Knights score another big win, beat West in Anchorage

ANCHORAGE — Playing on the road, at West Anchorage, against a team that beat them in the state quarterfinals last season, the Colony Knights knew they had to set the tone early.

Mission accomplished.

Senior quarterback Parker Kizer connected with junior wide receiver Julian McPhail on a 50-yard scoring bomb on Colony’s fourth play from scrimmage, and the Knights rolled to a 46-15 nonconference win over the 2016 large-schools runner-up Thursday night in Anchorage.

“That’s one of our goals, for our offense to strike first,” Kizer said after the win.

The touchdown pass was Kizer’s lone throw in the win, but helped spark Colony’s 25-point first half.

“Julian had a great catch. It kind of knocked them on their heels,” Colony head coach Rhett Magner said. “They weren’t really expecting that. We’re not really known for throwing the ball. To have a big, explosive play like that, it was awesome.”

With the ball at midfield, Kizer dropped back to pass and heaved a throw. McPhail sprinted down the right sideline, made the grab and ran untouched into the end zone.

“We trust Julian. We trust Parker to make the right choice, and he did,” Magner said.

The play was part of 401 yards of total offense for the Knights. Colony also ran the ball 49 times for 351 yards. Junior Kaiden Jimenez led the Knights with 87 yards on 19 carries, and scored twice. Kizer added 77 yards and two scores on 10 carries. Senior Jon Pomrenke finished with 82 yards on only seven carries, after leaving the game during the final seconds of the first half.

Magner said both Pomrenke and senior Martin Jones, another key player on both sides of the ball, also left with an injury, but both should be fine.

“Better safe than sorry,” Magner said.

But once again, Colony showed its depth in its running game.

“Our running backs are doing great this year. Our number twos are stepping in and have been doing great. It’s next man. That’s the mentality,” Kizer said.

West Anchorage finished with 393 yards of total offense, but the Knights forced six turnovers. Colony picked off four passes, including Pomrenke’s 53-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“Bend but don’t break on defense,” Magner said.

McPhail, Jake Hessinger and Kaleb Reaves, a defensive tackle, also picked off passes in the win. Midway through the second quarter, senior Jarek Schultz, a 6-foot-7 defensive end, batted the ball into the air. Reaves grabbed the ball out of the air and rumbled into West territory.

“That’s him being an athlete. Heads-up, athletic play on his part,” Magner said.

Junior placekicker Noah Krozel also booted a 27-yard field goal in the win.

Colony, the top-ranked Division I team in Alaska according to the latest Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network poll, improved to 4-0 win the win. West — which has already played Soldotna, Bartlett and Colony — dropped to 1-3.

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

Colony 46, West Anchorage 15

Thursday, West Anchorage High School

First quarter:

Colony — McPhail 50 pass from Kizer (Krozel kick) 7:44.

Colony — Kizer 36 run (Krozel kick) 4:37.

West — Pilcher 2 run (Harjehausen kick) 3:14.

Second quarter:

Colony — Jimenez 2 run (Krozel kick) 11:40.

Colony — Pomrenke 53 interception return (Krozel kick) 9:50.

Colony — Jimenez 4 run (Krozel kick) 1:40.

Third quarter:

Colony — Kizer 9 run (Kizer run) 8:53.

Colony — Krozel 27 field goal, 1:51.

Fourth quarter:

West — Bell 1 run (Montalbo pass from Mendoza) 10:21.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Colony: Jimenez 19-87, Kizer 10-77, Pomrenke 7-82, Hessinger 6-35, Leavitt 5-18, Jones 1-6, Gamble 1-6; West: Bell 21-141, Pilcher 18-113, Mendoza 7-44, Martinez 1-7.

PASSING — Colony: Kizer 1-1-0—50; West: Pilcher 8-16-3—56, Mendoza 2-5-1—32.

RECEIVING — Colony: McPhail 1-50; West: Harjehausen 3-38, Bell 2-4, Su’esu’e 2-2, No. 3 1-33, Sims 1-7.