Moose battle, but Stars extend streak

PALMER — The Soldotna Stars earned their 54th straight victory over the last team to beat them, the Palmer Moose, 28-10 Friday night at Machetanz Field.

The Stars struck on their sixth play from scrimmage when quarterback Brandon Crowder found Galen Brantley III wide open down the middle of the field for a 32-yard touchdown. The Moose did their Soldotna Stars impression on offense, using seven minutes to methodically march down the field. Junior quarterback Luke Guggenmoss scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak on the first play of the second quarter.

"They gave us everything we thought we were going to get. There's no shocker on our part, we knew it was going to be a dogfight when we got in here," said Soldotna head coach Galen Brantley Jr.

On the following drive, Crowder hit Cody Quelland with a 23-yard strike on third down. Crowder hid the football on his hip and ran to the corner of the end zone for a 5-yard score. With six minutes remaining in the first half, Palmer charged toward the end zone. Guggenmoss connected with Skyler Hale on two consecutive plays. Facing 3rd-and-1 inside the Soldotna red zone, Guggenmoss fumbled the snap. The fourth-down quarterback sneak attempt would fall short on the measurement, and Soldotna escaped the first half with a touchdown lead.

Palmer forced the first Soldotna punt of the game to start the second half. The Stars deception handoff offense confuses most defenses, as any of three ball carriers may appear to have the ball. While the Moose offer a more conventional ground game, Palmer brought their own trio of gritty running backs. Jared Oviok, Jeff Glynn and Larry Cutsforth rumbled the ball all the way to the Soldotna 2-yard line, but were forced to settle for a Cutsforth field goal, cutting the Soldotna lead to four.

"We just needed to execute more when we got into the red zone," said Oviok.

Where Brenner Furlong may be the quick, shifty lightning to the Stars offense, and Aaron Faletoi plays the the noisy, punishing thunder, Crowder moves like wind. Hiding the ball on his hip on the way to 78 yards on just six carries, you may not often see Crowder, but his impact is felt.

"They committed to stopping the inside run. You can take away any part of the offense you want, but you can't take away the whole thing," Brantley said.

On 3rd-and-2, just inside of the fourth quarter, Crowder faked two handoffs and scampered to a wide open sideline, gaining 32 yards before being brought down at the Palmer 4-yard line.

Crowder then tried the middle of the line at the Palmer one, but fumbled. Faletoi was there to recover and reap the benefits, padding the Stars fourth quarter lead.

"They're very, very physical," Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said. "They just keep coming and coming and they're very disciplined and they keep doing what they're supposed to do. It's tough."

Palmer attempted to retaliate quickly, desperate to close the gap. Guggenmoss threw to Levi Farris for 17 yards on 3rd-and-10, but was then unable to connect with an open Skyler Hale down the sideline three times. Crowder again found 10 yards of open field en route to the game clinching touchdown for Soldotna with less than four minutes remaining.

Cutsforth was excited following the game,

"It's very positive! We got it done a lot, we just, need to get it done in the fourth quarter," said Cutsforth.

Contact freelance writer Tim Rockey at timothy.rockey@gmail.com.

Soldotna 28, Palmer 10

Friday, Machetanz Field

First Quarter:

Soldotna — Brantley III pass from Crowder (Sheridan kick) 7:01.

Second Quarter:

Palmer — Guggenmoss 1 run (Cutsforth kick) 11:55

Soldotna — Crowder 5 run (Sheridan kick) 6:32

Third Quarter:

Palmer — Cutsforth 25 field goal 3:31

Fourth Quarter:

Soldotna — Faletoi 1 run (Sheridan kick) 8:16

Soldotna — Crowder 10 run (Sheridan kick) 3:57.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Palmer: Cutsforth 13-101, Glynn 8-29, Guggenmoss 6-(-21), Elliot 1-0, Oviok 8-36, Daniels 1-5; Soldotna: Furlong 17-70, Crowder 6-78, Faletoi 11-51, Quelland 2-4.

PASSING — Palmer: Guggenmoss 4-9-0-79; Soldotna: Crowder 2-4-0-55.

RECEIVING — Palmer: Farris 2-26, Daniels 2-18, Hale 3-35; Soldotna: Brantley III 1-32, Quelland 1-23.