Knights remain in second in media poll

PALMER — The Colony Knights remain the second-ranked team in the large-schools ranks, according to the latest Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network Prep Football Poll.

The Knights are behind only West Anchorage, according to voting sportswriters and broadcasters who participated in the poll, released Monday afternoon by ASBN.

Last Friday, Colony improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in Railbelt Conference play with a 44-19 win over Wasilla.

The Knights turned three second-half fumble recoveries into 17 points during the final two quarters of the win.

Thanks to those turnovers, the Knights were able to enjoy another big fourth quarter.

Colony has outscored opponents 34-0 during the fourth quarter of the past three games.

“The thing that stands out more than anything, and I’ve said this all year long, is the kids don’t quit,” Colony head coach Jamie Mayo said of his team following the win over Wasilla. “They know they didn’t play their best half in the first half, they know we made some mistakes in the second half, but they stayed focused and kept on playing.”

Colony earned a playoff spot with the win, and remains in the hunt for the conference crown.

This week, Colony will travel north to face West Valley in Fairbanks on Friday.

North Pole moved back into the top-five for the first time since the beginning of the season, thanks to its 26-14 win over Juneau-Douglas.

The Crimson Bears were bounced off the list with the loss. North Pole (3-3) is now ranked fifth. The Patriots were the top-ranked team in the poll at the start of the year.

North Pole visits Palmer Saturday at 4 p.m. in another key Railbelt football game.

South Anchorage (5-1) is third and Bartlett (4-2) is fourth in the latest poll.

Kenai (6-0) stayed on top of the 3A poll after its 55-7 win over Homer.

The Mariners recorded the first points against Kenai this season during the loss.

Eielson (6-0), Soldotna (4-2), Kodiak (4-2) and Nikiski (3-3) round out the small-schools top five.

In other football action this weekend, Houston will visit Wasilla Friday at 7 p.m.

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