Hawks run past Kings, remain undefeated

HOUSTON — The Houston Hawks are soaring.

Houston amassed 626 yards of total offense and cruised to 40-0 nonconference victory over the Ketchikan Kings at Terry Shurtleff Field on Saturday. The Hawks (4-0) remain unbeaten at the haflway point of the season, and will now prepare for the Soldotna Stars. Houston will head south next week to take on the two-time defending small-schools state champions.

Senior Kyle Sumner caught a 55-yard Jordan Webb touchdown pass and run for a 54-yard scoring run in the first quarter to spark the Hawks. Senior Ryan Contreras added a 52-yard touchdown run in a first half in which the Hawks recorded 476 total yards.

“We played pretty well, got some big runs,” Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said after the win. “We got some different people the ball, and was able to spread it around.”

Bryan Mason caught a 17-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, and Anthony Origer posted a 3-yard scoring run in the second for the Hawks.

Sumner and Contreras chewed up much of the yardage for the Hawks in the first quarter. Each senior used their quickness to cut through the Ketchikan defense, and both topped the 150-yard mark.

Sumner led the Hawks with 155 yards on seven carries, while Contreras added 152 yards on eight tries.

“We’ve been teaching our kids how to get down field, make some blocks down field” Bouchard said. “The linemen are starting to do that, and we’ve got to continue to do that.”

Ketchikan, a small-schools independent, brought a small squad to Houston for the contest. Bouchard likened the game to Houston’s early-season meeting with Delta.

“We knew we were going to be a little bit better football team, it was just a matter of how well we executed,” Bouchard said.

Bouchard also took the opportunity to give virtually everyone on the Hawks’ sideline playing time. The Houston coaching staff kept its varsity team on the field for the first half, and used the younger players in the third and fourth quarters.

“We knew if we got up a couple, we’d back the dogs off,” Bouchard said. “The first half we rotated the kids we could, and the second half we put in the junior varsity group.”

The Houston junior varsity also played on Friday. Alaska Schools Activities Association rules say a player can only compete in six quarters of football a week, so Bouchard said the Hawks had to wait until the third quarter against Ketchikan to put in the junior varsity players.

Sophomore Brandon Dukes led the Hawks in the second half, gaining 100 yards on 17 carries in the final two quarters. He capped the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run in the second half.

Houston will face Soldotna at Soldotna High next Saturday. Soldotna beat Homer 54-0 on Saturday.

“We’ve got a test next week, in SoHi, probably a good a team in the state as there is,” Bouchard said.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Houston 40, Ketchikan 0

Saturday, Terry Shurtleff Field

First quarter

Houston — Mason 17 pass from Webb (Contreras kick) 7:27.

Houston — Sumner 55 pass from Webb (Contreras kick) 4:58.

Houston — Sumner 54 run (Contreras kick) 2:42.

Second quarter

Houston — Contreras 52 run (kick failed) 9:18.

Houston — Origer 3 run (kick failed) 7:09.

Fourth quarter

Houston — Dukes 3 run (Contreras kick) 4:40.

Individual statistics

RUSHING — Ketchikan: Daniels 10-7, John 7-(-9), Varela 3-2, Silva 2-13, Hubbard 2-0; Houston: Dukes 17-100, Contreras 8-152, Sumner 7-155, Ranum 4-29, Origer 3-65, Elder 2-15, Hoffman 2-9, Malidore 2-(-1), Storie 1-0.

PASSING — Ketchikan: Ulrigg 5-19-1—45; Houston: Webb 3-6-0—96, Malidore 1-1-0—5.

RECEIVING — Ketchikan: Varela 2-37, John 2-12, Daniels 1-(-4); Houston: Sumner 1-55, Munoz 1-24, Mason 1-17, Montreuil 1-5.