Moose win 2018 Potato Bowl, secure spot in playoffs

WASILLA — As fireworks filled the Wasilla sky during the postgame festivities Friday night, the Palmer Moose lifted the Mayor’s Cup high into the air, cheering their fourth straight win in the historic Potato Bowl. About a half-hour after Palmer’s 42-0 win over Wasilla at Veterans Memorial Field, the Moose had another reason to celebrate.

Lathrop beat West Valley 23-18. That means Palmer’s in the playoffs.

That’s a pretty good night for the Moose, who spent the week not knowing if their season would continue past Friday night. After a disappointing 19-14 loss to Lathrop at Machetanz Field last week, Palmer’s playoff fate was left for Lathrop and West Valley to determine. Lathrop’s win Friday night gives the Malemutes (6-2, 3-0) the Division II Railbelt Conference title. The Moose (6-2, 2-1) grabbed the No. 2 seed from the conference. West Valley (5-3, 1-2) fell out of the playoffs with the loss to the Malemutes.

Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said the message throughout the week was focus on Wasilla.

“Our goal was to have a great night in the Potato Bowl,” Christiansen said as his players posed for pictures midfield. “Do what we’re going to do.”

Christiansen said it was time for his players to give all they had.

“Play every play like it’s the last,” Christiansen said. “Football coaches like saying that, because you never know when that is. The kids really stepped up and did that. A lot of great effort.”

Christiansen said he didn’t want the Moose to spend their time watching the Lathrop-West Valley score.

“We wanted them to focus on having a great time playing football, not worrying about playing next week,” Christiansen said.

Palmer senior quarterback Luke Guggenmos said the Lathrop-West Valley game was hard to ignore, the Moose wanted to win the Potato Bowl for their head coach.

“It was in the back of our heads that it could be our last game. We just came out and played hard,” Guggenmos said.

Guggenmos praised the work of his offensive line, which paved the way for 402 yards of total offense.

“Our offensive line did a terrific job,” Guggenmos said. “It was a huge confidence boost for the offensive line. They did a tremendous job.”

Behind that front, Guggenmos threw for 153 yards and three touchdowns. Leif Mumma grabbed a pair of those scores. Mumma snagged a 25-yard touchdown catch on fourth down to give the Moose the 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Four minutes later, Mumma caught a short pass and hit the sideline 62 yards for the touchdown. Dawson VanTassel hauled in a 49-yard touchdown catch in the second half.

“Obviously we can run the ball really well, but we want to throw the ball a little bit to keep them off balance,” Christiansen said.

Palmer finished with 249 yards on the ground, and averaged seven yards per carry. Chase Buresch led the Moose with 127 yards on 15 carries. Lavar Marshall added 59 yards on two scores. Levi Farris also rushed for a touchdown.

The Moose defense held Wasilla to 38 yards on the ground, and a 33-yard Colton Lindquist catch on a Jordan Quenga halfback pass. Christiansen said the Moose knew the key was stopping Quenga, who entered the game with 817 yards rushing.

“Watching him on tape playing, he’s hard runner,” Christiansen said of Quenga. “You’ve got to get more than one guy in on the tackle.”

With the win, Palmer improved to 30-10 in the Potato Bowl, a historic series that dates back to 1979.

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

Palmer 42, Wasilla 0

Friday, Wasilla

First quarter:

Palmer — Farris 1 run (Knittle kick) 1:29.

Second quarter:

Palmer — Mumma 25 pass from Guggenmos (Knittle kick) 5:18.

Palmer — Mumma 62 pass from Guggenmos (Knittle kick) 1:21.

Third quarter:

Palmer — Marshall 1 run (Knittle kick) 4:53.

Palmer — VanTassel 49 pass from Guggenmos (Knittle kick) 1:22.

Fourth quarter:

Palmer — Marshall 8 run (Knittle kick) 10:45.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Palmer: Bruesch 15-127, Marshall 9-59, Caple 5-8, Christiansen 4-26, Guggenmos 3-19, VanTassel 1-9; Farris 1-1 Wasilla: Quenga 17-41, Matthews 4-10, Drummond 3-4, Lindquist 3-3, Malave 2-(-20).

PASSING — Palmer: Guggenmos 4-8-0—153; Wasilla: Malave 0-3-0—0, Quenga 1-1-0—33.

RECEIVING — Palmer: Mumma 2-87, VanTassel 1-49, Corbin 1-17; Wasilla: Lindquist 1-33.