Huskies earn first win of season

WASILLA — As a junior, Redington’s Rhiley Spott was among the Peninsula Conference’s most versatile players. Spott was used at tight end, outside linebacker, tackle, guard and kicker and was named second-team all-conference as a utility player.

Spott is now a senior, and his versatility continues to be a luxury for the Huskies. Last week, Spott came up big on special teams.

Spott converted three extra points to help Redington edge Valdez 21-20 and score its first win of the 2018 season Sept. 8 in Valdez.

“Without him we definitely do not win that game,” Redington head coach Matt Weinberger said by phone earlier this week. “We’ve been preaching that all year. We have to be good on special teams. We spend a lot of time on special teams.”

The Redington defense also came up big. Valdez opted for the two-point conversion each time the Bucaneers found the end zone, Weinberger said. The Bucs converted just 1 of 3 attempts.

Taylor Ingerham and Sam Pinard rushed for touchdowns for Redington (1-4). Kyler Rumfelt connected with Wayde Bowman on a touchdown pass.

Redington fell behind in the game, but was able to rally and prevent Valdez from posting its first win of the season.

“The most important thing, the guys kept fighting,” Weinberger said.

Weinberger said pressure was taken off the Huskies, who had to wait until Week 6 to grab the first win.

“It was a relief,” Weinberger said.

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