Knights sparked by defensive stand, fall by 1 point to Crimson Bears

PALMER — Those expecting aerial fireworks featuring a pair of the state’s most prolific passers had to settle for a down-to-the-wire old-school defensive nail-biter Friday as Juneau-Douglas edged Colony 21-20 at Colony High School.

Colony senior Rob Lorentz came into the game having passed for 654 yards and eight touchdowns in his first three games, while the Crimson Bears sophomore signal-caller has been on fire since Week 2 when he threw for 398 yards and seven touchdowns in a 69-30 blowout of Wasilla.

Friday, the pair combined to pass for just 255 yards. Lorentz had the better line — 16 of 39 for 157 yards — but Juneau’s Dorian Isaak made big plays at the end of the game, finishing 5 for 14 for 98 yards.

But in a game that featured stellar defense, the difference were a few critical mistakes that gave the Crimson Bears easy points, Colony head coach Brian McIntosh said.

“We made more mental mistakes — coaching staff and players — than them,” he said. “All the players played hard and they did well. We got out-coached tonight.”

McIntosh was referring to a point midway through the first quarter. Trailing Juneau-Douglas 7-0, the Knights capped a nine-play, 69-yard drive when junior running back Bryce Niver plunged into the end zone from 3 yards out. The Knights lined up to attempt a kick to tie the score, faked the attempt and tried for a 2-point conversion instead, which failed.

“It was a called fake and, yeah, it didn’t work,” McIntosh said. “It backfired. I was not my typical self (on that call).”

What was typical was the hard-nosed, gritty play of a Colony team that bore little resemblance to the Knights squad that was blown out 65-0 by Juneau-Douglas last year.

“This Colony team is a good team and this is a good win for us,” Juneau-Douglas head coach Rich Sjoroos said. “They’re not that same team, and we’re not the same team that beat them 65-0 last year, too, knowing how undermanned we are.”

The Crimson Bears lost three-time All-Railbelt Conference quarterback Phillip Fenumiai to a season-ending injury in the first game. On Friday, they were dealt another blow when starting running back Demetrius Campos pulled a hamstring in the first half and didn’t return.

With Campos out and the passing game stymied — Isaak wouldn’t complete his first pass of the game until the 1:32 mark of the third quarter — senior Billy Palmer stepped up with a game-high 127 yards on 30 carries, most in the second half.

Having that kind of depth is what helped Juneau-Douglas to hold on for the win, Sjoroos said.

While the game ended as a close shave, Colony gave the Crimson Bears an early Christmas present on the second play of the game when a high snap went over Lorentz’s head and Juneau-Douglas recovered the ball just outside the Knights end zone. One play later, Campos was in the end zone and the visitors had a 7-0 lead.

After responding with a touchdown of their own and the failed 2-point try, Colony’s defense took over, shutting out Isaak in the air and closing down the outside running lanes. Late in the second quarter, Tyler Harvey picked off an Isaak pass at the Colony 42 and Lorenz led the Knights down the field, scoring the go-ahead touchdown from 2 yards out. This time Colony kicked the extra point and went into halftime leading 13-7.

Holding each other scoreless in the third quarter, Juneau-Douglas finally answered on the first play of the fourth when Palmer broke loose for a 14-yard score to give the Crimson Bears a 14-13 advantage.

The lead wouldn’t last long, however. On Juneau’s next possession, Devin Campbell intercepted Isaak to give the Knights a short field at the Juneau 30-yard line. Niver lost a yard on the first play, then Lorenz connected with junior receiver Daniel Bilafer on a 31-yard strike along the north sideline to put the Knights up 20-14.

Bilafer led all receivers with 9 catches for 119 yards.

That lead was holding late in the game when Colony’s defense brought the home crowd to its feet with an emotional goal-line stand. With a first-and-goal to go at the 1-yard line, the Knights stuffed Palmer on two straight attempts up the middle. Isaak threw an incomplete pass on third down. Palmer took the ball up the middle again on fourth down, but was met by a wall of green.

“That goal-line stand was amazing,” McIntosh said of the effort of his defense. “The defense played with so much heart right there it was incredible. At that point, I thought we were going to win it. That was all heart.”

And the Knights nearly did just that, but with 2:31 left to play, the Crimson Bears had one last chance. Given a short field to work with again after a short punt, Juneau covered 33 yards in three plays, capped by Palmer’s second touchdown of the half and the 21-20 final.

The loss was Colony’s (1-1, 3-1) first of the season and first in Railbelt Conference play.

Juneau-Douglas 21,

Colony 20

Friday, Colony High School

First quarter:

Juneau-Douglas — Dem. Campos 1 run (Lehnart kick) 11:50

Colony — Niver 3 run (2-point fail) 7:14

Second quarter:

Colony — Lorentz 2 run (Bilafer kick) 1:26

Third quarter:

No scoring

Fourth quarter:

Juneau-Douglas — Palmer 14 run (Lehnart kick) 11:54

Colony — Balifer 31 pass from Lorentz (Bilafer kick) 8:16

Juneau-Douglas — Palmer 2 run (Lehnart kick) 2:31

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Colony: Niver 16-62, Lorentz 14-39; Juneau-Douglas: Palmer 30-127, Dem. Campos 11-25, Isaak 3-4.

Passing — Colony: Lorentz 16-39-157; Juneau-Douglas: Isaak 5-14-98, Dem. Campos 0-1-0.

Receiving — Colony: Bilafer 9-119, Bush 4-20, Campbell 2-13, Hall 1-2; Juneau-Douglas: Brassfield 1-39, Dart. Campos 1-31, Hill 2-14 Brinson 1-14.