Moose score key Division II win over Lathrop

The Palmer Moose used a late second-quarter touchdown to grab the momentum at the end of the first half, came out strong in the third quarter and never gave it back.

Palmer senior quarterback Nolan Garner hit receiver Evan Denoncour for a 16-yard strike with 10 seconds left in the second quarter to spark the Moose, and Palmer rolled to a 40-24 victory over the Lathrop Malemutes Friday night at Machetanz Field at Palmer High School.

“They’ve been doing that all year. And they said it in the huddle, hey, we got this,” Palmer head coach Tim Popowski said of the key second-quarter score. “They were very comfortable with the play call, and they just went out and executed.”

The score was the start of a 27-point run the Moose extended into the fourth quarter. Palmer used big plays on defense to set up the offense in the third, forcing turnovers on Lathrop’s first two plays of the third quarter, and three of the Malemutes’ first eight.

Palmer senior Reed Craner picked off a Lathrop pass on the first play of the second half. On Lathrop’s second offensive snap, senior Jayden Hartman forced a fumble and fellow senior Atticus Prince recovered. Later in the quarter, senior Lee Kirby intercepted another Malemutes pass.

“That’s what we’ve talked about. If they get the ball (in the second half), get them to give it back to us, whether it’s a turnover or forcing them to punt,” Popowski said. “That’s something we’ve been pretty successful at this year. We’ve had the ball pretty much at the start of every game.”

Palmer followed with touchdowns on two of the three turnovers.

On the play following the Prince recovery, Craner took an end-around for a 14-yard touchdown to give the Moose a 27-17 lead.

The Moose followed the Kirby interception with a seven-play, 78-yard scoring drive. Senior Corbin Gerkin burst through the middle of the line for a 24-yard score.

“We weren't able to punch you the first one, but then we got the turnover right away again. the second one. That's big for us, winning the first four minutes of that half was huge,” Popowski said.

And it was a huge victory that puts Palmer in the driver's seat in the quest for a prime playoff position, home-field advantage. The Moose improved to 4-1 in conference play, and are now second in the Division II standings. Defending state champion Soldotna stands at first at 5-0, followed by Palmer and Lathrop (4-1).

Palmer hosts Chugiak Sept. 26 on senior night and is at Wasilla for the annual Potato Bowl during the final week of the season.

Palmer and Lathrop combined for 37 points in the second quarter. The Malemutes held leads of 3-0, 10-7 and 17-13.

“We knew this was going to be a good game,” Popowski said.

Garner connected with Denoncour for a pair of touchdown passes in the second quarter. Overall, the senior was 10 of 15 for 132 yards passing. Garner also added 37 yards rushing and a 5-yard score in the second half.

Gerkin ran for a game-high 203 yards and two touchdowns. Early in the second quarter, Gerkin took a toss, hit the right sideline and sprinted 69 yards untouched for the touchdown.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.