Colony QB fires four TD passes in big win over rival

WASILLA — Four-receiver sets typically aren’t the go-to formations in games plagued by steady rain.

But with heavy rain falling, that’s exactly where Colony went Friday night.

Senior quarterback Rob Lorentz threw for a game-high 226 yards and four touchdown passes to lead the Colony Knights to a 39-20 Railbelt Conference win over the Wasilla Warriors during a wet night at Veterans Memorial Field at Wasilla High.

“We tried to run the ball, but Wasilla had a good game plan,” Colony head coach Brian McIntosh said after the win. “After a couple series, we moved to our multiple receiver sets and aired it out.”

After getting stopped for negative yardage on three of its first four running plays, Colony scrapped its two-back formation in favor of its four-receiver set, and Lorentz connected with receivers Daniel Bilafer and Antonio Bush for a pair of touchdown passes each, as the Knights improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Railbelt.

A stout Wasilla front-seven held a Knights squad that rushed for 514 yards during the first two weeks to 72 yards on 33 carries Friday night, but Colony’s switch to the passing game paid off for the Knights.

“We talked about it during the pregame speech. In games like this, somebody needs to step up and make plays,” McIntosh said. “And we had multiple guys step up and make plays.”

Bilafer grabbed eight catches for 86 yards and two scores, and Bush finished with three catches for a game-high 88 yards receiving and two touchdowns. In addition to his four touchdowns through the air, Lorentz also put the Knights on the scoreboard early with an 18-yard scamper for a touchdown.

“The receivers made plays, the line made plays. The defense made plays,” McIntosh said.

And so did the Knights special teams.

Midway through the second quarter, as Colony held a 14-7 lead and pinned Wasilla deep in its own end, Colony defensive end Nathan Umbarger broke through the Warriors line and blocked a Wasilla punt. The ball popped loose and Jeremy Compton, the defensive end on the other side, scooped up the ball and made his way to the end zone for the short score.

“I was pumped when I got it,” Compton said.

Colony took the two-touchdown lead, but the Wasilla Warriors didn’t back down. Senior quarterback Ben Fielder drove the Warriors down the field late in the first half and connected with Cash McGregor on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the second quarter to cut Colony’s lead to 21-14.

With the Warriors eager to grab momentum, Colony junior lineman Justin Booth said the Knights kept their intensity throughout halftime and into the third quarter.

“We thought about it long and hard during halftime, and the boys on the sideline screaming got us fired up in the second half,” Booth said.

Wasilla nearly tied the game early in the third quarter. After a Colony punt, Wasilla junior Mitchell Rilatos took the carry on first down and brought the ball up the left side of the field 48 yards for a score.

Rilatos’ score brought Wasilla within a point, but Lorentz and the Colony passing game sealed the Knights’ win during the final two quarters of the game.

Lorentz completed eight passes in the second half. Bilafer had four catches for 48 yards and a touchdown during the final two quarters, and Bush hauled in both of his touchdown scores, catches of 36 and 12 yards, in the fourth quarter.

Colony answered the Rilatos touchdown immediately with a nine-play drive capped by a 19-yard Bilafer touchdown catch.

Rilatos paced the Wasilla offense during the loss with 166 yards on 23 carries. In addition to the 48-yard score, the junior also had a 33-yard carry in the first quarter. Fielder snuck in from 1-yard out to give the Warriors the early 7-0 lead with 5:42 left in the first. McGregor led Wasilla with 32 yards receiving and caught a touchdown pass for the third straight game.

Wasilla dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in Railbelt play with the loss. The Warriors suffered a 69-30 loss to Juneau-Douglas in Juneau last week. Wasilla has more than 500 yards of total offense and has scored a combined 50 points in the last two weeks, but has allowed 11 passing touchdowns and more than 600 yards through the air in its first two conference games.

Colony improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Railbelt with the win. With wins over medium-schools opponents Skyview and Kenai early in the season, McIntosh said the Knights knew they had to make a statement Friday.

“Absolutely. Every conference game is a statement game,” McIntosh said.

Colony 39, Wasilla 20

Friday, Veterans Memorial Field

First quarter

Wasilla — Fielder 1 run (Perry kick) 5:42.

Colony — Loretnz 18 run (Bilafer kick) 4:01.

Colony — Bilafer 17 pass from Lorentz (Bilafer kick) 2:04.

Second quarter

Colony — Compton 10 fumble return (Bilafter kick) 6:34.

Wasilla — McGregor 5 pass from Fielder (Perry kick) 0:16.

Third quarter

Wasilla — Rilatos 48 run (kick failed) 7:07.

Colony — Bilafer 19 pass from Lorentz (kick failed) 4:41.

Fourth quarter

Colony — Bush 36 pass from Lorentz (kick failed) 9:36.

Colony — Bush 12 pass from Lorentz (run failed) 2:42.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Colony: Niver 14-14, Summers 9-30, Lorentz 7-20, Ertz 3-8; Wasilla: Rilatos 23-166, Fielder 9-4, Wright 8-14, Lessard 3-(-2).

PASSING — Colony: Lorentz 15-31-1—226; Wasilla: Fielder 5-15-1—56.

RECEIVING — Colony: Bilafer 8-86, Bush 3-88, Hall 2-29, Campbell 2-23; Wasilla: McGregor 3-32, Morrison 1-13, Rilatos 1-11.