Moose strike first, but Stars use big plays to advance to state title game

PALMER — Palmer landed the first punch Saturday afternoon. But it didn’t faze the Soldotna Stars.

Palmer junior Duston Corbin blasted through the line of scrimmage on an early 4th-and-1 and sprinted 61 yards for the score.

The lead didn’t last long.

Soldotna scored six times in the first half, and moved into the ASAA Division II title game for the seventh straight year with a 55-21 win over the Moose at Machetanz Field in Palmer. The Stars will face Northern Lights Conference rival Eagle River, which upset Railbelt Conference Lathrop later Saturday, in the Division II final Oct. 13 at 11:30 a.m. at Palmer High, which is hosting the Division II and III state championships for the third straight year.

Palmer met Soldotna in the postseason for the third straight year. The Moose fell to the Stars in each of the last two state title games. This year, Palmer, which was moved to the Railbelt Conference during the offseason, entered the postseason as a No. 2 seed. Six-time defending state champion Soldotna was the top seed out of th´NLC.

After trailing 41-7 at halftime, Palmer scored a pair of second-half touchdowns. The Moose kicked off to open the third quarter, and recovered the ball on the Soldotna 23-yard line. Five plays later, senior quarterback Luke Guggenmos connected with Makeehan Knittle on a 4-yard touchdown pass. Chase Bruesch added a 12-yard touchdown run late in the game for the Moose.

Bruesch led Palmer with 52 yards rushing. Guggenmos capped his career with 152 yards passing. Guggenmos also finished the season with 1,000 yards passing, and is the first Palmer quarterback to throw for 1,000 yards since Jackson Buresh in 2010.

Soldotna rode big plays to its seventh straight title game. Aside from a 1-yard plunge courtesy of quarterback Jersey Truesdell, every other SoHi touchdown came from at least 21 yards out.

Truesdell ran for an 81-yard score and connected with Hunter Metcalf on a 79-yard touchdown pass. Truesdell finished 6 of 7 for 189 yards and three scores. He ran for 125 yards and two scores. Metcalf collected 135 yards receiving and 78 yards rushing. Metcalf also tossed a 35-yard touchdown on a halfback pass during the final minute of the first half.

Contact Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com

Soldotna 55, Palmer 21

Division II semifinals

Saturday, Palmer High School

First quarter:

Palmer — Corbin 61 run (Knittle kick) 9:38

Soldotna — Metcalf 40 run (Truesdell kick) 6:21

Soldotna — Truesdell 1 run (kick failed) 0:11

Second quarter

Soldotna — Truesdell 81 run (Hanson pass from Truesdell) 9:45

Soldotna — Metcalf 29 pass from Truesdell (kick failed) 2:49

Soldotna — Brantley III 21 pass fro Truesdell (Feletoi run) 1:45

Soldotna — Updike 25 pass from Metcalf (run failed) 0:43.

Third quarter

Soldotna — Knittle 4 pass from Guggenmos (Knittle kick) 9:10

Soldotna — Medcoff 28 pass from Truesdell (Medcoff run) 4:50

Fourth quarter

Soldotna — Metcalf 79 pass from Truesdell (kick failed) 6:29

Palmer — Bruesch 12 run (Van Tassel pass from Guggenmos) 3:45.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Palmer: Marshall 10-20, Bruesch 9-52, Christiansen 5-(-4), Corbin 1-61; Soldotna Metcalf 10-78, Faletoli 10-48, Truesdell 8-125, Medcoff 5-45, O’Reagan 2-13, Sorhus 1-3, Johnson 1-(-2).

PASSING — Palmer: Guggenmos 11-19-1-152; Soldotna Truesdell 6-7-0—189, Metcalf 1-1-0—35.

RECEIVING — Palmer: Van Tassel 3-65, Farris 3-23, Knittle 2-13, Weaver 1-32, Corbin 1-13, Christiansen 1-5; Soldotna: Metcalf 3-132, Medcoff 2-36, Brantley III 1-21, Updike 1-35.