Hawks host Stars in Week 3

HOUSTON — When asked about the Soldotna Stars, Houston head coach Norm Bouchard transferred into a veritable human thesaurus.

“Fast, aggressive, tenacious,” Bouchard said as he rattled off words to describe the defending small-schools state champions, Houston’s Week 3 opponent.

The longtime Houston head coach knows his Hawks will see a tough Soldotna team when the Northern Lights Conference rivals meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Houston High School. The Stars have won four of the last five small-schools state titles and have spent the better part of a decade imparting almost cruel punishment on its small-schools foes. But Bouchard knows that for every Goliath, there’s a David ready to supply a knockdown blow.

Bouchard would love to be calling his players David sometime tonight.

“Someone’s got to knock them off that pedestal,” Bouchard said. “They’re the premiere team. Until someone can take that over, you’ve got to respect that. They deserve the attention they get.”

Bouchard said the ability to move the ball on offense and limiting Soldotna’s big play ability while the Stars are on offense will be key to Houston’s cause.

“They’re going to have some plays, they’re a good football team,” Bouchard said. “We need to limit their big plays to small plays.”

Soldotna traditionally boasts a top running attack, and once again has multiple options with its Wing-T attack.

Fullback Jared Duncan led the 2-0 Stars to a 29-28 nonconference win over Palmer with 97 yards a touchdown against the Moose. Tailback Austin Tennis added 78 yards rushing and a score.

The pair combined for more than 200 yards and four touchdowns during a Week 1 win over Eagle River.

If there’s a difference, Soldotna does not have the size it’s sported along the front line in years past.

“They’re not real big, but they’re very good at what they do,” Bouchard said.

Bouchard believes his team can also have success on offense tonight. The Hawks (0-1) used a Week 2 bye to spend time focusing on its new veer offense.

“I think we can move the football,” Bouchard said.

The Hawks will be missing a pair of running backs. Charlie Buzby will sit out another week with an injury. Hunter Smith has been sick and will not play. Russ Ruta, who suffered an injury during a Week 1 loss to Kodiak, will be used sparingly, Bouchard said.

Wasilla at Kenai

The Wasilla Warriors (0-2) face the Kenai Kardinals (2-0) tonight in Kenai. The nonconference match pits the large-schools Warriors against the 2010 small-schools runner-up.

Kenai improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the NLC with a 48-7 win over Skyview last week. Quarterback AJ Hull threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns. Hull ran for 94 yards and two scores. Hull even returned an interception 92 yards for another touchdown.

While Kenai has its all-around athlete in Hull, Wasilla also boasts a few weapons. Junior quarterback Ben Fielder is currently second in the state with 484 yards passing and seven touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Tyler Anderson is among the state’s best with 11 catches for 261 yards and five scores. Senior Braydon Kuiper has six catches for 171 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Wasilla dropped to 0-2 with a 30-27 loss to West Valley this week, but rallied from a lopsided deficit with a monster fourth-quarter effort.

Fielder threw for 269 of his 329 yards in the fourth quarter. He also tossed three touchdown passes as the Warriors scored 21 fourth-quarter points.

Palmer at

Juneau-Douglas

Palmer (1-1) is in Juneau to play the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears (2-0) tonight at 8 p.m.

Palmer, which opened the season with a 14-0 nonconference win over East Anchorage, suffered a 29-28 loss to Soldotna last week.

The Moose were within reach of moving to 2-0, but the Stars held Palmer on a late 2-point conversion attempt.

Senior all-state quarterback Jackson Buresh continues to pick up where he left off as a junior. Buresh rushed for a pair of touchdowns and a 2-point conversion. He now has three rushing scores on the year.

James Nisbett and Luke Heun also had rushing touchdowns for Palmer.

Juneau has coasted through the first two weeks of the season. The Crimson Bears opened with a 68-0 win over Capital City rival Thunder Mountain and followed with a 57-0 Railbelt Conference win over North Pole in the Interior last week.

Quarterback Phillip Fenumiai has accounted for more than 500 yards of total offense. The junior threw for 395 yards and five scores during the first two weeks and ran for 151 yards and four touchdowns.

Colony at West Valley

Colony (0-2) is in Fairbanks this weekend to face West Valley (1-1) Saturday at 4 p.m.

Even though the Knights remain winless after two weeks, Colony showed improvement during a 26-19 loss to Lathrop last Saturday.

Colony established a ground attack, with junior Wyatt Peltier rushing for a career-high 115 yards on 33 carries. Junior quarterback Rob Lorentz also threw for the first two touchdowns of his varsity career. Loretnz finished 17 of 30 for 90 yards and the two scores. Simon Root caught eight of those passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Daniel Bilafer added two catches for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Lathrop’s big plays proved to be the difference. The Malemutes posted a 66-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter and touchdown passes of 57 and 68 yards in the third.

West Valley improved to 1-1 and 1-0 in Railbelt play with a 30-27 win over Wasilla. During a Week 1 loss to Bartlett, West Valley had the majority of its offensive success through the air, but found its running game against the Warriors.

The Wolfpack churned more than 300 yards on the ground. JC Cummings led the team with 160 yards and a touchdown. Dominick Anderson added 71 yards.

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