Colony explodes for 24 second-half points, upsets Palmer

PALMER — Things just got interesting.

Heading into play Friday night, Palmer was within reach of clinching the Railbelt Conference title. Colony was fighting for its playoff life. But thanks to 24 unanswered second-half points, Colony posted a 31-20 upset over the rival Moose at Machetanz Field, throwing the Railbelt Conference playoff picture into a complete cluster in the process.

Now Colony (2-1 in Railbelt play) sits atop the five-team league and in the driver’s seat with one week left in the regular season. Palmer (2-1) drops into second place just ahead of Lathrop (2-2).

West Valley and Wasilla, both 1-2, round out the Railbelt.

The virtual upheaval of the conference came courtesy of a Colony program that held a mere 1-5 record before its win Friday night. While some may have discounted Colony, the Knights (victims of a brutal nonconference schedule that included perennial powers Service, Soldotna, Juneau-Douglas and North Pole) have believed they’re better than that record may indicate.

“I believe we’re the ones who beat ourselves,” Colony senior Daniel Bilafer said. “We’ve just got to perform to our absolute best, and we did it here tonight.”

Colony, sporting a new double-tight end offense, dominated the second half, taking 34 offensive snaps compared to Palmer’s 16, and outgained the Moose 213-35 during the final two quarters.

Senior quarterback Bryce Niver, who led the Knights with a game-high 182 yards rushing on 25 carries, ran for scores of 19 and 8 yards in the second half. He also connected with Bilafer on an 8-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

“What is there to say, other than absolutely amazing,” Bilafer said about Niver, who now leads the nights with 572 yards rushing. “His passes were on target, he was running like an animal. Everything was perfect.”

The Niver-led Knights erased a 20-7 halftime deficit and raced toward their first win over Palmer since 2010. Niver, one of only two large-schools quarterbacks with more than 1,000 yards passing this season, threw the ball only four times in the second half. But the Knights didn’t mind staying with the ground game.

Niver and running back Logan Conway combined for 284 yards rushing in the game, getting the bulk of the yardage off read-option plays. Niver rushed for 126 of his 182 in the second half. Conway had 66 of his 102 during the final two quarters.

“All that running happened to work out,” Niver said. “We took what we could get. The opportunity was there.”

Colony head coach Brian McIntosh said the Knights designed an offensive game plan specifically for Palmer, using the two tight ends for the majority of the game.

“Palmer has those three huge (defensive) linemen, that’s why we went double-tight,” McIntosh said.

Colony started the second half with an 11-play, 47-yard scoring drive capped by a 19-yard Niver touchdown run. That cut Palmer’s lead to 20-14. Following a Palmer 3-and-out, Bilafer finished a quick Colony drive with his second touchdown catch of the game to give his team the 21-20 lead.

Palmer had only six offensive plays and four yards during the entire third quarter, and punted twice.

Bilafer kicked a 20-yard field goal and Niver added a late touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

McIntosh said, despite Colony’s poor record, the Colony coaches have continued to emphasize the positive.

“Keep believing. Play hard, keep believing,” McIntosh said. “We felt very good coming into this game.”

Colony chewed up much of the first quarter with a 16-play, 93-yard scoring drive, and Niver and Bilafer hooked up for a 6-yard touchdown pass to take the 7-0 lead.

But Palmer, which entered the game 14-1 against Alaska teams in its last 15 games, used big plays to build its big lead. Senior James Nisbett broke free for a 25-yard touchdown score to tie the game early in the second quarter. Five minutes later, Palmer took the lead when senior Vincent Aumavae sprinted virtually untouched 49 yards for a score.

Late in the first half, Palmer’s lead ballooned to 13 points. Senior Cody Wells made an adjustment on the Colony defense to pull the long, floating pass of Zeth Merritt out of the air. Wells’ 54-yard catch and run gave Palmer the 20-7 advantage.

A big factor for Palmer was the absence of Nisbett during the second half. Nisbett led the state in rushing as a junior, but has been hampered with an injury this season. He rushed for 66 yards on nine carries in the first half, but spent the second half watching.

Friday’s outcome left a number of playoff scenarios in the Railbelt with only one week of regular season football to sort it out. Colony (2-1 in Railbelt play) can clinch the conference title with a win over West Valley in Fairbanks. Palmer (2-1) can clinch a playoff berth with a win over Wasilla in the Potato Bowl Friday.

But if Wasilla and West Valley both win, all five teams in the Railbelt would be left tied 2-2. Tiebreakers would decide the three teams that advance to the playoffs.

Colony 31, Palmer 20

Friday, Machetanz Field

First quarter:

Colony — D. Bilafer 6 pass from Niver (D. Bilafer kick) 2:13.

Second quarter:

Palmer — Nisbett 25 run (Inukai kick) 10:19.

Palmer — V. Aumavae 49 run (Inukai kick) 5:17.

Palmer — Wells 54 pass from Merritt (kick failed) 1:30.

Third quarter:

Colony — Niver 19 run (D. Bilafer kick) 9:13.

Colony — D. Bilafer 8 pass from Niver (D. Bilafer kick) 3:20.

Fourth quarter:

Colony — D. Bilafer 20 field goal, 10:38.

Colony — Niver 8 run (D. Bilafer kick) 2:37.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Colony: Niver 25-182, Conway 22-102; Palmer: V. Aumavae 12-49, Nisbett 9-66, Merritt 8-32.

PASSING — Colony: Niver 8-19-0—85; Palmer: Merritt 6-13-1—108.

RECEIVING — Colony: D. Bilafer 4-30, Looney 2-17, Summers 1-25, Frederickson 1-13; Palmer: Wells 3-70, Angol 2-23, N. Aumavae 1-15.