Knights score first win of year

NORTH POLE — The first Battle for the Boots is in the books, as the Colony Knights beat the North Pole Patriots Friday night 48-20 at Patriot Pride Field.

The game was an even match from start to finish. At the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 7. At halftime, North Pole trailed by one, and by three at the end of the third quarter.

“We were outmatched just a little bit,” Patriots head coach Richard Henert said after the game. “We matched them 100 percent in intensity, though.”

The Patriots (1-2 overall, 1-2 Railbelt Conference) were plagued with injuries — from cramps to knee injuries and thigh bruises — throughout the game.

“Colony is one of the most physical teams we’ll face,” Henert said. “They blitz hard. They block hard. They play hard. That’s hard on bodies, especially our bodies since we’re quite a bit smaller than them.”

Not only was the physicality of the game even, but the statistics were nearly even, too.

North Pole finished with 428 total offensive yards (202 rushing, 226 passing). The Knights had 452 total yards of offense (361 rushing, 91 passing).

Senior running back Skye Rench led the rushing front for Colony, finishing with 181 yards on 26 touches.

“I was just doing what I do,” Rench said after the game. “I was just doing my job.”

Colony’s first-string quarterback, Mitchell Slater, was on the sidelines in street clothes and his replacement, usual wide receiver Anthony Bricker, was impressive for the Knights (1-2, 1-0).

Bricker finished with 91 yards passing, including a 77-yard touchdown strike to senior wide receiver Cale Foster. Bricker also had 14 rushes for 146 yards and two touchdowns.

“This is just as awesome win,” Rench said. “This is a big boost on the season for us.”

Rench said he was most impressed with the play of the Knights linemen.

“It looked like a totally different line out there from last week,” he said. “They looked really good tonight. They stepped up huge for us.”

For North Pole, sophomore running back Matthew Rogers had 14 carries for 113 yards. He also threw one pass for 44 yards to wide receiver Garrette Duncan. The junior finished with seven catches and 142 yards.

“There wasn’t a position that didn’t get better tonight,” Henert said. “We improved from top to bottom.”

Patriots quarterback Danny Grzesiuk went down in the first quarter after a big Colony tackle. He continued to play, but Henert said Grzesiuk was fighting through the injury the entire game.

Grzesiuk finished 12 for 21 on the night, throwing for 182 yards.

“Danny fought hard tonight,” Henert said. “He really looked good.”

The Patriots play Friday at 6 p.m. at West Valley, and Henert said his team is going to have to shift gears completely when preparing to face the Wolfpack.

“They’re speed, not size over there,” he said.

Henert said he plans to watch “lots and lots of tape” throughout the week to best prepare his team for next week’s match.

The Battle for the Boots is a new tradition, created to honor former North Pole head coach Buck Nystrom. A pair of cleats that Nystrom, the winningest coach in state history, wore during his college playing days were bronzed, and the prize will kept by the winner of the North Pole-Colony match each year.

Contact staff writer Renee Thony at 459-7583.

Colony 48, North Pole 32

Friday, North Pole High School

First Quarter

North Pole — Anderson 2 run (Huezo kick), 4:40.

Colony — Wainwright 5 run (Weihs kick), 1:24.

Second Quarter

North Pole — Rogers 35 run (Huezo kick), 10:18.

Colony — Rench 3 run (Weihs kick), 7:10.

North Pole — Crutcher 29 pass from Grzesiuk (kick blocked), 1:04.

Colony — Foster 77 pass from Bricker (Weihs kick), 0:53.

Third Quarter

Colony — Depriest 4 pass from Bricker (Weihs kick), 9:05.

North Pole — Vannoy 1 run (conversion failed), 1:55.

Colony — Rench 8 run (Weihs kick), 1:03.

North Pole — Rogers 7 run (kick failed), 0:36.

Fourth Quarter

Colony — Bricker 5 run (kick failed), 6:39.

Colony — Bricker 23 run (Weihs kick), 0:10.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Colony: Wainwright 8-34, Rench 26-181, Bricker 14-146; North Pole: Grzesiuk 6-21, Rogers 14-113, Anderson 9-43, Vannoy 4-25.

PASSING—Colony: Bricker 4-6-1-91; North Pole: Grzesiuk 12-21-0-182; Rogers 1-1-0-44.

RECEIVING— Colony: Depriest 2-7, Oleck 1-7, Foster 1-77; North Pole: Duncan 7-142, Crutcher 2-34, Markie 2-34, Vannoy 1-11, Jefferson 1-5.