Malemutes edge Moose

PALMER— Lathrop head coach Luke Balash told his team they should love coming to Palmer. After securing a 19-14 win over the Moose at Machetanz Field, the Malemutes are in the driver’s seat in the Railbelt Conference heading into next weekend.

Lathrop quarterback Jaden Littell found Juan Mendez for a 32-yard touchdown completion with 18 seconds left in the third quarter. Mendez kicked the extra-point, scoring all seven points to put the Malemutes up for good, 19-14.

“We had big playmakers make big plays,” Littell said.

Josiah Opp started the scoring off with a 6-yard touchdown with 7:33 left in the second quarter. Opp was set up by a 25-yard catch by Mendez and a 24-yard run from Bubba Maschmeier, who led Lathrop in rushing. The Malemutes then cashed in again when Maschmeier found a hole up the left side of the Palmer defense and ran 48 yards to paydirt. The first extra-point attempt hit the upright and the 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

Palmer came out firing in the second half. After the Moose defense forced a three-and-out, Palmer quarterback Luke Guggenmos found Dawson VanTassel on the sideline who took the ball 36 yards to the end zone. Guggenmos then launched a bomb deep into the night that came down in the hands of Duston Corbin for a 45-yard-touchdown. The Moose had the 14-12 lead at the time.

Balash spent 10 years as a coach at North Pole and another seven at the helm of the Lathrop program. He tried to motivate his players to be excited to play at Palmer because playoffs are hosted here. He notched his first win against the Moose in a varsity game, though he did get one junior varsity win against Palmer. Lathrop will play West Valley in the Dog Bowl next weekend, and Palmer moves on to play Wasilla.

Lathrop 19. Palmer 14

Friday, Machetanz Field

First Quarter:

No Scoring

Second Quarter

Lathrop — Josiah Opp 6 run (kick failed) 7:33.

Lathrop — Maschmeier 48 run (2 point failed) 3:52.

Third Quarter

Palmer — Van Tassel 36 pass from Guggenmos (Knittle kick) 8:31.

Palmer — Corbin 45 pass from Guggenmos (Knittle kick) 4:49.

Lathrop — Mendez 32 pass from Littell (Mendez kick) :18.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Lathrop - Maschmeier 16-120, Littell 14- -22, Zadra 1- -5, Henderson 1-4; Palmer - Marshall 12-29, Van Tassel 1-0, Christiansen 14-10, Guggenmos 1-4, Corbin 1-3, Bruesch 8-31.

Passing: Lathrop - Littell 14-190--120 yards. Palmer - Guggenmos 10-20-0--116 yards.

Receiving: Lathrop - Maschmeier 5-15, Mendez 6-92, Zadra 1-13; Palmer - Farris 1-6, Van Tassel 5-84, Marshall 1-4, Corbin 2-47, Lovejoy 1-11.