GO TIME!

HOUSTON — Houston High School switched on its football field lights in the second half for the first time Friday night. But early in the third quarter, the Kodiak Bears also turned it on.

Kodiak scored twice during a three-minute span early in the second half and held on for a 34-18 Northern Lights Conference victory over the Hawks at Houston High.

Charlie Johnson rumbled for a 53 yard touchdown less than two minutes into the third quarter to break a 6-6 tie and Chris Kamai darted into the end zone from 6 yards out less than three minutes later to pad the Kodiak lead and help the Bears improve to 1-0 in NLC play.

The Johnson score was one of a handful of big plays Kodiak used to score the conference win, and the senior’s effort seemed to summarize the game. On Kodiak’s first play of the second half, Johnson went to his left and appeared to be stopped near the line of scrimmage. But somehow, the Kodiak runner broke free, cut toward the right sideline and went the length for the touchdown.

“In that situation, I felt like we probably gave up more than they earned,” Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said. “We had a couple of opportunities to make tackles, and we didn’t make tackles. It was a good job of their guys staying busy, but we’ve got to be smarter, be better technicians, be better tacklers.”

Big plays separated the Bears and the Hawks Friday. Kodiak posted eight runs of 11 yards or more and five receptions of a dozen yards or better.

The Bears also needed only five offensive plays at the beginning of the third quarter to take a 6-6 game and turn it into a 20-6 lead. Johnson’s score was one of two Kodiak touchdowns that went for 32 yards or more and Kamai’s run came four players after a Houston fumble.

But Bouchard’s bunch continued to battle against a Kodiak squad that had scored at least 46 points in four of the last five meetings between the two teams. And that was something the longtime Houston mentor recognized.

“Our guys fought fantastically,” Bouchard said.

The Hawks used their own big plays to stay with the Bears for most of the contest.

Senior fullback Tyler Barron used a 31-yard carry in the second quarter to set up senior quarterback Beau Frank’s 2-yard touchdown run.

The Frank score tied the game at 6.

In the third, Barron plowed into the end zone from 3 yards out to cut into Kodiak’s two-score lead and bring the Hawks within a touchdown. Midway through the fourth quarter, Frank connected with wide receiver Jake Wells on a 39-yard touchdown pass.

“Our kids fought,” Bouchard said. “They were fighting the whole way through.”

Leading Houston’s new veer offense, Frank completed 7 of 12 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown.

“He threw the ball really well,” Bouchard said.

Barron rushed for a team-high 69 yards and a score. Frank added his short touchdown.

Wells, in his Houston football debut, snagged three passes for a team-high 79 yards. Senior Colton Buzby had three catches for 47 yards.

“We know we can score. Offensively, we’re pretty solid,” Bouchard said. “Defensively, we’re solid, but we’re just thin.”

The Hawks, who struggle with depth, hit the field without junior Charlie Buzby, a two-year starter who is out with injury. On the second play of the game, senior Russ Ruta, another two-way starter, was lost for the contest with an injury.

“We’re just super thin behind our starters,” Bouchard said.

Colton Buzby said the Hawks kept working, but are just shorthanded.

“We played as hard as we could,” Buzby said.

The game was historic for Houston High and its football program. With new field lights, installed in April, the Hawks hosted their first Friday night game in school history. Without lights, every home game in the past had a Saturday afternoon start.

The lights were turned on for the first time at the end of halftime.

“It was awesome to get to turn them on,” Bouchard said. “It felt good. It felt really good as they came on and we saw the field light up.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.

Kodiak 34, Houston 18

Friday, Houston High School

First quarter:

No scoring.

Second quarter

Kodiak — Lepola 11 run (kick blocked) 5:44.

Houston — Frank 2 run (run failed) 3:17.

Third quarter

Kodiak — Johnson 53 run (pass failed) 10:12.

Kodiak — Kamai 6 run (Lepola run ) 7:41.

Houston — T. Barron 3 run (kick blocked) 4:51.

Kodiak — Anderson 32 pass from Lepola (pass failed) 1:59.

Fourth quarter

Houston — Wells 39 pass from Frank (kick blocked) 6:24.

Kodiak — Kamai 5 run (Canete run) 2:42.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Kodiak: Johnson 11-120, Canete 9-58, Parsons 6-23, Kamai 5-19, Lepola 3-7; Houston: T. Barron 16-69, Frank 12-23, Smith 5-21.

PASSING — Kodiak: Lepola 7-12-0—121; Houston: Frank 8-15-0—129, Saecho 1-1-0—11.

RECEIVING — Kodiak: Johnson 4-57, Anderson 2-28, Parsons 1-13; Houston: Wells 3-79, Co. Buzby 3-47, Gauthier 3-15.