J's World: As teams race for playoff positions, a nonconference contest was the best game of the week

The final week of the regular season was stocked full of games with playoff implications. But the game without any official impact on the prep football postseason turned out to be the best of them all.

The 2017 Potato Bowl.

Palmer and Wasilla added a historic chapter to the storied rivalry, with the Moose edging Wasilla 27-26 in overtime Sept. 29 at Palmer High School’s Machetanz Field. It marked the first time the battle for the Mayor’s Cup was decided in overtime, and the second straight year in which the game was decided in the final moments of the game.

Last year, Wasilla, trailing by a touchdown, had the ball at the Palmer 7-yard line during the final seconds. The Moose were able to keep the Warriors out of the end zone, and held on for the 21-14 win.

Fast forward to this season.

Wasilla held a two-score lead in the fourth quarter. Palmer scored 14 points to tie the score at 20, and force overtime. Wasilla opened the tiebreaker — an extra period in which each team gets the ball at the 10-yard line — with Aeron Milliron’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Bison Malave. Palmer blocked the point after attempt, and the Moose offense answered a 5-yard Luke Guggenmos scoring pass hauled by Skyler Hale.

Palmer senior Larry Cutsforth hit the most important extra point of his life to give Palmer the 27-26 win.

It’s not the first time a Potato Bowl was decided by a late extra point. In 2007, former Wasilla High kicker Derek Cottle-Bosch hit a go-ahead extra point with 25 seconds left in regulation to lift Wasilla to a 36-35 win over the Moose. The 2017 Potato Bowl marked the sixth time in 39 meetings that the game was decided by just a point.

In 2001, former Wasilla kicker Kyler Perry hit a 30-yard field goal as time expired to give the Warriors a 23-22 win.

In 1989, Wasilla scored late to cut Palmer’s lead to 20-19. The Warriors opted for the 2-point conversion and the win, but the Moose stop Wasilla to seal the victory.

In the first game of the series, Palmer edged the Warriors 7-6. The difference turned out to be an extra point kicked by Brad Hanson after Ron Richards returned the opening kickoff for a score.

Moral of the story?

There are a couple of them.

Kickers are pretty important, and there have been some great Potato Bowl games.

Last Friday, Wasilla — in my mind — played its best football of the season. The Warriors showed a different look on offense, spreading things out, a Milliron accounted for just about 250 yards of total offense and three touchdown passes. The Warriors defense slowed the Moose down, allowing only six points through the first three quarters of play.

Palmer responded to the adversity and pieced together 20 points during the final nine minutes of regulation and overtime to provide a memorable finish on a night the Moose honored their longtime head coach. Rod Christiansen, who set a new state record with his 151st career victory, was recognized before the game.

After the win of the Warriors, the Palmer players chanted, “152, 152,” Christiansen’s latest wins total. Saturday, the Moose will go for 153 when they host Thunder Mountain in the Division II semifinals at Palmer High.

Scoreboard watch

Despite a 2-6 overall record and 1-3 mark in the Railbelt Conference, Wasilla entered the final day of the regular season still alive in the race for a spot in the Division I playoffs.

The Warriors were in a battle with Lathrop and West Valley for the Railbelt’s final two automatic berths. Wasilla’s road to the playoffs was simple. A Lathrop win over West Valley in the annual Dog Bowl would clinch as spot for the Warriors and leave West Valley as the lone team in the five-team Railbelt not in the playoffs.

The Warriors were certainly Lathrop fans for the day. And fortunately for Wasilla, Lathrop prevailed and the Warriors qualified for the postseason for the second straight year. Wasilla will play at East Anchorage, the Cook Inlet Conference champion, Saturday at 3 p.m. at East. With its win, Lathrop moved into the No. 3 spot in the Raibelt and will face Bartlett in the Division I quarterfinals.

Battle of unbeatens

Chugiak’s star senior Derryk Snell helped the Mustangs establish themselves as the clear team to beat, scoring four times during a convincing 44-25 victory over Railbelt rival Colony. Chugiak improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play with the win over previously unbeaten Colony (7-1, 3-1).

Snell helped Chugiak strike quick, hauling in Hunter Harr’s 45-yard touchdown pass on their team’s first play from scrimmage. Snell scored four times during the win over the Knights, pushing his season total to an impressive 31 touchdowns.

The Chugiak-Colony game and the West-Service game in Anchorage decided two of the four Division I quarterfinal matchups. West Anchorage throttled Service 48-7 and earned the No. 3 seed in the CIC. Colony, the Railbelt’s No. 2, hosts West Friday at 7 p.m. at CHS. Chugiak hosts fourth-seeded Service Friday at 7 p.m. at Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium.

Chugiak used the win over Colony to grab its second straight Railbelt title.

End of the season for some

Houston and Redington faced off in the final game for each team this season.

Both Valley programs fell just short of the playoffs. Both teams were 2-2 in their respective conferences — Houston in the Aurora and Redington in the Peninsula — and both teams only suffered conference losses to teams in the playoffs.

Houston capped the season with a 42-0 win over the Huskies at Redington. The Hawks finished 5-3 overall.

Redington dropped to 4-4 with the loss, but made tremendous strides in just its second year as a varsity program.

The Huskies finished .500 a season after a winless inaugural campaign.

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