Colony sweeps top Railbelt awards

PALMER — During the 2014 season, the Colony Knights allowed a league-high 36.5 points per game during Railbelt Conference play. The Knights surrendered a combined 99 points during back-to-back losses to league rivals Lathrop and Wasilla.

After taking the reins of the Knights football program prior to the 2015 campaign, first-year head coach Rhett Magner knew the Knights needed dramatic improvement on the defensive side of the football.

Magner also knew he’d need a few of the Colony veterans to help create change.

Senior Jordan Nero became the leader of the resurgence.

“A lot of it, he had a lot to prove this year. The defense, they kind of struggled last year. (Jordan) took it personally,” Magner said of Nero.

In just one year, the Knights completely turned it around. After finishing last in points allowed in conference play in 2014, the 2015 Nero-led Knights boasted the top scoring defense in the state at any level.

The Railbelt took notice, and Nero landed one of the conference’s top awards.

Nero was named the Railbelt Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

The Knights featured their fair share of standouts on the defensive side, placing four defenders on the first team and three on the second, but Magner said Nero was the leader of the unit.

“To me it wasn’t a difficult sell, as well defensively as the team did all year long,” Magner said. “It was Jordan Nero who was responsible for everyone’s best player. We’d match Jordan Nero with everyone’s best player. If we stop (the best) player, we’re definitely going to have success.”

And Nero didn’t do all of that work from one spot on the field. The senior was used all over the defense, lining up at safety, cornerback and outside linebacker.

“He’s just a competitor at heart,” Magner said.

Magner said a career in wrestling helped Nero make an impact at a variety of positions.

“Some of it has to do with his background in wrestling. It’s really why I was comfortable with sticking him in the box, letting him play the outside linebacker position. He’s not as big, not a prototypical linebacker, but he’s so aggressive. He knows how to control his body, he knows how to take people down,” Magner said.

Nero, and linebackers Cade Havel, Nolan Martin and Dawson Nash garned first-team honors for a Knights defense that allowed a state-low 15 points per game. Colony capped its regular season with a six-game winning streak, allowing less than five points per game during that stretch.

The Colony defense forced 23 turnovers in 2015 and didn’t allow a passing touchdown until its playoff loss to Dimond.

Nero wasn’t the only Knight to score a Railbelt top honor. Senior quarterback Steven Bilafer was named the Railbelt Offensive Player of the Year. Magner said even though the Colony offense as a whole struggled with growing pains as the Knights made the move from a spread offense to a system based on the triple-option, Bilafer continued to excel.

“He didn’t have the stats he’d prefer for his senior year, but he won us games. The decisions he made late in games won us a bunch of games,” Magner said of Bilafer.

In the new system, Bilafer amassed more than 1,000 yards of total offense. He passed for 790 yards, and led the Knights with 490 yards rushing. Bilafer accounted for 11 of his team’s 15 rushing touchdowns, and added four touchdown passes.

It marked the second straight season in which Bilafer topped the 700-yard passing and 400-yard rushing marks.

Magner said Bilafer continued to improve in the new offense.

“As soon as he started picking it up, making the right reads, commanding the offense, you could see how comfortable he got,” Magner said. “The back half of the season he got pretty comfortable, and did really well.”

Bilafer was also a key asset in just about every facet of the game, and the Railbelt recognized that. In addition to his top honor, Bilafer was named first-team All-Railbelt at quarterback and punter, and second-team all-conference at defensive back.

Bilafer was one of three Knights to earn first-team All-Railbelt honors. Nero earned the nod at running back and Jon Pomrenke at wide receiver.

Bilafer (defensive back), Havel (fullback), Nash (running back), offensive lineman Isaiah Christy, defensive back Parker Kizer and defensive end Cooper Sant earned second-team honors for the Knights.

Colony’s leader of the defense on the sidelines was also honored. Knights defensive coordinator Norm Bouchard was named Railbelt Assistant Coach of the Year.

“Norm has brought that kind of old school physicality back to the defensive side of the ball,” Magner said of Bouchard, a longtime Valley football coach and former head coach at Houston High. “That’s exactly what I wanted this year. He’s coached a lot of football. He knows what it takes, both physically and mentally, to win.”

Colony finished 6-3 overall and 3-0 in the Railbelt.

Wasilla landed five players on the first team, with four on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end Austin Sodorff, linebacker Caleb Drumm, and defensive backs Justin Lee and Beau Cork were named to the first team, alongside wide receiver Jaden Walkemeyer.

Offensive linemen Chase Minnick and Joey Stull, defensive linemen Kyle Savok and Paul Mata’u and linebacker Aeron Milliron earned second-team honors for WHS.

Carson Reed was named the top kicking specialist, and Lee earned honors for top return specialist.

Lathrop mentor Rusty Ham, who had announced 2015 will be his last season with the Malemutes, was named Railbelt Coach of the Year.

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

All-Railbelt Conference

Offensive Player of the Year: Steven Bilafer, Colony

Defensive Player of the Year: Jordan Nero, Colony

Lineman of the Year: Ji Daniel Jeong, Lathrop

Coach of the Year: Rusty Ham, Lathrop

Assistant Coach of the Year: Norm Bouchard, Colony

First-team offense:

Quarterback — Steven Bilafer, Colony; Running back — Garrius Maiden, Lathrop; Jordan Nero, Colony; Wide receiver — Jaden Walkemeyer, Wasilla; Ricardo Henry, Lathrop; Jon Pomrenke, Colony; Brandon Joyner, West Valley; Offensive line — Ji Daniel Jeong, Lathrop; Anthony Hattal, Lathrop; Cooper Sant; Colony; Gideon Cole, West Valley; Jake Foshee, West Valley.

First-team defense:

Defenisve line — Austin Sodorff, Wasilla; Ji Daniel Jeong, Lathrop; Detrale Hardney, Lathrop; Jordan Silva, West Valley; Linebacker — Caleb Drumm, Wasilla; Scotty McKinstry, Lathrop; Cade Havel, Colony; Nolan Martin, Colony; Dawson Nash, Colony; Elijah Blackweasel, West Valley; Jonas Post, West Valley; Defensive back — Justin Lee, Wasilla; Beau Cork, Wasilla; Jordan Nero, Colony.

First-team special teams:

Kicking specialist — Carson Reed, Wasilla; Punter — Steven Bilafer, Colony; Long snapper — Jake Foshee, West Valley; Return specialist — Justin Lee, Wasilla.

Second-team offense:

Quarterback — Zach Lester, West Valley; Glenn Maiden Jr, Lathrop; Running back — Nick Alexander, Wasilla; Josh Cummings, West Valley; Dawson Nash, Colony; Fullback — Cade Havel, Colony; Offensive line — Chase Minnick, Wasilla; Joey Stull, Wasilla; Ethan Campbell, West Valley; Isaiah Christy, Colony; Austin Northup, Lathrop.

Second-team defense:

Defensive line — Kyle Savok, Wasilla; Paul Mata’u; Thomas Allen, West Valley; Cooper Sant, Colony; Linebacker — Aeron Milliron, Wasilla; Domtae Brown, Lathrop; Fabian Pelayo, Lathrop; Defensive back — Jayshawn Atkins, West Valley; Preston Damario, West Valley; Parker Kizer, Colony; Steven Bilafer, Colony; Garrius Maiden, Lathrop; Sergio Salcido, Lathrop.

Honorable mention offense:

Quarterback — Hunter Hongslo, Wasilla; Running back — Aeron Milliron, Wasilla; Fullback — Scotty McKinstry, Lathrop; Wide receiver — Kobe Titus-Milk, Lathrop; Charles Ward, Wasilla; Daniel Birklid, West Valley; Tyler Boyer, Colony; Tight end — Sergio Salcido, Lathrop; Offensive line — Wyatt Brasier, Lathrop; Jordy Smith, Lathrop; Ben Frick, Wasilla; Preston Kulik, West Valley; Nate Fitch, West Valley; Noah Sessom, Colony; Ryan Wharry, Colony.

Honorable mention defense:

Defensive line — Josh Davis, Colony; Isaiah Christy, Colony; Chris Tolver, Lathrop; Tyler Boyer, Colony; Alex Alvarado, Colony; Linebacker — Jake Hessinger, Colony; Omar Chapman, Lathrop; Defensive back — Carson Reed, Wasilla; Nick Detherow, Wasilla; Mekhi Omnik, West Valley; Enrique Agnew, West Valley.

Honorable mention special teams:

Kicking specialist — Wyatt Marshall, West Valley.