Moose, Hawks open 2017 season at home

PALMER — The Palmer Moose and the North Pole Patriots will start their 2017 seasons where each of their 2016 campaigns ended.

Machetanz Field.

Both squads were part of the two-week medium-schools postseason now hosted by Palmer High School. Palmer made it a week further. Soldotna knocked off the Patriots in the semifinals. The Stars beat Palmer in the 2016 medium-schools title game.

Friday, two of Alaska’s top 4 medium-schools teams from a year ago will meet when the Moose host the Patriots at 7 p.m. at PHS.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” Palmer head coach Christiansen said recently. “North Pole has good turnover. They’re pretty excited up there.”

Palmer also has good turnover, particularly in the backfield.

“We had a four-way rotation (at running back last year) and three come back,” Christiansen said.

That group includes senior Larry Cutsforth, who led the Moose with 711 yards rushing as a junior. He also scored five touchdowns, which ranked him second on the squad. Seniors Jeff Glynn (238 yards, one touchdown) and Jared Oviak (269 yards, three touchdowns) also return. The backfield will also feature junior Levi Farris, who saw time as a reserve at fullback last year. Christiansen said, once again, the Moose will feature a variety of options in the backfield.

“We want to keep people guessing a little bit,” Christiansen said.

Juneau-Douglas at Houston

Palmer is one of a pair of Valley teams hosting games Friday night. Houston, the small-schools runner-up in 2016, meets medium-schools Juneau-Douglas Friday at 7p.m. at Houston High.

Since the start of the 2015 season, Houston is 11-1 in its last 12 home games. Eielson, which beat the Hawks in the small-schools state title game last year, tripped up Houston at home during the 2016 regular season.

Houston, which beat Seward 44-6 in the small-schools semifinals, finished 7-3 overall last season.

Juneau-Douglas, a former large-schools program that won a pair of state titles in 2005 and 2007 before dropping to the medium-schools class following the 2013 season, finished 3-5 last season and missed the playoffs.

Juneau is looking for its first win since Sept. 17, 2016.

Redington at Monroe Catholic

Redington opens its second varsity season Friday at 6 p.m. at Monroe Catholic in Fairbanks.

The Huskies are still in search of their first win in school history after finishing 0-8 last year. Redington head coach Tony Brooke said, with the experience his veteran players gained last year, he hopes to see the Huskies continue to make strides this season.

“They are already chomping at the bit to get out there, get going,” Brooke said. “They’re super excited to get out there, get their first win.”

Grabbing that historic first victory is the priority, Brooke said.

“Goal No. 1,” Brooke said. “Work to get that first win. They’re wanting that, wanting to taste that.”

Monroe finished 2-6 last season. The Rams opened with wins over Redington and Voznesenka, but followed with six straight losses.

Wasilla at Bartlett

The Wasilla Warriors will start their 2017 season the same place the 2016 season ended.

Bartlett High School.

The Bears, who beat the Warriors in the large-schools quarterfinals last year, host the Warriors Saturday at 4 p.m. at BHS.

“It’s always tough to start out with Bartlett,” Stout said. “We know what Bartlett is going to do. They’re going to come out and they’re going to run it.”

Wasilla finished 2-6 last season and advanced to the postseason after finishing 0-8 in 2015. Bartlett was 8-2 overall last year. The Golden Bears opened the 2016 season with a loss to Colony, but fired off eight straight wins before West Anchorage edged Bartlett 28-27 in the state semifinals.

Colony at Service

Colony is also in Anchorage Saturday afternoon, facing Service at 4 p.m. The Knights play three Anchorage teams (Service, Bartlett and West Anchorage) during the first four weeks of the season.

“It’s tough,” Magner said. “It’s a double-edged sword. I want that competition every single week, but at the same time, those are some big boys we’re going against.”

Colony finished 6-3 overall last year, and second in the Railbelt Conference. Two of Colony’s three losses came in its final two games of the year. West Anchorage beat Colony 28-21 in the state quarterfinals.

Service finished 5-5 and reached the state semifinals after opening the postseason with a 54-42 win over Chugiak. East Anchorage, the 2016 state champion, beat Service 27-7 in the semifinals.

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