Knights, Moose clash with playoff spots at stake

PALMER — The Palmer Moose face the possibility of elimination from the postseason for the first time in 14 years. But Palmer is not the only team with its back against the wall.

Palmer (1-5 overall and 0-2 in Railbelt play) and Colony (4-2, 1-2) meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Colony High School in a prep football game packed with playoff implications. Both teams are riding two-game losing streaks. And both squads are sitting on Alaska’s playoff bubble.

Earlier this week, longtime Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said rather than dwelling on the what-ifs of the playoff picture, the Moose are focusing on their Week 7 opponent.

“It’s tough,” Christiansen said of Palmer’s rough six-week stretch. “But I think they’re still battling. It’s exciting to be playing Colony. We’re looking at it one week at a time. We have a lot to play for this week.”

A Palmer win would keep the Moose in the playoff race. But Colony would not be eliminated with a loss.

The Knights would face an uphill battle with a loss to Palmer, and would need both a Palmer loss to Wasilla and a West Valley loss to Lathrop in Week 8 to keep any postseason hopes alive. Those Week 8 loses would create a three-way tie at 1-3 (Palmer, Colony and West Valley), and a series of tiebreakers would be used to break the tie. The winner would net the third seed.

With a win tonight, Colony would improve to 2-2 in conference play and clinch a playoff berth. Regardless of what happens in Week 8, Colony would be the No. 3 seed. West Valley would be eliminated from the postseason with a Colony win, and Wasilla would clinch the No. 2 seed regardless of what happens next week in the Potato Bowl.

Even a Wasilla loss and West Valley win in Week 8 would not keep the Knights out of the playoffs. That would create a three-way tie at 2-2 (Wasilla, Colony and West Valley). The first tiebreaker is head-to-head play among the group. Wasilla is 2-0 against Colony and West Valley, and would get the No. 2 seed. Colony beat West Valley, owns the tiebreaker over the Wolfpack, and would be the No. 3 seed.

A Moose loss tonight would eliminate Palmer from postseason play for the first time since 1999. Christiansen is in his 24th year as head coach. Since Palmer advanced to the postseason for the first time in the Christiansen era, in 1994, the Moose have only missed the playoffs once, the 1999 season.

Palmer and Colony share the state record for the longest run in the playoffs, each with a streak of 14 years. Palmer’s current playoff run started in 2000. Colony enjoyed a 14-year playoff streak from 1997-2010. The Moose also have the state record for appearances in the postseason, 19.

Lathrop (5-1, 3-0) has already clinched the Railbelt title. The Malemutes used a 28-26 win over Palmer last week to win a conference crown for the first time since 1998. Wasilla (4-2, 2-1) clinches the No. 2 seed in the Railbelt with a Colony win tonight.

Tonight, both Palmer and Colony aim to rebound from tough losses in Week 7. Lathrop needed a late push to rally and top Palmer 28-26 in the Interior.

“We did some good things. Lathrop gave us some chances, but we didn’t quite score enough to get in the win column,” Christiansen said. “I think we played better than we’ve played.”

Wasilla rushed for more than 450 yards en route to a 50-20 win over the Knights.

“We spent a lot of time, obviously, on tackling this week,” Colony head coach Brian McIntosh said. “For whatever reason, the kids weren’t tackling very well (against Wasilla).”

Palmer and Colony sport similar averages this year. The Knights are averaging 301.5 yards per game on offense, just ahead of Palmer’s 297.5. Colony has allowed 316.5 yards per game, but Palmer has given up 393 yards per contest.

The Moose offense has been led by junior Chase Ferris, who leads all large-schools rushers with 951 yards on the ground, nearly 300 more than the next best. Bartlett’s Vincent Longendahn is second in the state with 687 yards.

Ferris has scored 10 rushing touchdowns, and has a pair of touchdown receptions. The junior also threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to receiver Darion Angol during the final moments of the first half against Lathrop.

“All season, in most games, we’ve been able to move the ball and score some points,” Christiansen said. “We just need to stiffen up on defense and slow them down.”

Junior quarterback Steven Bilafer has paced the Colony offense this season. Bilafer has accounted for more than 1,000 total yards and 14 touchdowns through the first six weeks of the season. He has thrown for 612 yards and nine touchdowns, and has 426 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Bilafer has factored into every Colony score in the last two weeks. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more during a 49-28 loss to Lathrop in Week 5. Last week, Bilafer threw a pair of touchdown passes and rushed for a third.

Colony has also shown the ability to get into the end zone in the second half, after falling behind early. The Knights scored 21 fourth-quarter points against Lathrop, and 20 second-half points against Wasilla.

“That’s a really good plus-sign for us,” McIntosh said. “We can make the adjustments at half, make adjustments on the sideline and score quickly.”

Wasilla at North Pole

The Wasilla Warriors (4-2, 2-1) take a break from Railbelt play to host an old conference rival, North Pole (4-2).

The Warriors ride a three-game winning streak into tonight’s contest. Wasilla, winners against West Valley, Kenai and Colony during the last three weeks, could actually clinch a playoff spot without playing a Railbelt game tonight. A Colony win over Palmer would clinch the No. 2 seed for the Warriors.

Even though North Pole is no longer a part of the Railbelt, the Patriots could factor into potential tiebreakers. One tiebreaker used is common opponents outside the Railbelt. North Pole has every Railbelt team on its schedule this season.

North Pole has already clinched the Southeast Conference title. The Patriots improved to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in conference with a 29-12 win over Thunder Mountain in Juneau last week.

Wasilla improved to 4-2 with a 50-20 win over Colony last week. The Warriors rushed for 447 yards against the Knights. Senior Devin Otto finished with 217 yards, and sophomore Mosiah Renk added 200 on only 10 carries. Otto scored four times and Renk found the end zone for three scores.

Tonight is also military appreciation night at WHS. All active and former military, with military identification, and their families will be admitted free for the games. The junior varsity game is slated for 3:30 p.m. and the varsity game is scheduled for 7.

The Warriors will also celebrate senior night. All senior football players and cheerleaders will be honored at 6 p.m.

Kodiak at Houston

The Houston Hawks (3-3) wrap up their home slate against Kodiak tonight at 7 p.m. at Houston.

The Hawks improved to 3-3 with a 22-0 win over the Kenai Central junior varsity last week. Vanu Mose rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown. Kellii VanTyler caught a touchdown pass, and Tanner Barclay returned an interception 31 yards for a score.

Kodiak is 2-4 overall. The Bears and Hawks are former Northern Lights Conference rivals. Houston is competing as an independent this year.

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