Hawks run past Whalers, into the playoffs

HOUSTON — As the Houston and Barrow offenses found the end zone on a combined five straight possessions in the first half, the Hawks and Whalers defenses were desperate for a stop.

Early in the second quarter, with the Whalers going for it on 4th-and-2 near midfield, the Houston defense forced an incomplete pass.

On the next play, the Houston offense made the Whalers pay.

Senior Ben Pelesasa busted off a 57-yard touchdown run to help the Hawks score a 55-27 win over the Whalers Saturday night at Houston High School.

“That was a momentum-changer for us,” Houston senior Vanu Mose said after the win. “It made us feel more comfortable through the game.”

After Mose burned Barrow for runs of 76 yards and 43 yards on the outside in the first quarter, Houston head coach Glenn Nelson said he took a tip from one of his offensive guards when he called Pelesasa’s number on first down.

“Reed Graham actually said, call it to my hole. We can do it,” Nelson said. “We ran right behind (Reed), and (Ben) went right in (to the end zone).”

Pelesasa, who also bulldozed his way to a 26-yard touchdown run in the second half, was part of a Houston rushing attack that amassed 417 yards on the ground to help the Hawks run right into the playoffs. The Hawks improved to 5-2 overall with the win, and most importantly 3-1 in the Aurora Conference. With the win, Houston clinched the second postseason berth in the Aurora.

“It’s an honor. It’s a blessing from the man above,” Pelesasa said of Houston’s opportunity to play in the postseason for the first time since 2013.

The Hawks will play the top seed from the Peninsula Conference in the first round of the small-schools playoffs.

“We’re really excited. We talked about it,” Mose said of making the playoffs. “As long as we push hard and play with our hearts, we’re good.”

Mose finished with a career-high 209 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the win. On Houston’s first offensive play of the game, Mose broke free for a 76-yard run. Three plays later Mose gave the Hawks a 6-0 lead with a 3-yard touchdown run.

“He’s got good speed. When he gets outside, it’s fun to watch,” Nelson said of Pelesasa.

Fullback Will Croghan finished with 75 yards and a pair of scores. Quarterback Paul Sanderlin scored a 1-yard touchdown run, and connected with Silas Ross on a 42-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Ross touchdown snag gave Houston the 32-21 halftime lead.

The Hawks also had to slow down a potent Barrow offense, that includes multipurpose threat Travis Adams, during the win. Adams finished with 73 yards rushing and 71 yards receiving in the Barrow loss. He scampered for a 60-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 6 early in the first, and caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the second half.

“They’re really tough,” Pelesasa said of the Barrow offense. “We had to key on Adams wherever he was. He’s faster than everyone on our team.”

Louden Stockton added 60 yards and a touchdown for the Whalers on the ground. Kagan Stockton threw for 152 yards and two touchdown passes. Sione Tuifua had five catches for 67 yards and a first-half score.

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

Houston 55, Barrow 27

Saturday, Houston High

First quarter:

Houston — Mose 3 run (pass fail) 8:11.

Barrow — Adams 60 run (kick fail) 7:47.

Houston — Croghan 1 run (run fail) 5:10.

Barrow — Tuifua 7 pass from K. Stockton (Mila kick) 1:11.

Second quarter:

Houston — Sanderlin 1 run (run fail) 9:06.

Houston — Pelesasa 57 run (pass fail) 6:52.

Barrow — L. Stockton 5 run (L. Stockton run) 3:31.

Houston — Ross 42 pass from Sanderlin (Mulhaney pass from Sanderlin) 0:22.

Third quarter:

Houston — Mose 54 run (Pelesasa pass from Ritter) 9:09.

Houston — Pelesasa 26 run (Mulhaney pass from Sanderlin) 0:19.

Fourth quarter:

Barrow — Adams 5 pass from K. Stockton (pass fail) 8:52.

Houston — Coghan 14 run (Ruth kick) 5:05.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Barrow: L. Stockton 19-60, Unutoa 9-51, K. Stockton 7-3, Adams 4-73, Tuifua 1-3; Houston: Mose 12-209, Pelesasa 11-119, Coghan 11-75, Sanderlin 5-3, Ritter 3-9, Sasiu 1-2.

PASSING — Barrow: K. Stockton 14-27-1—152, Adams 1-1-0—7; Houston: Sanderlin 2-3-0—64.

RECEIVING — Barrow: Adams 6-71, Tuifua 5-67, Heather 2-12, K. Stockton 1-7, L. Stockton 1-2; Houston Ross 1-42, Mulhaney 1-22.