J's World: In the end, the usual suspects are left standing

For more than two months, I’ve written about the intriguing storylines around Alaska high school football. There were the teams enjoying historic seasons, and the squads that played their way into the conversation.

Eagle River, Houston, Colony, Lathrop, South Anchorage, Service, Ketchikan.

But in the end, the usual suspects are the teams left standing.

Eielson earned its fourth Division III state title in five years.

Soldotna scored its seventh straight Division II state championship.

And Friday, East and West will battle for Anchorage bragging rights and the Division I crown at Anchorage Football Stadium.

Alaska high school football is feeling like the NBA right now. A lot of the same.

West is in the Division I title game for the sixth straight season. The Eagles earned a pair of championships, 2013 and 2015, during that span. That’s consistency you can’t bet against. After snapping Soldotna’s state-record winnings streak at 59 games during the first week of the season, West spent much of 2018 in the middle of the Cook Inlet Conference pack. The Eagles were 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the CIC heading into the playoffs. Not the most intimidating numbers. But this well-coached West program has a knack for finding itself still alive on the final weekend of the year.

East is in the final because the T-Birds have the two things a team needs to succeed in Alaska high school football.

A dominant running game and a great defense.

Here’s the formula.

Run the ball. Play great defense. Hoist the trophy.

East scored a big win over a really good Colony team in the semifinals. Colony entered the semifinals on a tear. Colony had won five straight games, posted three consecutive shutouts and outscored opponents 213-26 during the streak.

Other than West, nobody managed to score more than a touchdown against Colony during the final seven weeks of the regular season. The Knights edged South Anchorage with a touchdown in the finals seconds during the opening week of the season. In the quarterfinals, Colony thumped an up-and-coming Wolverines scored 47-0. The 2018 edition of Colony is a state championship caliber squad. Colony had the best quarterback at the Division I level, senior Eric Christy, who amassed more than 1,700 yards of total offense and 17 total touchdowns. If Colony senior Julian McPhail does not win the state utility player of the year award, all of those who voted will need their heads examined. Colony has the best high school kicker I’ve ever covered, senior Noah Krozel. And the Knights have the senior Zane Vrvilo, the defensive player of the year.

But Colony ran into a really good East team that used a running game and defense to march into the state title game.

East had more than twice as many rush attempts, 61, than Colony had offensive plays, 30. The T-Birds used 13 ball carriers, and rushed for more than 350 yards. The East defense allowed only four Colony first downs. Three of those came on Colony’s final drive of the game.

That’s a solid day.

Contact Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.