Moose battle, but Stars score another state title

PALMER — The Palmer Moose gave Soldotna a challenge.

Palmer outgained Soldotna, finishing with 290 yards of total offense, compared to SoHi’s 192. Palmer had 20 first downs. Soldotna finished with only eight. Palmer had 74 total offense plays, more than twice Soldotna’s 36.

It was Soldotna's toughest game of the season. But the Stars found a way to keep their streak alive and earn yet another state title.

Soldotna senior Cody Quelland used a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown with three minutes left to help SoHi cement a 21-0 win over Palmer in the ASAA Division II title game Saturday afternoon at Palmer High School.

“I thought on both sides of the ball, we played quite well today,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said after the loss. “Obviously we’re playing a good team, good defense.”

Soldotna senior Brenner Furlong and sophomore Aaron Faletoi each rushed for first-half touchdowns to help Soldotna grab its sixth straight state title and extend its state record winning streak to 59 games.

But the Stars had to work for it.

Palmer held Soldotna to 191 yards rushing on 35 carries, and the Stars threw the ball just once for one yard. Soldotna gained only four yards on its first offensive possession.

“After that first series, I thought we’re just going to stop these guys like we stopped Thunder Mountain last week,” Christiansen said. “But they’re not Thunder Mountain.”

Palmer didn’t allow a first down to Thunder Mountain during a 28-7 win in the semifinals last week.

The Stars did strike big in the first quarter, with Furlong’s 57-yard touchdown run. But that was one of only three gains of 10 or more yards in the game for the Stars, who entered the title tilt averaging 39 yards per game. Soldotna’s longest carry in the second half was nine yards.

Soldotna had only two sustained drives in the game — both 13 plays — but only scored on one of them.

In the second quarter, Faletoi capped a 13-play, 46-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run. Soldotna put together another 13-play, 46-yard drive in the fourth, but kicker Eli Sheridan missed a 39-yard field goal attempt.

Meanwhile, Palmer drove the ball inside the Soldotna 15-yard line four times in the game, but came away with no points.

Palmer started the game by taking the opening kickoff, and marched 66 yards to the Soldotna 7-yard line, but the drive stalled on 4th-and-short. The drive took 7 minutes, 50 seconds off the clock. Soldotna also intercepted a Palmer pass to kill another Moose drive. Jersey Truesdell picked off a pass at the goal line to end a 14-play Palmer drive.

Christiansen was happy with the way the Moose moved the football.

“Offensively, we had their number on quite a few things that were really working for us,” Christiansen said.

Palmer rushed for 147 yards and junior quarterback Luke Guggenmos completed 17 of 32 passes for 133 yards. Guggenmos connected with six different receivers, including senior Matt Daniels, who caught seven balls for 61 yards.

Senior Larry Cutsforth led Palmer with 62 yards rushing.

Overall, Christiansen said he’s proud of his team, which played its way into a state championship game after starting the season 0-3.

“We’ve come a long way,” Christiansen said. “We’ve got some really good football players and some that learned to be really good football players. As the season went on, I thought they really came together.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Soldotna 21, Palmer 0

ASAA Division II championship

Saturday, Palmer High

First quarter:

Soldotna — Furlong 57 run (Sheridan kick) 0:45.

Second quarter:

Soldotna — Faletoi 14 run (Sheridan kick) 5:13.

Third quarter:

No scoring

Fourth quarter:

Soldotna — Quelland 20 interception return (Sheridan kick) 3:00.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Soldotna: Faletoi 15-70, Furlong 14-102, Quelland 4-12, Crowder 2-7; Palmer: Cutsforth 15-62, Glynn 12-32, Oviok 11-44, Guggenmos 3-(-4), Hale 1-13.

PASSING — Soldotna: Crowder 1-1-0—1; Palmer: Guggenmos 17-32-2—133.

RECEIVING — Soldotna: Trammel 1-1; Palmer: Daniels 7-61, Mumma 4-38, Hale 3-20, Knittle 1-6, Corbin 1-5, Farris 1-3.