Moose take on Knights

There are only two unbeatens in Northern Railbelt Conference play.

After tonight there will only be one.

Palmer and Colony, who each stand at the top of the NRC standings with a 2-0 conference record face off today at 7 p.m. at

Machetanz Field in Palmer.

The Moose and the Knights are not only the only unbeatens in conference play in the Northern Railbelt, but the only teams with perfect conference marks in all of the large school class.

Each school in the Cook Inlet Football Conference has at least one blemish on their conference record.

Palmer (2-0, 3-2) stayed undefeated in the NRC with a 19-13 victory over the Lathrop Malemutes last week at Palmer High. The Moose ran for 354 yards in the win and had 100-yard efforts from junior Allen Franklin (163 yards) and senior Mike Weber (110 yards).

Moose quarterback Charlie Bentti added 84 yards rushing.

It marked the fourth time this season that Palmer has gained more than 300 yards on the ground.

It was also the fourth game in which Franklin and Weber ran for more than 100 yards each.

Palmer has rushed for more than 1,500 yards this season.

Colony (2-0, 3-2) is also led by one of the conference's top running backs.

Shawn Olivera reached the 100-yard mark for the third time this season as the Knights defeated the West Valley Wolfpack 28-14 at Colony High School last week.

Olivera ran for 110 yards and a score.

The Colony defense and special teams forced four WVHS turnovers in the contest. Kyle Van Sant and Justin Schwartzbauer recovered fumbles on special teams. Schwartzbauer and David Craig intercepted passes for the Colony defense.

The winner of the Valley showdown could take a huge step toward claiming the Northern Railbelt Conference crown.

Colony's narrow victory over the Moose last season was pivotal as they won the NRC title over Palmer and Wasilla via the tiebreaker.

Each team finished 5-1 in conference play, but Colony was awarded the championship because the Knights had allowed the fewest points in conference play.

That trend has continued as Colony has allowed a league-low 35 points thus far.

The Moose have allowed 43 points.

Following this contest, Palmer will wrap up the regular season with a home date against North Pole and the Potato Bowl at Wasilla.

Colony will face North Pole and Lathrop in the final two weeks of the regular

season.

Wasilla @ Lathrop

The Warriors are still looking for their first NRC win after suffering a 35-7 loss to North Pole at Veterans Memorial Field last week.

Jake Wade rushed for 103 yards and scored the Warriors' lone touchdown to lead Wasilla.

Wade, brother Jed and fellow running back Ricky Cunningham lead the Warriors on offense.

Lathrop is led by senior quarterback Brock Graziadi who has tossed 13 touchdowns, while throwing just two interceptions, in five games this season.

Wasilla will make two straight trips to Fairbanks, facing the 1-1 Malemutes this weekend and West Valley next week.

Houston @ Eielson

The Houston Hawks will fly north to take on the Eielson Ravens.

This will be the first-ever conference match-up between the Hawks and the Ravens.

Eielson dropped down from the 4A ranks after last season and is undefeated against 3A competition thus far.

Eielson handed Anchorage Christian a 26-6 win last weekend at Buck Nystrom Field.

Houston evened their conference record to 2-2 last Friday with a 33-0 win over Sitka at Houston High School Field.

The Sitka contest was the final home game for the Hawks this season.The Hawks will play their final three games on the road.

Houston will travel to Nikiski next weekend and close out the regular season with a road date at Kodiak.