More than Mayor's Cup at stake in 2014 Potato Bowl

PALMER — The Potato Bowl, the annual meeting between Palmer and Wasilla, is among the best prep football rivalries Alaska has to offer. It’s a throw out the record books game, which often trumps whatever else may have happened during the season.

But for one team this season, the Potato Bowl may help decide whether it stays in the record books.

Wasilla (5-2 overall, 2-1 in Railbelt Conference play) has already punched its playoff ticket. But the Moose (2-5, 1-2) are in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

Palmer entered the 2014 season with 14 straight trips to the state playoffs. It’s a state record the Moose share with Colony, which advanced every year from 1997-2010.

A number of playoff scenarios do favor Palmer. With a win, the Moose would advance and jump Wasilla in the standings. Palmer would be the No. 2 seed, and the Warriors would be seeded third. But Palmer can also advance with a loss. A loss to Wasilla coupled with a Lathrop win over West Valley in Fairbanks tonight would also put Palmer in the playoffs. Wasilla would improve to 3-1 with a win over Palmer, and would cement the No. 2 seed in the conference. Palmer and West Valley losses would leave a three-way tie, with Palmer, West Valley and Colony locked at 1-3. According to Railbelt Conference bylaws, head-to-head among the tied teams is the first tiebreaker used. Each team is 1-1 in that group. The next tiebreaker is common opponents outside the conference. There is one common opponent: North Pole. West Valley suffered a loss to North Pole in Week 1. That boots the Wolfpack out. Palmer would then earn the tiebreaker over Colony, thanks to a Week 7 win over the Knights.

Palmer and Wasilla would also advance if Palmer beats Wasilla and West Valley beats Lathrop. In that case, Palmer, Wasilla and West Valley would all be 2-2. Again, these teams would be tied at 1-1 in head-to-head among the group. The next tiebreaker is common opponents. And again, North Pole is that common opponent. West Valley would be out, and Palmer would be second and Wasilla third.

There is one scenario that leaves Palmer out of the playoffs. If West Valley and Wasilla both win, Wasilla would lock up the No. 2 seed and the Wolfpack would be third.

West Valley is 1-2 in conference play. Lathrop (3-0) locked up its first conference title since 1998 with a Week 6 with over Palmer.

Longtime Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said the Moose coaches try to pull the players’ attention away from the scenarios, and focus on the game itself.

“Beat Wasilla and we get to host a home game, “ Christiansen said.

Wasilla head coach Kent Rilatos, how is 1-2 in his three Potato Bowl games as the WHS head coach, said the Potato Bowl is always a big game. But the playoff implications certainly add to it.

“My first year was a big game, but both teams were already in (the playoffs),” Rilatos said of Wasilla’s 23-22 victory over Palmer, a win that featured Wasilla kicker Kyler Perry’s 30-yard game-winning field goal during the final seconds.

But instead of jockeying for playoff position, Rilatos said, tonight’s outcome could play a part in a team losing a chance for a playoff bid.

Palmer is coming off a win for just the second time this season. Despite Palmer’s 2-5 record, Christiansen said the Moose continue to work hard.

“We’ve been close in conference games,” Christiansen said of the Moose, who have lost the two Railbelt games by a combined nine points. “They keep preparing, keep battling. It’s hard when you have a season like that, but the guys keep working at it.”

Palmer earned its first Railbelt win last week, beating Colony 27-20.

“We finally got it done at Colony. We were close at Lathrop,” Christiansen said. “I’m very proud, very happy, especially for the seniors.”

Lathrop edged Palmer 28-26 in Week 6.

The Palmer defense enjoyed its best night of the season, surrendering a season-low 236 total yards. Palmer was also able to control the clock, finishing with four offensive drives of 10 plays or more.

“That always does (help), that ball control,” Christiansen said. “Offensivley, we were able to drive the ball. That’s just what we needed.”

Junior Chase Ferris carried the ball 42 times in the win, finishing with 280 yards and three touchdowns.

“He sure did his part well,” Christiansen said of Ferris. “I thought our guys up front worked really hard too.”

Tonight’s game, which starts at 7 p.m. at Palmer’s Machetanz Field, will feature two of the most ground-heavy offensive attacks in the state. Ferris leads the state with 1,231 yards rushing. But Wasilla has two of the top 10 large schools rushers in the state. Senior Devin Otto is third with 966 yards, and leads the state in both carries (169) and touchdowns (14). Sophomore Mosiah Renk is 10th with 493 yards. Renk is also averaging 14.1 yards per carry, which is best among all large schools backs with 300 yards or more this season.

Both teams average less than 10 passes per game. Palmer is averaging 9.8 pass attempts per game, while Wasilla has thrown the ball only 7.3 times per game.

Rilatos joked that odds-makers could set the over-under at about seven passes.

“Realistically, if either of us has over seven passes, something went drastically wrong,” Rilatos said with a laugh.

With that said, Rilatos said even when playing run-heavy offenses, defenses should be on the lookout for the unexpected.

Overall, Rilatos said the Warriors continue to work on what they’ve done well.

“We’re very much about execution,” Rilatos said. “If we do what’s right, to the best of our ability, the game will take care of itself.”

Christiansen stressed the need to eliminate mistakes.

“Obviously stop the big play. If we do well on special teams, we have a real opportunity,” Christiansen said. “Wasilla is not going to let us get a lot of freebees. We have to slow them down as much as possible.”

Tonight will mark the 36th battle for the Mayor’s Cup, the prize awarded to the winner of the Potato Bowl each year. Palmer claims a 26-9 record in the series, while Wasilla boasts a 10-25 mark. The schools continue to dispute the 1984 contest. There were two schedule games that season. Each team claims its win as the official Potato Bowl for that season.

In other action with Valley teams, Colony travels north to face North Pole tonight at 7 p.m. in the Interior. The Knights (4-3, 1-3) are trying to snap a three-game losing skid. North Pole, a former Railbelt opponent, has already clinched the medium schools Southeastern Conference title. Houston (3-4) travels to Homer to face the Mariners Saturday at 3 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.