Moose score 70 in lopsided win over Lathrop

PALMER — With apologies to the ASPCA, the Palmer High School football team spent Friday night pounding puppies.

Two weeks removed from snapping a 21-game Railbelt Conference losing streak against Colony, Lathrop High’s second trip to Palmer this season saw the Malemutes on the receiving end of a 70-6 thumping to the Moose. It was a rout that started with the opening kickoff, when Douglas Chadwick sprinted 86 yards up the middle to give Palmer a 7-0 lead 13 seconds into the game at Machetanz Field.

“That killed us,” Lathrop head coach Jason Gazewood said. “It really did set the tone, that was pretty devastating. Our kids play with a fair amount of emotion, and that kind of drained them of emotion.”

As much as the Moose dominated on offense — piling up 565 yards of total offense, including 472 on the ground — it was the Malemutes’ inability to take advantage of its athleticism and speed that factored into the loss, Gazewood said. Against Colony, Lathrop used its explosive big-play ability to secure a 26-19 win. There would be no big plays for LHS on Friday.

“Do you have any of those ampersands and the other symbols you make when you’re using bad language?” Gazewood said after the game. “They did shut us down. They were shelling us a lot and we were just a little off. They did a good job defensively, they really shut us down.

The only highlight of the night for Lathrop came in the second quarter. Already trailing Palmer 35-0, the Malemutes put together their best drive of the night, going 49 yards on seven plays, all passes. Quarterback Gabriel Cunningham was sharp, hitting on 6 of 7 attempts, the final a 6-yard touchdown strike to Kaelen Lee. The extra point was blocked, but Lathrop avoided the shutout.

The highlights for the Moose, however, could fill an entire highlight reel, beginning with Chadwick’s opening kickoff scamper. That touchdown set a good tone for the Moose, head coach Rod Christiansen said. It also put Lathrop on its heels and allowed Palmer to focus on eliminating the Malemutes’ big-play ability.

“We knew that was a team we could beat handily, but you’re always concerned about not taking anybody too lightly,” he said. “You’ve got to come out and do what you’re supposed to do. We’ve given up big plays all year, so we were trying not to let that happen.”

Palmer didn’t sit on its early lead, scoring less than two minutes later on its third offensive play, a 69-yard blast through the Lathrop defense by sophomore James Nisbett. His partner in the Moose backfield, senior Ian Ahrens, punched the ball over the goal line with 2:11 left in the first quarter for a 21-0 lead.

The 1-2 punch of Nisbett and Ahrens ran roughshod over the Lathrop defense in the first half, each posting 100 yards. Nisbett finished with and even 100 yards on five carries and Ahrens 117 yards on 14 carries. They would be spelled by the Moose second string in the second half.

The ball continued to bounce Palmer’s way on the ensuing kickoff, an onsides kick the Moose recovered. They executed a textbook five-play drive to close out the quarter with a 29-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Jackson Buresh to Steven Lee.

Another quick defensive stop gave the Moose their first possession of the second half, and they methodically marched 75 yards for Nisbett’s second score of the night, a 4-yard touchdown run, and the 35-0 lead.

Lathrop would post its highlight on the ensuing possession, but Palmer exploded again to score two touchdowns and a safety in the final 2:27 of the first half to go into the locker room up 50-6. Ahrens hit the 100-yard mark with a 2-yard touchdown plunge, followed by a safety from linebacker Jameson Corbin, one of two impressive sacks for the senior. The landslide ended with in the final minute of the half when Buresh connected with Nisbett for a 39-yard pitch-and-catch touchdown.

Although Christiansen pulled many of his starters three plays into the third quarter (which included a 20-yard touchdown run up the middle from fullback Zeth Merritt), but it made little difference. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Moose extended the blowout to 63-6 on a 9-yard touchdown run from Dylan Myers, then senior Michael Roy capped the scoring from 10 yards out. Myers finished with 64 yards on eight carries.

Although the game was lopsided, Christiansen said the challenge for his squad leading up to hosing North Pole on Saturday is to not become overconfident.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” he said. “We’ve got to get better and focus on the next team.”

About the only blemishes on the game were a pair of long Palmer touchdowns called back for penalties. At the end of the first half, a 73-yard interception return by Nisbett was called back for an illegal block in the back. With time winding down in the fourth quarter and Lathrop driving inside the Moose 5-yard line, Jared Straight intercepted Cunningham on the goal line and blazed up the far sideline 100 yards. That return was also called back for an illegal block.

Palmer would go on to blow the game wide open before halftime, stretching its lead to 50-6 at the break. Opening the second half was almost as disastrous as the opening kickoff. Lathrop fumbled the ball away on the first play of the third quarter, and three plays later Palmer was in the end zone again with a 57-6 lead. Two more touchdowns before the end of the quarter rounded out the scoring.

The challenge for the Malemutes now is to not let the lopsided score affect the rest of their season, Gazewood said.

“Really, we’ve got to recover from that and learn something from it,” he said. “We’re not a team that should lose 70-6. We aren’t. This is ridiculous.”

Palmer 70, Lathrop 6

Friday, Machetanz Field, Palmer

First quarter:

Palmer — Chadwick 86 kickoff return (Wisner kick) 11:47.

Palmer — Nisbett 69 run (Kahler kick) 8:33.

Palmer — Ahrens 5 run (Wisner kick) 2:11.

Palmer — Lee 29 pass from Buresh (Kahler kick) 0:00.

Second quarter:

Palmer — Nisbett 4 run (Wisner kick) 8:52.

Lathrop — Lee 6 pass from Cunningham (kick blocked) 5:56.

Palmer — Ahrens 2 run (Kahler kick) 2:27.

Palmer — Safety (Corbin) 1:17.

Palmer — Nisbett 39 pass from Buresh (kick failed) :53.

Third quarter:

Palmer — Merritt 20 run (Wisner kick) 10:37.

Palmer — Myers 9 run (kick failed) 8:11.

Palmer — Roy 10 run (Wisner kick) 2:43.

Fourth quarter:

No scoring

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Lathrop: Lee 7-39, Cunningham 6-(-35), Seminario 4-26, Stephenson 1-(-3); Colony: Ahrens 14-117, Roy 8-64, Nisbett 5-100, Myers 4-77, Wells 3-(-6), Chadwick 2-17, Buresh 1-12, V. Aumavae 1-53, Merritt 1-21, Wisner 1-17.

PASSING — Lathrop: Cunningham 15-34-2—121; Colony: Buresh 3-4-0—93.

RECEIVING — Lathrop: Seminario 5-48, Lee 4-28, Tate 3-44, Desmond 1-10, McKinstry 1-10, McGowan 1-0; Colony: Nisbett 1-39, Lee 1-29, Myers 1-25.