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PALMER — The Palmer Moose are sitting in somewhat foreign territory as prep football teams pass the midway mark of the 2011 season.

Palmer, a team that’s missed the postseason only once since 1994, sits in sixth place of the seven-team Railbelt Conference with a mark of 0-2. But beginning today, the Moose return to the friendly confines for the first of three straight home games at Machetanz Field.

“That’s something we need. We’ve been traveling a lot,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said of the Moose, who host Lathrop tonight at 7 p.m. at PHS. “It’s time to settle in and get the job done.”

The Moose are 0-2 in conference play, but the losses have come to, arguably, the toughest teams in the Railbelt so far. Juneau-Douglas beat Palmer 29-13 in Juneau two weeks ago. Last week, Palmer suffered a 25-19 double-overtime loss to West Valley in Fairbanks.

Despite the tough defeat, Christiansen said his players are handling the adversity fairly well.

“We’re trying to bounce back and learn from our mistakes,” Christiansen said.

Christiansen said part of the lesson simply involves taking advantage of opportunities and avoiding missed chances.

“We had so many chances,” Christiansen said. “The close game gave us a lot of things to look at.”

A minor difference either way could have changed the outcome of the game, Christiansen said.

A pair of Ian Ahrens touchdowns during regulation helped force overtime. Ahrens, a senior running back, leads the team with 272 yards on the ground.

In the first overtime, West Valley’s Larenzo Graham used a short touchdown to give the Wolfpack the lead. Palmer senior Jared Straight caught a Jackson Buresh touchdown pass to tie the game and force a second overtime.

West Valley quarterback Tucker Plass snuck in from a yard out during the second extra period to give the Wolfpack the win.

Juneau and West Valley are tied at 3-0 at the top of the Railbelt.

Tonight, Palmer meets a Lathrop squad that’s 2-2 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Earlier this season, Lathrop beat Colony 26-19 to snap a 21-game Railbelt losing streak. The Malemutes also beat Seward in nonconference action.

The Malemutes, led by senior quarterback Gabe Cunningham, are averaging 24 points per game this season, thanks in part to their big-play ability.

During the win over Colony, Lathrop scored three touchdowns of 57 yards or more. Cunningham connected with receiver Montae Tate on passing touchdowns of 57 and 68 yards.

“They want to throw the ball and use their speed,” Christiansen said of Lathrop.

Juneau at Wasilla

The Wasilla Warriors, winners of two straight, host Juneau-Douglas tonight at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field.

Wasilla opened the season with losses in its first two, but has followed with victories over Kenai and Lathrop. The Warriors improved to 1-1 in conference play last week with a 36-7 win over the Lathrop.

Senior Devon Teeling carried the Warriors with 200 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Teeling now leads all Valley runners with 507 yards.

Senior Tyler Anderson snagged a 92-yard touchdown catch in the win. Anderson has at least a touchdown catch in every game this season, and leads the team 15 catches, 385 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Braylon Kuiper also has seven catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

Junior Ben Fielder is among state leaders with 710 yards passing and nine touchdowns.

Tonight, Fielder and the Warriors face a Juneau-Douglas squad that also has one of the top signal-callers in the state. Junior Phillip Fenumiai has 734 yards passing and 10 touchdowns in four games. Last week, Fenumiai was 7 of 16 for 134 yards and three touchdown passes during a 65-0 win over Colony. He also ran for 72 yards and three scores.

Juneau is outscoring opponents 209-13 this season. Palmer is the only team to record points against the Crimson Bears. Juneau has blanked Thunder Mountain, North Pole and Colony.

Colony at Chugiak

The Colony Knights hope to rebound from a tough Week 4 loss to Juneau-Douglas during a nonconference match with Chugiak Saturday at 3 p.m. at Chugiak High.

Chugiak dropped to 2-2 last week with its second straight defeat, a 35-13 loss to Bartlett. The Mustangs have wins over South Anchorage and Eagle River this year, and losses to Service and the Golden Bears.

Colony is 0-4 after losses to Dimond, Lathrop, West Valley and Juneau.

The junior-laden Knights are led by Wyatt Peltier and Rob Lorentz. Peltier rushed for a career-high 115 yards during a loss to Lathrop. Lorentz, Colony’s junior quarterback, has connected with nine different receivers this year.

Houston at Seward

Like Colony, Houston is also in search of its first win of the year. The Hawks will look for that victory when they hit Seward High today at 5:30 p.m. for a nonconference match.

The Hawks (0-3) will try to rebound from losses to Kodiak, Soldotna and Skyview.

The Hawks have a three-game winning streak against Seward. Houston beat the Seahawks 28-21 in their last meeting, in 2007.

Seward is also winless at 0-4 overall and 0-3 in the Greatland Conference.

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