Moose edged by Wolfpack in double-OT

FAIRBANKS—West Valley head coach Daniel Esparza expected a tough game against the Palmer Moose on Friday night.

However, a double overtime contest wasn’t what he had in mind for the critical Railbelt Conference football game at West Valley High School.

“I don’t think you ever anticipate overtime or double overtime, but you embrace it,” Esparza said.

He allowed quarterback Tucker Plass to embrace the ball in the second OT for the game-winning 1-yard touchdown run in the 25-19 victory.

“I’ve always learned that when the game is on the line, you put the ball in your best player’s hands, and you live or die by that,” Esparza said.

The win improved the Wolfpack to 3-0 conference and 3-1 overall, keeping them in a first-place tie in the Railbelt standings with the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears, who won 65-0 over the visiting Colony Knights on Friday.

West Valley and Palmer tied 19-19 in the first overtime, courtesy of running back Larenzo Graham’s 2-yard run for the Wolfpack and wide receiver Jared Straight’s 9-yard jumping catch for the Moose.

Each of the point-after attempts were unsuccessful. Graham’s kick was low and blocked, and the Wolfpack sent a furious rush toward Brandon Wisner’s attempt, forcing the Palmer kicker to send his delivery to the right of the goalposts.

Palmer went on offense first in the second overtime, getting the ball at the 10-yard line. West Valley’s defense rose to the occasion despite an encroachment penalty on third down at the 7.

The Wolfpack had stopped Moose running back Luke Heun for no gain on first down and limited Douglas Chadwick to three yards on a second-down carry. West Valley’s encroachment penalty moved the ball to the 4, but the Wolfpack contained Palmer quarterback Jackson Buresh at the line of scrimmage on a rush attempt.

With fourth and goal from the 4, Buresh threw to Straight in the right corner of the end zone — the same vicinity the senior receiver had outleaped Wolfpack cornerback Brent Rodenberger to tie the first overtime.

On the fourth down in the second OT, West Valley packed its coverage, causing a deflection that Graham clutched for an interception.

“When they came out in the first overtime, they ran slants,” said Graham, who was playing safety at the time. “I had a feeling they were going run it again. I overplayed it and I just got there in time.”

Graham’s timeliness helped drop the Moose to 0-2 in the conference and 1-3 overall.

“We thought we had some plays that worked and obviously they didn’t,” Rod Christiansen, Palmer’s 21-year head and the second-winningest football coach in Alaska (117 victories), said while walking through a gauntlet of West Valley fans on the sidewalk outside of the stadium.

The Wolfpack started its game-winning drive in the second OT with Plass’s 9-yard strike to Brian Vinton, giving the senior wide receiver four catches for a game-high 44 yards.

“Brian’s a great guy and a senior, and we’re just trying to give him a touchdown this year,” Plass said. “I thought he was in (the end zone), but he had a great second effort breaking that tackle.”

Plass, on second down, followed the blocking of senior center Ray Garris-Shoemaker to bull his way into the end zone, prompting every Wolfpack player on the field and sidelines to mob him.

“That was coach’s decision,” Plass said of Esparza calling the quarterback sneak. “I was just following my senior center in the end zone; he’s a big guy, so we just pushed it in there.”

Palmer senior running back Ian Ahrens scored twice and rushed for a game-high 83 yards on 28 carries, including the game’s first score on a 3-yard run with 8:03 left in the second quarter.

“He’s a good, hard-running kid,’’ Christiansen said.

West Valley took a 7-6 lead on a bittersweet play with 4:42 left before halftime. Chris Nuttall got between Palmer defensive backs Heun and Steven Lee to haul in a 24-yard pass, but the Wolfpack senior tight end injured his left ankle while falling into the end zone.

Nuttall sat out the rest of the game and had to be assisted onto the field for the postgame celebration.

“He’s a tough kid to replace,” Esparza said. “He’s been the leader of our team since January, but somebody’s got to step up and fill shoes. His loss absolutely hurt us, but it fueled us at the same time.”

JC Cummings, on the way to a team-high 51 yards on 14 carries, put the Wolfpack up 13-6 on a 1-yard bolt with 10:11 left in the third. The Moose tied it with Ahrens’ 9-yard scamper and Wisner’s point-after with 4:02 left in the third.

The game was dedicated to 11-year-old Jamison Thrun, who died Tuesday after he was struck by a car while he was on his way to school. Thrun attended nearby University Park Elementary and also played for a Wolfpack team in the Fairbanks Youth Football League.

The West Valley and Palmer players signed a football to be presented to Thrun’s family.

West Valley 26, Palmer 19 (2OT)

Friday, West Valley

First quarter

No scoring.

Second Quarter

Palmer—Ahrens 3 run (kick failed), 8:03.3.

West Valley—Nuttall 24 pass from Plass (Graham kick), 4:42.0.

Third Quarter

West Valley—Cummings 1 run (kick failed), 10:11.1.

Palmer—Ahrens 9 run (Wisner kick), 4:02.0.

First Overtime

West Valley—Graham 2 run (kick blocked).

Palmer—Straight 9 pass from Buresh (kick failed).

Second Overtime

West Valley—Plass 1 run (no kick).

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING— Palmer: Ahrens 25-83, Chadwick 11-43, King 5-27, Buresh 8-23, Nisbett 2-5. West Valley: Cummings 14-51, Graham 9-37, Anderson 7-29, Plass 4-7.

PASSING—Palmer: Buresh 4-13-2-25. West Valley: Plass 10-19-1-97.

RECEIVING— Palmer: Straight 2-14, Lee 1-9, Ahrens 1-2. West Valley: B. Vinton 4-44, Graham 4-25, Nuttall 1-24, Anderson 1-4.