Houston outguns Soldotna

Houston was the only team in the Valley to celebrate a homecoming victory this weekend, beating the Soldotna Stars 32-25 on Saturday.

The game was a great battle that wasn't decided until the last second ticked from the clock.

"This is the first time we have ever beat them, said Houston head coach Mat Bredberg. "The kids played well as a team. We made a few mistakes, but the team stepped up and won this together."

In the first half, Houston got touchdowns on a Peter Clemens run, a Clemens to Shaun Haragan pass, and a 50-yard fumble return by Taylor Richey for a touchdown.

Richey lost one of his shoes shortly after recovering the fumble and ran 50-yards on one shoe.

Soldotna's Casem Simpson scored two touchdowns in the first half to keep the Stars close. At halftime, Houston led 20-13.

Soldotna scored again early in the third quarter behind the running of Simpson, who punched in a three-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 20-19.

Houston wasted no time driving downfield for a touchdown on the next possession. The Hawks converted two fourth-down plays on the drive. Clemens connected with Joe Foster for a seven-yard gain on fourth down to keep the drive alive on Soldotna's 37-yard line.

When faced with a second fourth down play with four-yards to go for the first down, Clemens hit Richey with a short pass on the right side, Richey turned into a 31-yard touchdown run by bolting past tacklers to reach the end zone.

The touchdown gave Houston a 26-19 lead with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

Soldotna pulled close again on Simpson's fourth touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter. Following a failed two-point conversion attempt, Houston had a slim lead at 26-25.

Houston scored again late in the game when David Smith capped a long drive with a 14-yard rush up the middle, shaking tackles and diving into the end zone.

Houston stretched the lead to 32-25.

The drive was highlighted by a spectacular 40-yard

reception by Haragan. Clemens' pass looked to be beyond Haragan, but he dove from a full sprint and caught the ball on Soldotna's 37-yard line.

With 3:41 left in the game, Soldotna charged again in pursuit of a touchdown to tie or win the game.

With Soldotna driving on the Hawks' 43-yard line, Houston's Travis Webb stripped Simpson of the ball.

Soldotna recovered the fumble but the ball had bounced back to Soldotna's 44-yard line.

With two pass completions, Soldotna drove to Houston's 30-yard line with 43 seconds left.

Two timely Houston sacks put the game away and sealed the 32-25 victory for Houston.

"We played our hardest and left nothing on the field," said Webb. "Soldotna took us out of the playoffs last year, so it was good to get some revenge."

Houston travels to Seward for a key game Saturday at 2 p.m. A Houston victory will give it a berth in the playoffs.