Hawks fly to win over Redington

WASILLA — Houston had one final tune-up before heading into the Division III postseason, and the Hawks took advantage of it.

Houston flew to a 52-0 win over rival Redington Saturday night at Redington.

“It was a great game all around,” Houston head coach Jared Barrett said after the win. “I loved everything. Offense, defense, special teams.”

The Hawks amassed 474 yards of total offense, en route to finishing 7-1 overall during the regular season.

“I loved everything we did on offense. Our mix of running and passing, moving the ball down the field,” Barrett said.

Quarterback Carter Seime completed 9 of 13 passes for 114 yards and four touchdowns.

“Carter had an amazing day,” Barrett said.

Houston senior Keldin Nicoll hauled in three of those touchdown throws, and finished with four catches for 67 yards. Nicoll caught three touchdown passes for the second straight week, and has 12 touchdown grabs this season.

Hunter Craig also had four catches for 44 yards, and a touchdown. Craig nearly had a second touchdown catch, but was called down at the 1-yard line. Seime followed with a 1-yard touchdown plunge.

Junior Aiden McDonnell enjoyed a career night, leading the Hawks with 159 yards rushing and a score. Junior Noah Whitted ran for 146 yards, on only seven carries, and scored twice. Whitted had two carries in the second half, and broke free for touchdowns of 19 and 31 yards.

The Houston defense held Redington to nine yards rushing and 85 yards passing. Sophomore Kaedon Saxton led the Huskies with seven catches for 47 yards.

Houston will now face Barrow in the Division III semifinals, Saturday afternoon in Barrow.

“It’s going to be a tough game, but we can do it,” Barrett said. “I believe in the boys. We can go up there and take care of business.”

Houston finished 7-1 overall, but finished in a three-way tie at 4-1 with Kenai and Barrow on the conference standings. Kenai won the first tiebreaker, defensive points allowed among the three teams in a tie, and is seeded first and will host fourth-seeded Homer. Barrow handed Houston its lone loss of the regular season, and is seeded second with the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Regardless, Barrett said the top four teams in Division III are very close.

“It’s going to be a battle,” Barrett said of the playoffs.

Redington ended its season 0-8.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontierman.com.