Hawks rebound at home

HOUSTON — There’s no place like home.

After three grueling weeks on the road, the Houston Hawks returned to the friendly confines of Terry Shurtleff Field and snapped a three-game losing skid with a 41-0 win over Monroe Catholic Friday night in Houston.

“It felt good to get home in front of the home crowd,” Houston head coach Glenn Nelson said after the win.

Senior Noah Griffeth scored two of Houston’s five first-half touchdowns to help Houston improve to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in Aurora Conference play. Houston’s win also kept the Hawks alive in the race for the conference’s two automatic bids to Alaska’s small schools state playoffs. Monroe (3-2 overall, 0-2 in the Aurora Conference) was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.

“We’re still in the playoff hunt. We still have a chance,” Nelson said.

The Hawks also continued their success at home. At Houston High, the Hawks are now 3-0 this season, outscoring opponents 108-26. It’s been a different story on the road. The Hawks are 0-3 away from Houston High, and have been outscored 119-6 on the road. Houston’s three-game road stretch included long treks to Barrow, Kenai and Nikiski.

“We were a little too pumped up for that Barrow game. Kenai’s just big, and we didn’t play well at Nikiski,” Nelson said.

Friday, Houston’s play on defense and special teams helped set up a big night for the Hawks offense. Houston held Monroe to negative yardage in the first half, and only 32 total yards in the game. The Hawks also tackled the Monroe punter for a 14-yard loss on Monroe’s first attempt at a punt in the game, and recovered two Monroe fumbles on Rams kickoff returns.

Houston’s special teams play also included Kelii VanTyler’s 82-yard return for a score on the opening kickoff of the second half.

“We spent a lot of time on that this week, and it paid off,” Nelson said of special teams.

Griffeth scored on a pair of 4-yard runs in the first quarter to give the Hawks the early 14-0 lead. Ben Pelesasa added a 9-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter.

A pair of Houston signal callers tossed touchdown passes in the second quarter. Starter Kolby Taylor connected Kendal Ruta on a 45-yard touchdown pass. Robert Ritter hit Dakota Watson for a 5-yard score.

Grant Olson led the Rams with 44 yards on 10 carries. Olson had Monroe’s longest gain of the night, a 28-yard run in the second half.

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

Houston 41, Monroe 0

Sept. 18, Houston High

First quarter:

Houston — Griffeth 4 run (Ruth kick) 8:39.

Houston — Griffeth 4 run (Ruth kick) 2:50.

Second quarter:

Houston — Pelesasa 9 run (Ruth kick) 11:11.

Houston — Watson 5 pass from Ritter (Ruth kick) 8:58.

Houston — Ruta 45 pass from Taylor (Ruth kick) 7:28.

Third quarter:

Houston — VanTyler 82 kick return (kick blocked) 11:48.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Monroe: Olson 10-44, Meyer 10-2, Davis 6-(-16), Gray 4-(-2); Houston: Sanderlin 7-13, Griffeth 5-23, Wilson 4-(-1), Jirik 3-41, Graham 3-11, Taylor 2-27, Ruta 1-12, Pelesasa 1-9, Croghan 1-9, Seims 1-5, Landi 1-3, Bolduc 1-3, No. 4 1-3, Ritter 1-(-4).

PASSING — Monroe: Meyer 2-9-0—3; Houston: Taylor 7-11-0—70, Sanderlin 3-4-1—7, Ritter 1-2-0—5.

RECEIVING — Monroe: Bailey 2-3; Houston: Ruta 3-62, Watson 2-11, Ritter 2-8, VanTyler 2-(-3), Jirik 1-5, Griffeth 1-(-1).