CHS QB going DIII

PALMER — The Colony football program’s connection with Linfield College has led to opportunity for another Knights senior.

Just weeks after Colony senior lineman Trey Farber committed to play for Linfield, an Oregon NAIA program, former Linfield coach Meadow Lemon has lured Colony senior Anthony Bricker to Lemon’s new school. Next fall Bricker will join Lemon at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore.

“I’d already known Coach Lemon when he was at Linfield. I talked to him and everything just clicked,” Bricker said Wednesday. “It made it a lot easier.”

Lemon has been a regular in Alaska in recent years, coaching at the All-Alaska Football Camp, an annual event hosted by CHS. Colony athletes have also attended a camp coached by the Linfield College staff. Former Colony coaches Jamie Mayo, Kent Rilatos and David Russell also played at Linfield.

“There’s a really good rapport with Coach Lemon,” Colony head coach Brian McIntosh said.

Bricker, who emerged as a top athlete at quarterback in the Railbelt Conference as a senior, will play quarterback at Lewis & Clark. Bricker amassed more than 1,000 yards of total offense despite missing time with a broken collarbone.

After senior Mitchell Slater, Colony’s opening-day starting signal caller, was lost for the season with an injury, Bricker stepped into the spot during Week 3 and led the Knights to victory.

In four regular-season starts at quarterback for the Knights, Bricker threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 546 yards and four scores. Bricker returned to rush for 105 yards during a playoff win over Dimond.

“He’s just an all-around athlete,” McIntosh said.

Even though Bricker has played wide receiver and running back in high school, quarterback is his clear preference.

“I just have a lot more confidence at quarterback,” Bricker said. “I like that sense of leadership I had over the team.”

Bricker had considered Division II schools, such as Nebraska-Kearney, but saw Division III Lewis & Clark as a better fit.

“I think I can play at the DII level, but DIII, I can go there and give it my full potential,” Bricker said.

Bricker said a number of things stood out about Lewis & Clark when he was making his decision.

“The campus is wonderful. I like the coaches and they seem like they have a real solid program going,” Bricker said. “They’re building it up right now. They call themselves a sleeping giant. They feel like they’re going to be really good. They said it was a perfect time to get in. I feel like I’m taking hold of a real good opportunity.”

Bricker will enter the Pioneer program with a head start.

“They run the same offense we do, shotgun spread,” Bricker said. “A lot of running plays, more than they do passing, but they do mix it up a lot. It pretty much won’t be that much of a change.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.