Knights ready to rebound from tough 2011 season

PALMER — It was a rough season for the Colony Knights in 2011.

After graduating an enormous senior class the year before, Colony was blanked three times in the first four weeks. Colony finished 2-6 overall and 1-5 in Railbelt Conference play. Of those two victories, one was a forfeit win awarded after it was determined Chugiak used an ineligible player during a midseason win over the Knights.

But 2011 is in the past. Now, as the Knights sprint into the 2012 campaign, head coach Brian McIntosh is seeing that young talent mature into varsity veterans. He hopes that, combined with the experience of battling through the adversity last season, helps the Knights this year.

“We definitely want to be successful every year, we were just a little young last year,” McIntosh said during a break between practice sessions Monday afternoon. “But they’ve got a year under their belt.”

Last year’s squad was built primarily by sophomores and juniors, but McIntosh saw steady improvement throughout a season that was capped by an exciting 42-39 win over North Pole.

The Knights hope that victory featured a glimpse of what Colony could see a lot of this year. Running back Wyatt Peltier, who is now a senior, ran for a career-high 309 yards. Quarterback Rob Loretnz, also now a senior, completed nine passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

The maturation of both players could lead to big things on offense for Colony. Lorentz finished his junior campaign completing 72 of 143 passes for 609 yards. Peltier scored all three of his touchdowns during the final two games of the season.

“Rob is throwing the ball really well,” McIntosh said. “He went to a few outside camps. He’s got a lot more zip on the ball.”

McIntosh is also excited about the progress Peltier has made.

“He put on 15 pounds in the offseason and is still pretty darn quick,” McIntosh said.

Along with Lorentz and Peltier, the Knights return virtually their entire receiving corps. Eight different players who had at least one varsity catch return.

Last year’s leading receiver Simon Root (17 catches) is back, along with Devin Campbell and Daniel Bilafer, who snagged 12 balls each last year. Antonio Bush, who caught half of Lorentz’s four touchdown passes, also returns.

McIntosh said Bilafer and Bush, who both stand at 6-foot-4, could cause problems for opposing defenses.

The Knights also return a handful of offensive linemen who saw significant action last year.

Colony should boast a big right side of the line with junior tackle Justin Booth and senior guard Sam Taliai. Brandon Maniaci and Michael Carver will also vie for starting jobs up front.

On defense, McIntosh said Colony is returning to its roots, and bringing back the 4-3 defense, the formation the Knights had a tremendous amount of success using during the run of former longtime defensive coordinator Jamie Mayo.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to do,” McIntosh said. “We kind of went back to basics. Coach Mayo had a lot of success running a 4-3. We went back to that and the kids are all buying into the system.”

McIntosh said he’s really excited about his defense this year.

“Our defense is really good right now,” McIntosh said.

The Knights head coach said the Knights should boast good speed in the defensive backfield with the likes of Ken McCoy, Devin Campbell and Root, one of the team’s captains.

Austin Rench is expected to be among the leaders at the linebacker position. Up front, defensive ends Nathan Umbarger and Jeremy Compton could cause problems for opposing offenses.

Colony opens its 2012 season Saturday at 2 p.m. against Skyview High School in Soldotna. McIntosh said the Knights certainly will not overlook the Panthers, a small-school team that upset Wasilla during the first week of the 2011 season.

“This group is definitely not overlooking anybody,” McIntosh said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him @matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.