High scoring offenses meet in first round

PALMER — Palmer won’t know exactly what look the Service offense will first show when the Moose stare across the line of scrimmage at the Cougars on Saturday afternoon.

The Moose could be facing LaMichael Fernandez taking the snaps in the Cougars’ version of the Wildcat formation or they might see J.J. Christy throw the ball out of a more pro-style offense. Regardless, Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen knows his team is facing a team capable of putting up lots of points.

“They’ve got lots of ways to hurt you offensively,” Christiansen said after his team’s practice Thursday afternoon. “They can throw and run. They like to mix it up.”

Service sports the highest scoring offense in the large-schools ranks, averaging just more than 36 points per game.

“They’re a big-play team,” Christiansen said.

Service used big plays to post a 27-23 come-from-behind win over playoff-bound Dimond last week. Christy connected with Alan Busey on a 77-yard scoring pass with 41 seconds left to push the Cougars past the Lynx. It was the second Christy to Busey scoring play of the final 2:17 of regulation.

Christy was also one of three quarterbacks to be use by Service in the game.

Service has scored nearly 300 points this season, but will not boast the only high-scoring offense when the two squads take Dimond Alumni Field Saturday afternoon at 4.

Palmer is second in the Railbelt Conference and third in the large-schools class in scoring offense, averaging about 31 points per game.

The Moose led the Railbelt in scoring heading into the final week of the regular season, but the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears jumped the Moose when they scored 40 on North Pole.

The Moose have had a fairly balanced offense this year. Palmer gained two-thirds of its 2,600 total yards on the ground, but junior quarterback Jackson Buresh also threw for nearly 900 yards and eight touchdowns.

So far, Buresh’s favorite target has been Jim McCall. The senior has 33 catches for 580 yards and seven touchdowns.

“He’s been our workhorse in the passing game,” Buresh said after Palmer’s 26-12 win over Wasilla in the Potato Bowl.

McCall also has two rushing touchdowns and returned an interception for a score during an early season win over Lathrop.

The Moose used a stable of runners in the ground game. Buresh is one of a half-dozen players with 180 yards or more on the team, and has scored a third of Palmer’s 27 rushing touchdowns.

Junior Ian Ahrens leads the Moose with 425 yards on the ground.

Palmer makes the trip into Anchorage for the quarterfinals for the second straight year and is looking for its third win in its last four meetings against a Cook Inlet Conference squad in the postseason.

Last year, the Moose beat South Anchorage 48-12 and followed with a 24-21 overtime loss to Chugiak in the semifinals.

Palmer beat Service 28-14 in the 2007 semifinals.

Service won a state title in 2008, but missed the playoffs last year. The Cougars have missed the postseason in five of the last seven years.

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