Moose host Knights at Machetanz

PALMER — The Colony Knights are growing up. But that doesn’t mean they’re through with growing pains.

Tonight the Knights will have another chance to show what they’ve learned through a tough 2011 campaign, traveling to Palmer to face the rival Moose at 7 p.m. at Machetanz Field.

Despite his team’s 0-4 mark in Railbelt Conference play, head coach Brian McIntosh said he’s encouraged by the Knights’ growth and improvement. Colony started its season with only one returning starter, senior center Ty Farber, and only one other player who had even set foot on the field during varsity action before 2011.

The Knights have only a dozen seniors on the roster, but sport deep sophomore and junior classes. Colony started six sophomores on offense alone during a 42-7 loss to Wasilla last week.

“We’re seeing a lot of underclassmen starting to step up as leaders now,” McIntosh said. “One of our sayings this year is play to your ability, don’t play to your age.”

With the loss of more than 20 seniors from a 2010 squad that won the Railbelt title, McIntosh said the Knights knew they’d have their hands full this season.

“The kids knew going into the season it will be a struggle,” McIntosh said. “Unfortunately we haven’t been able to pull out any wins.”

But there has been improvement.

The Knights were scoreless in three of the first four games of the season, but have reached the end zone in consecutive weeks. McIntosh said he was impressed with the work of sophomore running backs Ryan Ertz and Fischer Summers during the loss to Warriors. He also likes the work of the Knights passing game. Junior quarterback Rob Lorentz has completed passing to 11 different receivers this season.

“We just have an amazing group of receivers,” McIntosh said.

“We’ve got the new head baseball coach (Jordan Chadwell) and the head boys basketball coach (Tom Berg) coaching the receivers. They’re doing wonders with those guys.”

McIntosh said he also liked what he saw from his team’s defense, particularly in the first half.

“We were pleased for much of the game. Defensively, that’s the first time our defense has played four quarters of swarm, gang tackling Colony football,” McIntosh said. “The second half turned out being a blowout, but we saw some good things.”

Colony meets a Palmer squad that scored a big 42-21 win over North Pole last week. The victory allowed the Moose (3-3 overall, 2-2 in Railbelt) to move one step closer to securing one of the conference’s four playoff spots.

“This is a huge win,” Palmer senior quarterback Jackson Buresh said after the victory. “It sets us up big for the playoffs.”

Palmer now sits in fourth place in the Railbelt. West Valley (5-0 in the Railbelt) holds the top spot. Wasilla (3-1) and Juneau (3-1) are currently tied in second place, with the Warriors holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.

North Pole (1-3) is still alive, but would have an uphill climb to the postseason. Lathrop (1-4) is virtually out of the playoff race.

Just a Palmer win over Colony would not officially punch a Moose playoff ticket — a few wild playoff scenarios could still be possible. But a Palmer win over Colony, combined with a Wasilla victory over North Pole would immediately clear up the postseason picture.

A North Pole loss would eliminate the Pats from the playoff race, and officially guarantee the Crimson Bears, Warriors and Moose the chance to play in October.

Palmer is riding a balanced offense and opportunistic defense and special teams into the tail end of the season. Buresh has averaged only 92.5 yards passing during back-to-back wins, but completed 60 percent of his passes. The Moose have also found balance in their running game, using a variety of backs to churn through 742 yards in two games.

“There’s probably four guys, five including Buresh, who had significant carries. We’re spreading it around with some fresh legs, with some guys who run hard,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said after the North Pole win.

Senior Ian Ahrens led the Moose with 495 yards and six touchdowns. Buresh has also scored six times, and is second on the team with 200 yards on the ground.

Sophomore James Nisbett has come on strong with 192 yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Wasilla at North Pole

Palmer is not the only team trying to cement a spot in the playoffs. With a win tonight at North Pole’s Patriot Pride Field, the Warriors would lock up its first postseason berth since 2007.

But if the Warriors want to win, they’ll have to beat a North Pole team that’s had complete control of the Railbelt rivalry in recent memory.

North Pole scored a slim 21-18 win over the Warriors last season. But in a half-dozen prior meetings, North Pole was 6-0 against Wasilla, while scoring at least 32 points per game. The Pats outscored Wasilla 259-101 during that stretch.

While the Warriors have struggled during the last few seasons, Wasilla is opening eyes this year. Wasilla is riding a four-game winning streak and averaging 34 points per game this season.

The Wasilla offense boasts three of the top players in the state statistically. Senior running back Devon Teeling is second in the large schools class with 884 yards rushing. Only North Pole junior quarterback Moo Rogers has more with 922.

Senior Tyler Anderson leads the state with 10 receiving touchdowns and is fifth in the state with 581 yards receiving.

Junior quarterback Ben Fielder is fourth in the state with 1,027 yards passing and second with 14 passing touchdowns.

Wasilla head coach Kent Rilatos said he is pleased with the work of his offense, but also noted the improvement of the defense. Wasilla’s defensive front — ends Braydon Kuiper and Pat Clark, and tackles Dillin Wiggns and Dakota Hermons — were key in the win over Colony.

Overall, Rilatos said he sees a new confidence in his players.

“Our young men, they play with confidence. It’s just a matter of getting their confidence built,” Rilatos said. “Once they get the confidence rolling, they’re an outstanding group of young men to work with.”

Lathrop at Houston

The Houston Hawks will host the first Friday night homecoming in school history tonight at 7 p.m. against the Lathrop Malemutes.

The Hawks slipped to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in Northern Lights Conference play with a 38-3 loss to Kenai last week at Kenai Central High, but are only two weeks removed from a 38-0 win over Seward.

Lathrop started the season 2-0 with victories over Seward and Colony, but have suffered four straight losses.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.