Knights, Warriors eager to rebound, Moose, Hawks ride wins into 2nd game of prep football season

WASILLA — The Colony Knights saw their fair share of bad bounces and endured a few growing pains along the way as East Anchorage snuck away with a slim victory during the opening week of the 2015 prep football season last week in Anchorage.

During the game, first-year Colony head coach Rhett Magner saw the good, and some things the Knights need to work on. But what he saw after the contest is what impressed him the most.

“There were zero tears. It was, ‘I’m angry and I want to get better,’” Magner said of his players’ reaction to the 14-13 nonconference loss. “It was, ‘I can’t wait until Monday to get rolling.’ That was the attitude after Friday night. From a coach’s perspective, you can’t ask for more than that.”

Magner said coaches reminded players to keep their sites set on the big picture, the season goals. For the Knights, it’s all about putting in the work necessary to have success during their Railbelt Conference schedule.

“Beating East is not one of our team goals. We’re still in good shape to accomplish all of our team goals,” Magner said. “We’re moving forward, trying to get better.”

Magner said he saw plenty of, “first-game stuff,” and there’s a list of things the Knights need to work on. But Magner, a former Knights standout, said he liked how his players worked.

“The effort was there, which is encouraging. The execution is fixable, the effort is not,” he said.

Magner’s Knights have a tough test in Week 2. Colony hosts Soldotna tonight at 7 p.m. at Colony High School. Soldotna, the three-time defending medium schools state champion, is riding a state-record 30-game winning streak. The Stars set the mark last week with a 21-17 win over defending large schools state champ South Anchorage in Soldotna. Soldotna has not suffered a loss since Palmer scored a 27-7 win over the Stars during the opening week of the 2012 season. Magner said the Knights aren’t going to step onto the field tonight intimidated by the streak.

“Streaks are meant to be broken,” Magner said.

East at Wasilla

Tonight, 7 p.m.

Like Colony, Wasilla is also eager to bounce back in Week 2.

Last week, Wasilla opened with a 57-10 loss to Service in Anchorage. Tonight the Warriors face another Anchorage opponent, hosting East at 7 p.m. at Wasilla High’s Veterans Memorial Field.

Things seemed promising for the Warriors early during the loss to Service. Wasilla took the early touchdown lead on Hunter Hongslo’s 24-yard scamper for a score. But Service erupted for 49 straight points before kicker Carson Reed booted a 40-yard field goal in the fourth.

Wasilla was held to less than 80 yards of total offense, 37 on the ground and 36 through the air.

Wasilla, which graduated more than two-dozen seniors from a 2014 playoff team, will try to rebound against an East team that beat Colony 14-13. Johnny Afuvai led the T-Birds with 107 yards rushing against the Knights, and scored both East touchdowns. East quarterback Carson Washburn completed 9 of 10 passes for 106 yards.

Lathrop at Palmer

Tonight, 7 p.m.

Last week, Palmer opened its 2015 season with a 28-20 nonconference win at Chugiak. Tonight, the Moose continue their nonconference schedule by hosting former Railbelt rival Lathrop at 7 p.m. at Machetanz Field.

Senior Chase Ferris led the Moose with 237 yards rushing and three touchdowns during the victory over the Mustangs. Trey Witz also connected with Nick Daniels on a 51-yard scoring pass.

Palmer’s defense came up with a number of key plays during the second half — including a Wyatt McGann sack, an Austin Farris fumble recovery and a Jared Oviok interception — to help the Moose grab the win.

Tonight will mark the season opener for the Malemutes. Lathrop was idle in Week 1.

Last year, Lathrop edged Palmer 28-26 in Fairbanks, breaking Palmer’s nine-game winning streak against the Malemutes.

Seward at Houston

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Houston will also try to improve to 2-0 this week, hosting Seward Saturday at 7 p.m. at Houston High School.

The Hawks opened their season with a 22-14 win over Homer. Noah Griffeth ran for two touchdowns, and Robert Ritter and Dakota Watson connected on a 12-yard touchdown pass.

Newcomer Aspen Ruth added a 30-yard field goal.

Seward suffered a 20-8 loss to Monroe Catholic in Fairbanks.

Conact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiesman.com