Knights win; Warriors, Hawks, Huskies fall

The Lathrop Malemutes gave Wasilla a free play the Warriors capitalized on at the first half and then kept the ball away from Wasilla for most of the third quarter.

Lathrop used a pair of touchdowns in third to score a 34-21 win over the Warriors Friday night at Veterans Memorial Field in Wasilla.

Lathrop’s monster utility man Luke Skinner accounted for all five Malemute touchdowns to help the 2024 Division II state runner-up start the 2025 season 1-0. The 6-foot-2 quarterback and running back connected with Wilson Lawson on a 35-yard scoring pass to break a 14-14 tie early in the third quarter. After the Malemutes recovered an onside kick, Skinner pushed through from 2 yards out to push Lathrop ahead 28-14. Skinner, who plowed ahead for scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards in the first half, added an 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

Lathrop recovered a pair of onside kicks in the third, and held the ball for nearly the first nine minutes of the second half. Wasilla’s first offensive play of the half came at the 3:23 mark after Warriors defensive lineman Alex Barksdale recovered a fumble.

Wasilla tied the game at 14 on a single untimed down at the end of the first half. As the final seconds of the second quarter ticked off the clock, Lathrop was tagged with a facemask penalty on a run by Wasilla’s Brandon Wadleigh. The Warriors took advantage of the free play as Brayden Sparrs hit Dylan Redick for an 8-yard touchdown catch.

It was the second score for the duo of the day. The Warriors took a lead with Redick’s 10-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

Zorn Allen added an 8-yard touchdown for Wasilla in the fourth quarter.

Colony was the lone Valley team in Week 1 to pick up a victory, beating East Anchorage 42-20 Friday night in Anchorage. Marley Fakatoumafi tossed a pair of touchdown passes to help the Division I Knights snap a 10-game losing streak that dated back to 2023. The Knights were 0-9 last year.

The Knights also had three touchdown runs,

Homer stormed past Houston 64-8 in a Division III match Friday night in Houston. The Mariners led 52-0 at halftime.

In other Division III action, Barrow edged Redington 16-8 up north.

Contact the Frontiersman at sports@frontiersman.com.