Knights get big test in first week

PALMER — Technically, the Alaska state prep football playoffs don’t begin until early October. But if you ask the Colony Knights, their first game with playoff implications is on Saturday when the Knights host Railbelt Conference rival North Pole.

Despite the fact its the opening weekend for Alaska football, Colony head coach Jamie Mayo said his players are well aware that the outcome of this game could have an effect on the Knights’ postseason plans.

“Our kids are pretty conscious that this game could determine one through four,” Mayo said referring to the seeding of the Railbelt’s four playoff berths. “It could really determine where we’re at.”

The Knights aren’t exactly foreign to this concept. Last season, Colony made a trip to the Interior to play the Patriots during the first week. North Pole won that game and was one reason why Colony had to make the trip back up to play North Pole in the playoffs.

North Pole beat Colony in the first round.

North Pole finished as the Railbelt champion last year, while Colony finished in a three-way tie for second. This year, North Pole and Colony are listed among the state’s top five 4A teams according to the first installment of the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network Prep Football Poll.

North Pole is ranked No. 1 and Colony is fifth.

North Pole is led by 6-foot-3 quarterback Lee Jones and its typical cast of large linemen.

“They’ve got the big quarterback, they’ve got the big linemen,” Mayo said. “Most of their varsity linemen graduated, but it’s like they clone some of those kids.”

Colony, meanwhile, will have a smaller, but quicker line to combat the Patriots.

“We’re going to have a different looking team than what Colony’s had in years past,” Mayo said after the Knights competed in the Chugiak Stampede preseason scrimmages at Chugiak High School last Saturday. “In years past, we’ve been a little bit bigger on the line, size-wise, and now it’s a bunch of guys that are maybe 6-foot, 6-1, 210 (pounds), 225. We’re not going to be real big, but we’re going to be one of the quicker teams we’ve had. Hopefully that’s the thing that does it for us this year, our overall team quickness.”

On the line is a group of juniors that includes Trey Farber and Renn Wright.

While Colony enters its conference schedule at the beginning of the season, Wasilla, Palmer and Houston will start with nonconference games.

Wasilla hosts Bartlett today at 7 p.m. Palmer hosts Dimond Saturday at 7 p.m., Houston faces Eagle River at Chugiak High School at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

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