Chugiak runs past weary, wounded Knights

PALMER — Though riding a five-game winning streak, the Colony Knights were running on fumes. And Friday night in their regular season finale against Chugiak, they finally ran out of gas in a 30-7 defeat.

“Honestly, we had it coming,” Colony head coach Rhett Magner said. “We’ve been saying it for seven weeks, we’ve gotta execute better, because even when we won those games, we didn’t execute well. And when you play a team like (Chugiak) that’s going to capitalize on your mistakes, that’s what happens.”

Without top downfield playmaker Jon Pomerenke, who, according to Magner suffered a knee injury in practice, and then losing quarterback Parker Kizer to a second quarter knee injury, as well as running back Cam Pead to a third-quarter ankle, the Knights had little hope of establishing any steady offensive output.

A 70-yard touchdown run late in the first half by Cade Havel cut the Chugiak lead to 13-7 with 1:38 to play, and Dawson Nash tore off a 59-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but apart from those plays, the Colony offense totaled less than 100 yards for the night.

Despite those offensive struggles, the Knights might have gone into the half with a lead, as one Mustang touchdown came on a fluke play, of sorts, and the last with considerable controversy.

Chugiak extended its lead to 13-0 with two minutes gone by in the second, as Kizer’s punt came off the side of his foot so severely, it spun dead five yards of the line of scrimmage. Reactions to the live ball were slow from both teams, except Chugiak’s Jakub Kindred who took it in 32 yards for the score.

And after Havel’s run halved the Mustangs’ lead, Chugiak quarterback Hunter Harr was able to connect with Derryk Snell for a 32-yard pass play to the Knights’ 1. Out of time outs, Harr killed the clock as time expired, but officials put one second back on the clock, enough time for Bryant White, to spin away from backfield pressure and into the end zone, making it 20-7 at the half.

“We run two-minute hurry-up drills in practice,” Chugiak head coach Roger Spackman said of the backbreaking touchdown. “It’s a situation where big players make big plays.”

With his team missing so many of its top playmakers, Nash ran with extra intensity in the second half, carrying it 8 times for 107 yards. His 59-yard burst along the sidelines to the Mustangs’ 11 put the Knights in business, but an interception — the first of two for Chugiak defensive back Ace Chapple, killed the Knights’ last, best chance to make a game of it with 10 minutes to play.

“We’ve gotta get healthy and we’ve gotta get some confidence back… We kind of had it on auto pilot for a while,” said Magner, whose Knights open the state playoffs next week at home against West High. “In my opinion, West always peaks this time of season. They’re going to be one of the best teams in the state, so we’re going to have our hands full for sure.”

The win wrapped up the Railbelt Conference title for the Mustangs, who open state next week at home, looking to one-up their state runner-up finish of a year ago.

“We’ve been rolling with three good wins; a lot of momentum and we kept going with it,” Spackman said. “We’re building off that and the kids believe in each other. We’re healthy when we need to get healthy and we’re looking to make a good appearance in the playoffs.”

Chugiak 30, Colony 7

Friday, Colony High School

First quarter

Chugiak — Faamatuainu 2 run. (Kick failed) 6:28.

Second quarter

Chugiak — Park 32 punt return. (Morey kick) 10:10

Colony — Havel 70 run. (Krozel kick) 1:48

Chugiak — White 1 run. (Morey kick)

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

Chugiak — Morey 37 FG. 4:24.

Chugiak — Faamatuainu 3 run. (Morey kick) 2:56.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Colony: Nash 16-107, Havel 10-106, Lorentz 9-6, Pead 1-(-2), Hizer 2-2. Chugiak: Faamatuainu 14-99, Snell 19-74, Harr 12-30, Jones 5-0.

PASSING — Colony: Lorentz 1-7-2—6; Kizer 0-1-0—0. Chugiak: Harr 10-19-0—94.

RECIVING — Colony: Pead 1-6. Chugiak: Snell 5-75, Carlos 1-13, Didrickson 1-2, White 2-1, Scholen 1-3.