Defense leads way for Warriors

ANCHORAGE — Daniel Esparza has made big changes since returning to his alma mater to become head coach of the Bartlett Golden Bears. The ex-West Valley Wolfpack leader scrapped the Wing-T, an offensive formation synonymous with Golden Bear football, in favor of the more fancy spread offense.

And with the spread, Bartlett nearly rallied its way to Esparza’s first victory. But the Wasilla Warriors used a number of key defensive stops to spoil Esparza’s debut and hold on for the 21-14 win over the Golden Bears at Anchorage Football Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Junior Cash McGregor intercepted a pass, the Warriors forced a pair of second-half turnovers and Wasilla stopped Bartlett in Warrior territory three times in the fourth quarter en route to the seven-point nonconference win.

“Our defense really stepped up at the end,” Wasilla second-year head coach Kent Rilatos said after the victory. “There were a bunch of guys out there playing the hardest they can. I’m really proud of that.”

McGregor, who moved up to captain the defense from his middle linebacker position, was one of a number of Warriors in new roles to stand out. Chance Morrison made big plays in the secondary. Cyrus Dedrick helped contain a fast Bartlett offense from his defensive line spot. Corey Hogan, making his first varsity start, returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown.

Hogan also filled in for starting kicker Kyler Perry, who is out of town on a soccer trip.

“For his first varsity game, getting out there, kicking extra points, a pick-six, making big plays on defense. You can’t ask for a better first varsity game,” Rilatos said of Hogan.

After graduating 21 seniors from a squad that won the Railbelt Conference title last season, Rilatos was happy to see newcomers excel.

“We had guys out there, some of them were new to football, some of them were new to the positions they were at,” Rilatos said. “I’m really proud of that. They were hustling their butts off.”

Wasilla built a 14-0 lead with a 1-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Ben Fielder and the Hogan score, but Bartlett rallied to tie the score early in the fourth quarter.

Bartlett sophomore quarterback Zyrelle Jones started the game with four straight incompletions and threw the interception that as returned by Hogan for a Wasilla touchdown, but capped his first half with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Bradley Johnson.

Jones finished the game with an un-Bartlett like 38 pass attempts. Rilatos said the Warriors weren’t sure what to expect from the Golden Bear offense.

“It was a little different,” Rilatos said. “We prepared during the week for the Wing-T and a little bit of spread. We weren’t sure what they were going to do. We prepared for the Wing-T, which is what they’ve always done, and they came and jumped right out with the spread. It was kind of a surprise to us, but I think we adjusted well.”

Jones, who completed 15 passes for 185 yards, also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to D’Coursey Reynolds early in the third quarter to tie the game.

Jones tried to give his team a chance to tie the game a number of times in the fourth quarter, but each time the Wasilla defense came up big.

Early in the fourth, with Bartlett in the red zone, Wasilla forced a fumble at their own 10-yard line to get the ball back.

On Bartlett’s next possession, the Bears drove to the 25-yard line, but Jones threw four straight incompletions.

On their final possession of the game, during the final minute of the game, Bartlett drove back into Wasilla territory. The final seconds ran off the clock when Wasilla’s Dakota Hermans sacked Jones at the Wasilla 23-yard line.

McGregor hauled in the go-ahead touchdown pass late in the third quarter. With the score tied at 14, Fielder found McGregor in the end zone for a 20-yard score.

Mitchell Rilatos led the Warriors with a game-high 120 yards rushing. Rilatos also had a 58-yard touchdown run called back due to a penalty. Tailback Jake Lessard and fullback Quace Wright combined for 64 yards in the win.

“With Mitchell and Lessard, it gives us two different gears. And then we put the big bowling ball in there and let him rumble down the field,” Kent Rilatos said, referring to his fullback, Wright.

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

Wasilla 21, Bartlett 14

Saturday, Anchorage Football Stadium

First quarter

Wasilla — Fielder 1 run (Hogan kick) 1:35.

Second quarter

Wasilla — Hogan 25 interception return (Hogan kick) 2:47.

Bartlett — Johnson 7 pass from Jones (run failed), 1:11.

Third quarter

Bartlett — Reynolds 9 pass from Jones (Heckmann run) 9:40.

Wasilla — McGregor 20 pass from Fielder (Hogan kick) 4:18.

Fourth quarter

No scoring.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Wasilla: Rilatos 22-120, Lessard 7-34, Wright 7-30, Fielder 6-26, Morrison 2-8; Bartlett: Heckmann 14-65, Jones 13-28, Parker 5-8, Irving 3-(-17), Rowland 1-16, Hoffman 1-4, Washington 1-3.

PASSING — Fielder 6-17-1—79; Bartlett: Jones 15-38-2—185.

RECEIVING — Wasilla: Dawkins 2-18, Morrison 2- 29, McGregor 1-20, Rilatos 1-12; Bartlett: Irving 4-63, Rowland 3-31, Mahe 2-36, Johnson 2-21, Stalker 1-10, Heckmann 1-10, Reynolds 1-9, Hoffman 1-5.