Moose get past ‘Pack

FAIRBANKS — The host West Valley Wolfpack put up a fight, but the Palmer Moose left the Interior with a victory.

Vincent Aumavae scored a pair of second-half touchdowns and James Nisbett added a late score to help Palmer score a 21-12 come-from-behind win Friday over the Wolfpack at West Valley High School in Fairbanks.

“West Valley earned our respect,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said via cellphone from the Interior.

New starting quarterback Charles Suddeth tossed a pair of touchdown passes for West Valley (0-2), including a 26-yard scoring throw to Elijah Connell that gave the Wolfpack an early 6-0 lead.

“He terrorized us,” Christiansen said of Suddeth, who was named the Railbelt’s Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore last season.

Suddeth also found Jaxon Brooks on a 26-yard score late in the fourth quarter. Christiansen said the play came in the final seconds of regulation, but the effort came on a legitimate scoring drive.

Nisbett and senior quarterback Zeth Merritt both topped the 100-yard mark on the ground, and the Moose rushed for three scores, but Christiansen said there’s plenty of room for the Palmer offense to improve.

“We made too many drive-killing mental mistakes,” Christiansen said. “We need to be more consistent on offense.”

Aumavae helped give the Moose the lead with a 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, and Palmer added to its advantage with an Aumavae 8-yard run later in the first half. Nisbett scored on a 5-yard run in the second half. Kicker Nathan Pempeck was a perfect 3 for 3 on extra points.

Complete stats can be found at frontiersman.com/sports once they are available.

Palmer (2-0, 1-0 in Railbelt) continues its season with a rare Thursday night contest in Week 3. The Moose make the short trip south to face East Anchorage Thursday at 7 p.m. at Anchorage Football Stadium. The game marks a rematch of a 2012 large-school quarterfinals game won by the Moose.

West Valley dropped to 0-2 this season. Chugiak beat the Wolfpack 17-6 last week.