J's World: Hawks do the right thing during football win over Valdez

The disparity in Alaska football is horrendous.

There are 30 schools currently fielding prep football programs in the 49th state, and the separation between the top and the bottom is like comparing a Hollywood blockbuster to a community college film project. It’s not two different ballparks. It’s two different worlds.

Earlier this month at Houston High School, Valdez trotted out onto the field. Not many more than 20 kids. Seven upperclassmen. Only two players weigh more than 200 pounds.

“We are the tinyest team, maybe in the country, playing ball,” Valdez head coach Steve Radotich said after a 36-0 loss to Houston. “But they don’t quit. They’ve got a lot of heart.”

The Buccaneers didn’t quit. But the Hawks didn’t rub their noses in it, which I appreciated. On several occasions, a Houston ball carrier, with a clear lane to the end zone, ran out of bounds. Houston attempted field goals in the fourth quarter on third and first downs.

Houston scored a dozen points during the first 90 seconds of play en route to a 36-point victory. But it could have been much, much worse.

Opinions differ on running up the score. I’ve had coaches ask me why should they be penalized because their team is better. I tend to judge it on a case-by-case situation.

Alaska is currently divided into three divisions. Honestly, I’m not going to get really riled up about lopsided scores within the Division I, and even the Division II games. It’s not really going to bother me if an Anchorage team beats a Cook Inlet Conference rival by 70 points. If a few kids from that school get fed up and quit, there are plenty more to chose from. But a program like Valdez can’t afford to lose anybody.

I’m not asking for Houston to use the kid gloves on Valdez, but I appreciate what the Hawks did on that Friday night. Houston could have legitimately scored a 60-0 win. But what’s that do for the development of a Division III level of football in Alaska?

If Valdez consistently hits the field only to get beat by ridiculous margins, why even field a team? If I am an administrator at a school with a Division III football program, why would I adhere the costs of a game that ends in a lopsided loss? That’s why Division III teams have to think differently.

The Hawks have been there. Houston was once the team routinely beat by 40, 50, 60 points. And Houston High School basically went on strike. The Hawks played as an independent in 2014, refusing to play in a conference in which they were the virtual punching bag.

Now Houston is finally where it belongs, playing against schools with similar student populations. Choosing not to run up the score against Valdez is a step to help ensure the Buccaneers can continue to field a program alongside the Hawks in the Aurora Conference.

If I made the master schedule, I would never place a Division III team against a squad from any higher class in Alaska, even if it means multiple games against the same opponent. The schools are Division III for a reason. They simply do not have the student body to draw from.

I want to see football continue to develop in Alaska. I want to see football continue to survive at Valdez, Seward and Voznesenka. I want to see football come back to Glennallen and Delta.

The eight-man game has to be the future of Alaska small-schools football. But that’s a topic for a future column. But in meantime, I salute the Houston High football program for their doing their part to help improve the overall level of play on Alaska’s smallest football stage.

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