Knights ready for football playoffs

PALMER — The Colony Knights, the Railbelt Conference champions, enter its quarterfinal match against Dimond as the higher seed. But as the Knights hit the turf tonight at 7 p.m. at Colony High School, some my peg Colony as the underdog.

If that’s the case, Colony head coach Rhett Magner said the Knights will embrace the underdog role.

“This group has taken it to heart. We’ve been kind of the underdogs in every game so far this year. They don’t mind it. They like it,” Magner said of his Knights. “They don’t mind being overlooked. It kind of gives them an edge.”

Dimond (5-3 overall, 3-3 in conference play) enters the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the Cook Inlet, just behind a clump of teams at the top of the Anchorage-area conference. The top four teams in the CIC finished with identical 4-2 marks. Dimond, which has scored less than 28 points in only one game this year, suffered a 40-33 loss to East Anchorage last week. Thanks to tiebreakers, East came out as the CIC’s No. 1 seed.

Dimond’s other losses came to West and Bartlett, the third and fourth seeds in the CIC. The Lynx scored wins over Eagle River, South Anchorage, Wasilla, Chugiak and Service.

“They’re bigger, faster and stronger than us at just about every position,” Magner said. “It’ll be a good test for us.”

But the Lynx should probably not overlook the Knights.

The Knights enter the quarterfinals with the state’s longest winning streak in the large-schools class. Since dropping its first two games of the season, Colony has won six straight. Colony’s only losses came to teams that went on to win their conference. CIC champ East edged Colony 14-13 in Week 1. Soldotna, which notched its fourth straight Northern Lights Conference crown this season, beat Colony 45-20 in Week 2.

Defense has been a strength of the Knights. Colony has the best scoring defense in the state, allowing only 10 points per game. Colony pitched two shutouts this season, and was credited for a third when North Pole forfeited its Week 8 game at Colony. The Knights have not allowed more than 12 points in a game during their six-game winning streak.

Colony has also consistently forced turnovers. The Knights intercepted five Wasilla passes and forced a fumble during a 28-7 win over Wasilla. Colony picked off two passes during wins over West Valley (7-0) and South Anchorage (24-12), and intercepted four Lathrop passes during a 12-9 win over the Malemutes.

Magner said Colony’s play on defense against athletic teams such as Lathrop and West Valley could help the Knights when they host a Dimond squad also known for its athleticsm. A difference, Magner said, could be the size Dimond boasts on its offensive and defensive lines.

“Can we force enough turnovers, make enough stops to hang in there? I think we can,” Magner said.

Colony’s offense is led by quarterback Steven Bilafer, an all-state signal caller as a junior. Bilafer is nine yards shy of 1,000 yards in total offense for the season. He has 572 yards passing, and also leads the Knights with 419 yards on the ground. Bilafer (nine rushing touchdowns and three passing scores) has accounted for 12 of Colony’s 16 offensive touchdowns this season.

Colony will hit the field tonight in an official game for the first time since its Sept. 25 homecoming win over Wasilla. The Knights were slated to host North Pole last week, but days before the game, North Pole forfeited.

“It’s yet to see if it hurt us or not,” Magner said.

On one hand, Magner said the Knights were able to give additional rest to players with nagging injuries. But the Knights would have like another opportunity to play at full game-speed before the playoffs.

Colony returns to the playoffs, after missing the postseason last year. Tonight will mark the third time since 2010 that Colony drew Dimond in the first round. Colony’s last playoff game came in 2013 when Colony hosted Dimond, a 38-17 quarterfinal loss to the Lynx. Colony beat Dimond 27-14 in the 2010 quarterfinals at Colony High.

With a win over Dimond today, Colony would move forward to play either Chugiak or Bartlett in the semifinals next weekend in Anchorage. Chugiak is the No. 2 seed from the CIC, and Bartlett is seeded fourth. Chugiak and Bartlett also play tonight at 7 p.m.

On the top side of the bracket, East hosts West Valley, the Railbelt No. 3 seed, Saturday at 2 p.m. Railbelt runner-up Lathrop hosts West Anchorage, the CIC No. 3 seed, Saturday at 5 p.m. in Fairbanks.

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