Full slate of Friday home games

WASILLA — Last year, during its 3-5 season, the Wasilla defense allowed an average of 24 points and 307 yards per game.

Last Saturday, Wasilla opened its 2014 campaign against a Service squad that features six returning offensive starters from a 2013 team that averaged 42 points per game en route to its fourth straight trip to the state title game.

That all added up to a big test for the Wasilla defense. Even though the Warriors suffered a 14-6 nonconference loss to the Cougars, Wasilla head coach Kent Rilatos saw some positive things from his team.

“I thought our defense showed up and played really well,” Rilatos said Thursday afternoon. “It was pretty mistake-free.”

The Warriors committed only two penalties on defense, and forced turnovers. The defense finished with a fumble and interception. New Service quarterback Zyrelle Jones, a transfer from Bartlett, finished with 101 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception. The Cougars ran for 189 yards in the game.

After scoring on its first drive of the game, a 7-yard Jones touchdown pass, Service was held scoreless until late in the contest. Jones threw his second touchdown pass of the game, a 3-yard pass, with 2:41 left in regulation.

“We did everything we had to do to win the game,” Rilatos said of his team’s defense.

Rilatos said the Warriors need improvement on offense. Senior Devin Otto finished with a game-high 88 yards in the loss.

“He’s always going to be a hard runner,” Rilatos said of Otto.

Rilatos said the Service defense certainly keyed on the run.

“They kept eight, nine men in the box,” Rilatos said.

Wasilla finished with 118 yards rushing and 48 yards passing. Zack Garnett scored the team’s lone touchdown, a 6-yard run in the second quarter.

Wasilla celebrates its 2014 home opener tonight at 7 p.m. against Juneau-Douglas at Veterans Memorial Field. It’s one of four games in the Valley tonight at 7 p.m.

Juneau at Wasilla

Juneau-Douglas (1-0) is making the trip to Veterans Memorial Field for the third time in four years. The Warriors (0-1) are looking for their first win over the Crimson Bears since 2011 and only second over Juneau in school history.

Wasilla and Juneau are former Railbelt Conference rivals.

Juneau, now in the medium-schools Southeast Conference, opened the 2014 season with a 28-15 win over Kenai last week in Juneau. Senior quarterback Dorian Izaak led the Crimson Bears with 179 yards passing and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 63 yards and a score. Adam Empson and Manase Maake each had touchdown receptions of at least 29 yards in the first quarter.

The Bears finished with 157 yards rushing and 179 yards passing. Juneau allowed Kenai 182 yards on the ground and 10 through the air.

This marks the second straight week that Wasilla plays a team that played for a state title last season. Last week, the Warriors met large-schools runner-up Service. Juneau was the medium-schools runner-up last year.

Soldotna at Palmer

Palmer’s brutal schedule continues with its second straight game against a defending state champion.

Last week, Palmer opened the season with a 28-6 loss to defending large-schools state champ West Anchorage. Tonight, Palmer hosts Soldotna, the defending medium-schools champion.

Soldotna opened its season with a 53-6 win over Eagle River.

“It’s something else,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said recently of his team’s schedule. “The two returning state champions, and they’re both favored again this year.”

The Moose are also facing two of the top offenses in the state during the first two weeks, and offenses that are also polar opposites. Last week, West quarterback Sam Wedin threw for 344 yards against the Moose. Tonight, Palmer hosts a Soldotna team that rushed for 413 yards in the win over Eagle River.

Christiansen said he hopes experience against arguably the state’s top passing and running offenses during the first two weeks will help his team as the season progresses.

Despite the loss to the Eagles in Week 1, Christiansen said he saw some good things during his team’s season debut.

“All in all, we really improved as the game went along,” Christiansen said. “I’m really happy with the boys not giving up, fighting back.”

West used early momentum to build a big lead, and held a 28-0 advantage midway through the second quarter. The Moose held the Eagles scoreless in the second half. On offense, Palmer rushed for more than 220 yards. Seven different players had at least two carries in the game.

Jared Layton led the Moose with 53 yards on 15 carries. New starting quarterback Justin Roth threw his first career touchdown pass, a 4-yarder to Chase Ferris late in the first half. Ferris finished with 76 total yards in the game.

In typical Soldotna style, the Stars used their arsenal of backs to run all over Eagle River. Eight different players had at least two carries, and five different players had a touchdown. Drew Gibbs led the Stars with 146 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Ty Fenton added 113 yards and a score. Bailey Blumentritt finished with 73 yards and two touchdowns.

All of Soldotna’s scoring came in the first two quarters. Soldotna carries a state-best 21-game winning streak into tonight’s match. The last team to beat Soldotna was Palmer. The Moose scored a 27-7 victory over the Stars Aug. 11, 2012 in Soldotna.

West Valley at Colony

As its Valley rivals continue nonconference play, Colony opens its Railbelt Conference slate tonight against West Valley.

These teams met in the final game of the regular season last year, and Colony used a 41-12 win over the Wolfpack to clinch the 2013 Railbelt title.

Tonight, the Knights will also try to improve to 2-0. Colony opened the season with a 23-13 nonconference win over East Anchorage last Friday.

“It’s incredible. This team’s worked really hard in the offseason. I was very pleased with the team effort all around,” Colony head coach Brian McIntosh said after his team’s Week 1 win.

Colony outscored the T-Birds 16-6 in the final two quarters. East’s second-half points came on a 63-yard touchdown run during the final seconds of regulation.

Logan Conway led the Knights with 117 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. Steven Bilafer, making his first start at quarterback, connected with Tucker Looney on a 39-yard touchdown pass. Bilafer also rushed for 52 yards in the game.

Noah Sessom led the Knights with a pair of sacks on defense.

West Valley (0-1) opened its season with a 41-35 loss to former Railbelt rival North Pole. The Patriots, who now play in the medium-schools Southeast Conference, used a defensive stand at their own 1-yard line with less than 10 seconds left in regulation to preserve the victory.

Joshua Cummings led West Valley with 266 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Charles Suddeth also scored twice for West Valley.

Nikiski at Houston

Like everyone in the Valley, Houston is hosting a game tonight at 7 p.m. Like Palmer, Houston is hosting a defending state champion.

Nikiski, the 2013 small-schools state champs, visits Houston tonight. Nikiski (1-0) opened its season with a 42-19 win over Thunder Mountain last week on the Peninsula. The Bulldogs finished with 402 yards on offense. Three different players topped the 100-yard mark.

Houston suffered a 14-7 loss to Seward in Week 1. Seward led 14-0 early. Vanu Morse scored a 14-yard touchdown run in the second half.

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

• Soldotna at Palmer, tonight, 7 p.m. • Juneau at Wasilla, tonight, 7 p.m.

• Nikiski at Houston, tonight, 7 p.m. • West Valley at Colony, tonight, 7 p.m.