Colony senior named Railbelt Lineman of the Year

PALMER — Early in the 2016 season, the Colony Knights lost one of their top linemen, Jarrett Villastrigo, to a season-ending injury. As a senior in 2017, Villastrigo was back, even stronger, and helped pave the way for Colony’s return to the playoffs.

Earlier this week, Villastrigo was named the Railbelt Conference Lineman of the Year.

“It goes to show, after suffering an injury you can come back and be stronger,” Colony head coach Rhett Magner said.

Villastrigo, a standout at both offensive tackle and defensive end, was also named first-team All-Railbelt on both sides of the ball.

“He’s the anchor on both our offensive and defensive lines,” Magner said.

Magner said when he nominated Villastrigo for the award, he was excited to hear the response from fellow coaches during the annual Railbelt meeting.

“It was really cool to get the response he did. The coaches around the Railbelt and nothing but good things to say about him,” Magner said.

Villastrigo is not the biggest lineman. He stands at 6-foot-4, but is listed at 200 pounds on the roster. But his skill set separates him from the pack, Magner said.

“He’s not a heavy guy, but he has really good lateral quickness,” Magner said.

And that is a key in Colony’s blocking scheme on offense.

“He strikes people very, very hard. His’ forte on the offensive side of the ball is he fires off so fast,” Magner said. “Being able to fire off the ball, he can strike people really hard, hit really hard.”

Villastrigo and the Colony offensive line helped the Knights rush for more than 2,500 yards this season. On defense, Villastrigo led Colony with seven sacks and 15 tackles for a loss. He finished with 46 tackles, 33 assists, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Villastrigo was one of only two players in the Railbelt named first-team on both sides of the ball. Chugiak senior Derryk Snell, the Railbelt Offensive Player of the Year, was named first-team at both running back and linebacker. Villastrigo was also one of seven Knights named first-team all-conference. Junior Noah Krozel, who finished 27 and 29 on PAT attempts and booted six field goals, was named the conference’s most outstanding kicking specialist. Senior quarterback Parker Kizer, senior offensive tackle Kaleb Reaves, senior running back Jon Pomrenke, senior linebacker Jake Hessinger and junior defensive back Julian McPhail were all named first-team.

Wasilla also placed five players on the first team. Senior defensive lineman, senior quarterback Aeron Milliron, senior offensive lineman TJ Laumatia and senior offensive lineman Michael Evans were all named to the first team.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

All-Railbelt Conference

Offensive Player of the Year: Derryk Snell, Chugiak

Defensive Player of the Year: Peter Giannulis, Chugiak

Lineman of the Year: Jarrett Villastrigo, Colony

Utility Player of the Year: Zach Kosa, Lathrop

Coach of the Year: Roger Spackman, Chugiak

Assistant Coach of the Year: Keaton Homer, Chugiak

First-team offense:

Quaterback — Hunter Harr, Chugiak; Parker Kizer, Colony; Aeron Milliron, Wasilla; Running back — Derryk Snell, Chugiak; Jon Pomrenke, Colony; Sean McDermott, Wasilla; Preston Damario, West Valley; Wide receiver — Zach Kosa, Lathrop; Chateau Reed, Lathrop; Tight end — Tyler Carlos, Chugiak; Tackle — Kaleb Reaves, Colony; Jarrett Villastrigo, Colony; Corbin Tomaszewski, Lathrop; Offensive line — TJ Laumatia, Wasilla; Michael Evans, Wasilla

First-team defense:

Defensive line — Arron Martinez, Wasilla; Defensive end — Peter Giannulis, Chugiak; Jarrett Villastrigo, Colony; Linebacker — Judah Kesler, Chugiak; Derryk Snell, Chugiak; Jake Hessinger, Colony; Deondric Henderson, Lathrop; Wyatt Story, Lathrop; Defensive back — Ramal Maad, Chugiak; Ace Chapple, Chugiak; Julian McPhail, Colony; Buddy Bockert, Lathrop; Enrique Agnew, West Valley; Lance Joyner, West Valley

First-team special teams:

Kicker — Noah Krozel, Colony; Punter — Ethan Raygor, West Valley; Kick returner — Chateau Reed, Lathrop; Braden Anders, Lathrop.

Second-team offense:

Quarterback — Josh Hernandez, Lathrop; Running back — Jake Hessinger, Colony; Jordan Quenga, Wasilla; Matt Trask, Wasilla; Fullback — Kaiden Jiminez, Colony; Wide receiver — Ramal Maad, Chugiak; Conner Wager; Tight end — Merrik Stacey, West Valley; Guard — Tyshawn Candley-Horn, Chugiak; Center — Bradley Amato, Colony; Offensive line — Thomas Rivera, Wasilla; Isiah Warner, West Valley; Brenden Foster, West Valley

Second-team defense:

Defensive line — Brandon Holmes, Colony; Riley Kulash, Lathrop; Defensive end — Tyler Carlos, Chugiak; Linebacker — Terry Park Jr, Chugiak; Cody Gamble, Colony; Braden Anders, Lathrop; Jace Henry, Lathrop; Zach Shogren, Wasilla; Nate Sturgeon, Wasilla; Joe Kimbrough, West Valley; Defensive back — Chase Wedel, Chugiak; Ian Stover, Chugiak; Parker Kizer, Colony; Zach Kosa, Lathrop; Carlos Wheeler, Wasilla; Chase Fields-Colbert, West Valley.

Honorable mention offense:

Quarterback — Maurice Maiden, West Valley; Running back — Austin Harr, Chugiak; Eric Christy, Colony; Wide receiver — Jarek Schultz, Colony; Julian McPhail, Colony; Juan Mendez, Lathrop; Michael Zadra, Colony; Devyon Burt, Wasilla; Xavier Simon, West Valley; Tight end — Reilly Devine, Wasilla; Offensive line — Colin Caldwell, Chugiak; Daniel Fujimoto, Chugiak; Brandon Holmes, Colony; Danny Panama, Lathrop; AJ Olo, Lathrop; Justin Morales, Lathrop; Chase Brown, Lathrop; Jonathon Miller, Wasilla; Jarvis Parker, West Valley; Lucas Calederia, West Valley.

Honorable mention defense:

Defensive line — Matt Davis, Chugiak; Carter Newell, Chugiak; Torrin Girrard, Chugiak; Jarek Schultz, Colony; Jacob Norton, Wasilla; Kyle Graham, Wasilla; Emmitt Millhouse, Wasilla; Linebacker — Devin Lamb, Colony; Defensive back — Jacob Oshesky, Chugiak; Eric Christy, Colony; Justin Cummings,