Late effort boosts Bears

KODIAK — It’s been an odd year for the Houston Hawks.

Houston spent the first half of the season coasting through its nonconference schedule, earning lopsided wins over Valdez, Ketchikan and Delta. But now, as Houston battles through its Northern Lights Conference slate, the Hawks are finding themselves on the other side of those one-sided margins.

Saturday, Kodiak used 41 second-half points and four unanswered scores to post a 55-14 win over Houston in Kodiak.

“We’ll beat up the little guys and shy away from the tough teams,” Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said by cell phone from Kodiak after the loss. “We definitely have to get over that.”

Kodiak (3-4, 1-3) held the slim 14-7 advantage at halftime, but used six second-half touchdowns to score its first NLC victory of the year. Houston (3-4, 0-4) was officially eliminated from postseason consideration with the loss.

Houston held the lead in the second quarter. Less than two minutes after Riley McFarlin gave Kodiak the advantage with a 50-yard touchdown run, junior Beau Frank hooked up with senior Brett Lapham on a 40-yard scoring pass.

Houston’s advantage would only last about a minute. Kodiak quickly grabbed back the lead when quarterback Matthew Chavarria found Kevin Lepola Jr. on a 69-yard touchdown pass.

Senior Brandon Dukes returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown for Houston in the second half.

McFarlin led the Bears with a game-high 248 yards rushing in the win. He scored three times and posted an 80-yard score early in the second half. Chavarria threw for 234 yards and four touchdowns.

Dukes led the Hawks on the ground with 57 yards. It marked the first time this season that Dukes did not top the 100-yard mark.

Houston will close the 2010 season next Saturday in Homer.

Kodiak 55, Houston 14

Saturday, Kodiak

Second quarter

Kodiak — McFarlin 50 run (kick failed), 9:54.

Houston — Lapham 40 pass from Frank (Ruta kick), 7:22.

Kodiak — Lepola Jr. 69 pass from Chavarria (Chavarria pass to Canete),

6:25.

Third quarter

Kodiak — McFarlin 80 run (Chavarria pass to Parsons) 8:30.

Kodiak — Canete 70 pass from Chavarria (pass fail), 6:38.

Houston — Dukes 80 kick return (Ruta kick), 6:26.

Kodiak — McFarlin 1 run (Cortez kick), 1:30.

Fourth quarter

Kodiak — Parsons 22 pass from Chavarria (kick failed), 10:22.

Kodiak — Lepola Jr. 18 pass from Chavarria (Cortez kick), 5:15.

Kodiak — Atonio 28 run (Cortez kick), 4:18.

Individual statistics

Rushing — Houston: Frank 9-16, T. Barron 9-4, Dukes 18-57, Malidore 3-6. Kodiak: McFarlin 17-248, Chavarria 6-(-12), Parsons 5-4, Johnson 5-17, Atonio 3-29, Canete 6-50.

Passing — Houston: Frank 4-16-0-82. Kodiak: Chavarria 9-16-1-234.

Receiving — Houston: Ruta 2-34, Lapham 1-40, T. Barron 1-8. Kodiak: Lepola Jr. 3-96, Canete 2-74, McFarlin 1-17, Johnson 2-20, Parsons 1-22.