Defense reigns in Knights win over Lathrop

PALMER — A week after notching its first shutout of rival Palmer in school history, the Colony defense came up big once again.

The Colony defense forced five turnovers to help the Knights hold on and secure a 12-9 Railbelt Conference win over the Lathrop Malemutes Friday at Colony High School.

“Defense wins games. Our defense won us that game,” Colony senior lineman Ryan Wharry said after the win.

Colony, which improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in Railbelt play, jumped to a quick lead with a pair of Steven Bilafer touchdown passes. Bilafer connected with sophomore Jake Hessinger on a 17-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter. Early in the second, Bilafer found sophomore Jon Pomrenke for a 19-yard score.

But as the Knights held the 12-0 lead, the game switched to a defensive battle.

After allowing a pair of Colony touchdowns during the first 15 minutes of play, the Lathrop defense stood strong, holding Colony scoreless for the final two-and-a-half quarters of play, and to less than 200 yards of total offense. But Colony’s defense proved to be the difference in the game, forcing the five turnovers, four interceptions and a fumble recovery.

“With as many turnovers as our defense caused, that kept us in the game 100 percent. That won us the game,” Colony head coach Rhett Magner said. “Lathrop has an amazing offense. For us to cause that many turnovers, that opened our eyes a little bit.”

Colony intercepted three Lathrop passes in the first half. Hessigner recorded two of the interceptions, and senior Jordan Nero snagged another. Sophomore Parker Kizer had a key interception in the fourth quarter.

“Coach Magner really preaches defense,” Wharry said. “He works very hard with our defensive backs. It’s not a surprise. We have very athletic defensive backs.”

Lathrop’s defense put the Malemutes on the scoreboard late in the first half, with a pack of Malemutes sacking Bilafer in the end zone.

Lathrop opened the third quarter with its best offensive drive of the night, using 10 plays to move 61 yards down the field. The drive was capped by Scotty McKinstry’s 4-yard touchdown run. That cut Colony’s lead to 12-9.

Trailing by only three in the fourth quarter, Lathrop had a pair of opportunities in Colony territory. The Malemutes were 10 plays into a drive, and threatening, but Kizer picked off a Lathrop pass, the fourth interception of the game.

After Colony’s next drive stalled, a short Knights punt and Lathrop return gave the Malemutes the ball on the Colony 20-yard line. But on the next play, Bilafer recovered a Lathrop fumble, giving the ball right back to the Knights.

“That’s kind of what we’ve lacked the last couple of years, our defensive unit stepping up,” Magner said. “They did it five or six times.”

With the win, Colony jumped to the top of the Railbelt Conference with its 1-0 record. Lathrop is now second in the four-team conference with a 1-1 mark. Wasilla is 0-1 in conference play, and West Valley has yet to play a conference game. The win was big for Colony, but Wharry said the Knights need to continue to move forward.

“The only place to go is up from here,” Wharry said. “We just need to work hard. Obviously, it’s great to get our first conference win. We’re very happy. We just hope to continue to progress the way we are.”

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

Colony 12, Lathrop 9

Sept. 4, Colony High School

First quarter:

Colony — Hessinger 17 pass from Bilafer (kick failed) 4:51.

Second quarter:

Colony — Pomrenke 19 pass from Bilafer (pass failed) 9:44.

Lathrop — Safety, Bilafer tackled in end zone.

Third quarter:

Lathrop — McKinstry 4 touchdown (kick good) 7:38.

Fourth quarter:

No scoring.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Lathrop: McKinstry 17-80, Gl. Maiden 9-6, Pelayo 6-0, Henry 5-46, Kent 2-3, Brown 1-15; Colony: Bilafer 17-27, Havel 10-21, Nero 5-6, Hessinger 1-0.

PASSING — Lathrop: Gl. Maiden 6-20-4—107; Colony: Bilafer 7-14-0—99.

RECEIVING — Lathrop: Ka. Martin 2-25, Ga. Maiden 1-33, Salcido 1-19, Ko. Martin 1-19, Chapman 1-11; Colony: Boyer 2-49, Pomrenke 2-30, Nero 2-3, Hessinger 1-17.