Junior leads Moose to big win over Knights

PALMER — Heading into Palmer’s game against Colony Friday, junior running back Chase Ferris accounted for about 60 percent of his team’s total offense and 53 percent of Palmer’s scoring.

It was probably no secret that Ferris would be a big part of Palmer’s offensive game plan against the Knights. And to nobody’s surprise, Palmer continuously fed the ball to its junior standout, and Ferris delivered for his team.

Ferris rushed for 280 yards and three touchdowns to help Palmer score a 27-20 win over crosstown rival Colony Friday at Colony High School.

Ferris finished with 42 carries, touching the ball on all but 14 offensive plays, to help Palmer score a victory in a must-win game that keeps the Moose alive in the playoff race.

“He’s just a great running back. He’s a workhorse,” Palmer quarterback Justin Roth said after the win. “He goes hard every day. No matter what, he gets it done.”

Ferris had at least eight carries in every quarter, including 15 in a third quarter in which Palmer owned the clock. Leading 21-13 at the half, Ferris helped Palmer push its advantage to a pair of scores in the third quarter. Ferris carried the ball nine times during Palmer’s opening drive of the third quarter, and capped the possession with an 8-yard touchdown, his third score of the game. The Moose covered 57 yards on the drive, and chewed 5 minutes and 36 seconds off the clock.

Palmer ran 20 plays in the third quarter, compared to Colony’s four. Palmer had two 10-play drives in the game, and a pair of 12-play drives.

Ferris was the player with the ball, but he was also quick to pay tribute to his teammates and coaches.

“We have such a great offensive line. We’re so team oriented, it doesn’t matter who got the ball. We’re all for each other. It’s the guy next to you, not just yourself,” Ferris said. “That speaks wonders for our coaching staff. That’s what we’ve been taught since we came into the program. That’s what we believe. The coaching staff has been preaching that to us the whole time. We believe in them, and we believe in each other.”

Ferris entered the game with 951 yards, needing only 49 to become the first large schools running back to eclipse the 1,000 mark this season. He did that in the first quarter, becoming the sixth Palmer player in school history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season.

Ferris had 165 yards at halftime.

With his 280 yards Friday, Ferris now leads Alaska large schools rushers with 1,231 yards. He also has 13 rushing touchdowns.

The Colony Knights also had a running back with more than 100 yards Friday night. Senior Logan Conway finished with 107 yards and a touchdown. His 9-yard score in the second quarter cut Palmer’s lead to 14-13.

Colony did the bulk of its damage on offense in the first two quarters. Quarterback Steven Bilafer connected with Jared Ruffing on a 21-yard scoring pass late in the first quarter to cut a Palmer lead to 7-6. Bilafer completed 6 of 10 passes in the first half for 77 yards and the score. Conway ran for 87 of his 107 yards in the first half.

Colony was held to 18 yards rushing and 28 passing in the second half, but had only 16 offensive plays in the third and fourth quarters combined.

Bilafer connected with Kaden Dalahoussaye on a 3-yard scoring pass with 5:40 left in the game to cut Palmer’s lead to 27-20. Colony did have one more opportunity late in the game. After a Palmer punt, Colony took over at its own 40-yard line. Conway used a 9-yard catch on third down to set up 4th-and-1, but the Moose were able to stop Colony on fourth down.

“They’ve got a great offense, a high-powered offense, great kids,” Ferris said. “We contained them. It speaks wonders to (Palmer defensive coordinator Keith Armstrong). He put us in position.”

Ferris also had a key play on defense, intercepting a Bilafer pass on Colony’s first offensive drive of the game. The Knights had the ball on the Palmer 28-yard line before the interception. It marked just Bilafer’s third interception thrown in 117 attempts this year.

Palmer improved to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the Railbelt. The Moose would have been eliminated from the postseason with loss, but stay alive with the win. Palmer could finish as high as second in the conference with a win over Wasilla in the Potato Bowl Friday. Palmer could still advance to the playoffs with a loss next week, but the Moose would need Lathrop to beat West Valley in Week 8.

Colony fell to 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the Railbelt. The Knights travel north to face North Pole in Week 8.

After the win, Ferris said Palmer had extra motivation to earn the win. Standout lineman Ben Button was lost to injury in the first half.’

“We did this one for Ben Button. He’s our leader, love that kid like a brother,” Ferris said.

Palmer 27, Colony 20

Friday, Colony High

First quarter:

Palmer — Ferris 8 run (Clark kick) 4:14.

Colony — Ruffing 21 pass from Bilafer (kick blocked) 0:19.

Second quarter:

Palmer — Ferris 49 run (Clark kick) 9:15.

Colony — Conway 9 run (Menard kick) 6:35.

Palmer — Roth 1 run (Clark kick) 0:14.

Third quarter:

Palmer — Ferris 8 run (kick failed) 6:24.

Fourth quarter:

Colony — Delahoussaye 3 pass from Bilafer (Menard kick) 5:40.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS:

RUSHING — Palmer: Ferris 42-280, Roth 7-7, Layton 5-19, Hershman 2-9, McGann 1-5; Colony: Conway 15-107, Bilafer 9-15.

PASSING — Palmer: Roth 0-0-0—0; Colony: Bilafer 10-17-1—104.

RECEIVING — Palmer: none; Colony: Ruffing 4-51, Looney 2-22, Delahoussaye 2-12, Nash 1-12, Conway 1-9.