Defending conference champs hope to continue moving forward

WASILLA — Last season, the Wasilla Warriors enjoyed arguably their school’s most successful varsity football season in more than a decade.

With rookie head coach Kent Rilatos at the lead, Wasilla won its final six games of the regular season, earned its first conference title since 1999 and hosted its first postseason game since 2007.

So, how important is 2012?

“It’s just as important as last year. The goals are still the same,” Rilatos said after his team’s practice Friday evening. “We want to stay a family. Everyone helps everyone else so we can do the best we can to move forward as a program. Success will come with hard work and dedication.”

Rilatos’ Warriors aim to return to their 2011 form and remain among the top teams in the perennially tough Railbelt Conference. In order to do so, Rilatos knows a number of younger or more inexperienced players will have to step up and into roles vacated by Wasilla’s 21 graduated seniors.

“We’re very young for sure,” Rilatos said.

Rilatos said the bulk of Wasilla’s experience lies on the offensive side of the ball. Among the top returners is incoming senior quarterback Ben Fielder, who earned first-team All-Railbelt and second-team all-state honors as a junior. Fielder was among the state’s best last year, completing 85 passes for 1,691 yards. He also tossed 23 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions.

Rilatos said Fielder hit the practice field this year as a bigger, better quarterback.

“Ben’s put in the time in the weight room and has done a lot of camps to get better,” Rilatos said.

Rilatos said Fielder has also added about 15 pounds of muscle mass, which should make the Warriors signal caller more of a threat to run the ball.

With Fielder behind center, Rilatos said Wasilla should present a versatile attack. Fielder will run and throw the ball. He’ll also have a solid group of running backs to hand the ball off to. Wasilla lost last season’s leading rusher and Railbelt Offensive Player of the Year Devon Teeling to graduation. But junior Mitchell Rilatos returns after a promising tail end to the season. The younger Rilatos rushed for 56 yards during a Potato Bowl win over Palmer and 82 in a playoff loss to West Anchorage. Mitchell Rilatos will be joined in the backfield by senior Jake Lessard and junior Quace Wright.

Lessard will know and play each of Wasilla’s three positions in the backfield, Kent Rilatos said. Wright is a converted guard who missed virtually all of his sophomore season after suffering a major injury during the first week of the season last year.

Rilatos is excited about the prospect of Wright, a standout wrestler and former starting lineman, in the backfield.

“This year he came in super strong, as always,” Rilatos said of Wright. “For his size he also has an extreme amount of speed.”

Rilatos said Wright will be used both as a runner and a blocker.

Despite the loss of Wright to the backfield, the Warriors still return three starting offensive lineman to its front five. Senior Austin Ring returns for his third year as a varsity starter to anchor the line at center. He’ll be flanked once again by returning starting guards William Hightower and Jake Evans.

Rilatos said the return of the interior of the offensive line is big for the Warriors. A handful of players are still fighting for the tackle positions, he said.

While the Warriors have experience on the line, a new crop of receivers will be working to catch Fielder’s passes. All-state wide receiver Tyler Anderson (31 catches, 795 yards, 15 touchdowns) and all-state tight end Braydon Kuiper (21-408-4) graduated. Zach Adair (13-235-3) moved out of state. Promising underclassmen Dane Kuiper, a Wasilla High basketball standout, will not play football this year, Rilatos said.

That leaves Cash McGregor and Mitchell Rilatos as the only returning Warriors with a varsity catch last year. Each had two catches during the season.

With plenty of room to contribute, Kent Rilatos said the Wasilla coaching staff will be looking to a handful of players to line up on the outside. McGregor and fellow junior Isaiah Dawkins will be in line for starting spots. Seniors Corey Hogan and Chance Morrison, who have played primarily defense, Rilatos said, will also play at the receiver spots.

Rilatos is also looking for McGregor to be a top player on the defensive side of the ball. Last year, McGregor played in the defensive backfield, but he has been moved up to man the middle linebacker spot in 2012. Leading the charge up front is senior Dakota Hermans, who will play both defensive end and defensive tackle.

Rilatos said he expects Wasilla’s defensive linemen to be a strong group. That unit also includes Evans, Hightower, junior Billy Schultz, junior Cody Dedrick and junior Morgan Belgarde.

Hogan, Morrison, Coultin Westcott and Conner Minnick will work within the defensive backfield.

Wasilla begins its 2012 campaign Saturday against the Bartlett Golden Bears at Anchorage Football Stadium. Bartlett features first-year head coach Daniel Esparza, who coached at West Valley last season.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.