop our playoff season started there,” McIntosh said.

Colony’s home game against West Valley is one of three games that will kick off tonight in the Valley, and one of two that will help determine Railbelt Conference playoff seeding. Palmer (4-0) hosts Juneau-Douglas (3-1) at 7 p.m. at Palmer High’s Machetanz Field. With a win over the Bears, the Moose would clinch the Railbelt Conference title.

Wasilla (1-5 overall) is hosting Soldotna (5-1 overall) in nonconference action at 7 p.m. at Wasilla’s Veterans Memorial Field. Houston is off this week.

Palmer, which beat North Pole 49-42 last week in a shootout in the Interior, took sole possession of first place in conference play with its 4-0 mark. North Pole and Juneau-Douglas are in a second-place tie in conference with a 3-1 mark. A Palmer win tonight would give the Moose the tiebreaker over the Patriots and the Bears, and it would not matter what happens to Palmer in Week 8.

A Juneau win tonight could create a jam at the top of the Railbelt. North Pole hosts Lathrop tonight at 7 p.m. at North Pole’s Patriot Pride Field.

Colony (2-2) and West Valley (2-2) are currently tied for fourth place in the conference. The winner will take a step toward the playoffs, but will not officially clinch a playoff berth.

McIntosh said he was thrilled to see his Knights score the key win against a Lathrop squad that nearly knocked off West Valley earlier this season before falling 13-12 to the Wolfpack.

“I’m extremely proud. (Lathrop head coach Rusty) Ham has that team playing some pretty good ball right now,” McIntosh said.

Senior quarterback Rob Lorentz accounted for four touchdowns in the win. Lorentz threw three touchdown passes and ran for another. Lorentz is among the top quarterbacks in the state with 1,209 yards passing and 13 touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver Daniel Bilafer set a school record for receptions in a season against Lathrop. Bilafer finished with eight catches, giving him 40 for the year. He broke the previous mark of 35 set by former Colony star Cole Magner in 1999. Bilafer (40 catches, 476 yards, five touchdowns) and fellow junior Antonio Bush (34-498-6) is also within Magner’s school record of 552 receiving yards in a season.

Senior Ken McCoy also returned an interception for a touchdown in the win over Lathrop. West Valley improved to 2-2 last week with a 34-21 win over Wasilla in Fairbanks. The Wolfpack suffered a nonconference loss to Eagle River the week before.

Palmer junior running back James Nisbett continued his tear, rushing for 202 yards and five touchdowns during the win over North Pole. Nisbett also returned a kickoff for a touchdown against the Patriots.

Nisbett now has 902 yards rushing and 18 total touchdowns through the first six weeks of the season. He’s rushed for 200 or more yards three times (226 against Kodiak, 211 versus Colony and 202 against North Pole) and has posted 11 touchdowns in the last two weeks.

Senior Cameron Christiansen also connected with senior Daniel DeLay on a 46-yard touchdown pass against North Pole. Christiansen has touchdown passes in five of six games this year. DeLay and senior Dylan Myers have three touchdown receptions each for Palmer.

Juneau-Douglas, which has won three straight over the Moose, suffered a 59-0 conference loss to Murietta Valley (Calif.) in Juneau last week. Starting quarterback Dorion Isaak was injured early in the game and replaced by utility man Trevor Pfaff, who threw five interceptions.

Wasilla will try to snap a five-game losing skid when the Warriors host medium-schools power Soldotna tonight at WHS. Wasilla opened its season with a 21-14 win over Bartlett, but has suffered five straight Railbelt losses.

Junior Mitchell Rilatos leads the Warriors with 647 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Quarterback Ben Fielder has 854 yards passing and 12 touchdowns. Cash McGregor has snagged 30 catches for 376 yards and eight scores.

The Houston Hawks are off this week, but will travel to Homer to face the Mariners on Sept. 29.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him @matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.