Bragging rights

PALMER — Palmer is in the playoffs and will be playing for postseason seeding when the Moose host rival Wasilla tonight in the 32nd annual Potato Bowl. But it’s all about bragging rights for the Warriors.

“We’re trying to send the seniors off win a win and have the juniors start next year with a win,” said Wasilla head coach Glenn Nelson, whose team was officially eliminated from postseason contention last week with an 18-7 loss to West Valley. “We want to be able to have fun, enjoy the game.”

Nelson said he feels like the Warriors have played much better than their 1-4 conference mark indicates.

“We feel like we could have beat anybody we played,” Nelson said.

Half of Wasilla’s conference losses have been by just three points. The Warriors suffered a 21-18 loss to North Pole early in the year and Colony scored a 20-17 victory over Wasilla earlier in the month.

“Last year we got physically handled,” Nelson said. “This year, we feel like we’ve made some mistakes. But we’ve not been pushed around. We want to prove that (tonight).”

Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen has had a similar message for his players.

“I told (the players) Wasilla is the best 1-4 conference team we’ve seen in a long time,” Christiansen said. “I hate to use the word ever. But they’re a good football team with a lot of good athletes.”

The Warriors lone victory came with a 55-0 victory over Lathrop. Four different Railbelt teams blanked winless Lathrop this season, but Wasilla had the biggest margin of victory over the Malemutes.

Palmer dropped to 3-2 with a heartbreaking 32-28 loss to Colony at Colony High School last Friday, but officially clinched a playoff spot last week despite the defeat. Now, the Moose can grab the No. 3 seed with a win over Wasilla. A West Valley (3-2) loss to Railbelt champion Colony (5-0) would also give the Moose the third seed.

West Valley is in the playoffs and would need a win combined with a Palmer loss to move up to No. 3.

Tonight, Palmer will look to get back on track after that tough loss to the Knights and create some momentum heading into the first round of the playoffs.

The Moose boast the highest scoring offense in the Railbelt Conference, averaging 33 points per game. Palmer’s 233 total points is second best among all large-schools teams.

Five different players have rushed for 180 or more yards this season and a half-dozen Moose have at least two touchdowns this season. Senior running back David Clement and junior quarterback Jackson Buresh led the team with seven rushing touchdowns each. Clement leads the team with 363 yards on the ground.

Buresh, a first-year varsity quarterback, has 783 yards passing and seven touchdowns.

Wasilla has also had some success on the ground, thanks to a pair of juniors. Tyler Polis has 495 yards and Devon Teeling has 494 yards on 62 carries.

“Teeling’s been a beast. I don’t think anyone, definitely not in the conference, at the fullback spot has more yards on fewer carries,” Nelson said of Teeling, who is averaging nearly eight yards per carry.

Nelson said he’s also been very happy with seniors such as three-year starters Jake Johnson and David Green.

“We’ve had a lot of great senior leadership,” Nelson said.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

POTATO BOWL HISTORY

Year Winner Score

1979 Palmer 7-6

1980 Palmer 12-8

1981 Palmer 26-8

1982 Palmer 24-20

1983 Wasilla 21-7

1984 Palmer/Wasilla 6-0 PHS, 12-8 WHS

1985 Palmer 14-13

1986 Palmer 13-7

1987 Wasilla 12-8

1988 Palmer 22-0

1989 Palmer 20-19

1990 Palmer 29-23

1991 Wasilla 34-7

1992 Palmer 13-7

1993 Wasilla 34-0

1994 Palmer 38-6

1995 Palmer 42-7

1996 Palmer 34-14

1997 Palmer 31-6

1998 Wasilla 42-15

1999 Wasilla 24-7

2000 Palmer 21-0

2001 Wasilla 19-17

2002 Palmer 21-0

2003 Palmer 42-0

2004 Palmer 24-8

2005 Palmer 40-0

2006 Palmer 27-7

2007 Wasilla 36-35

2008 Palmer 42-14

2009 Palmer 48-7

PHS 23-8

WHS 9-22

*1984 game contested. Wasilla forfeited Game 2 and Palmer claims to win the Potato Bowl. Palmer lost Game 1 and Wasilla claims to have won.