No. 1 fan

ANCHORAGE — He wears No. 27 with pride, but his name won’t be found on the roster.

He is always first on the field, waving the blue and white Palmer flag high above his head with the Palmer Moose football squad following close behind.

He hasn’t played a down during his three seasons of football at Palmer High School, but junior Garrett Stortz is as recognizable as any of the players. Stortz is the Palmer Moose mascot and the No. 1 fan of the Palmer High School football team.

“It feels really good to be a part of my team in this way,” Stortz said during halftime of Saturday’s Alaska State Activities Association First National Bowl large-schools state championship game at Anchorage Football Stadium.

Like he has in just about every game, Stortz brought an impressive Palmer crowd to its feet before the game between the Moose and Juneau-Douglas kicked off. He charges onto the football field, flag in hand.

Stortz dashes in one direction and then another, all the while inciting the cheering Palmer faithful.

Fans of the Moose always react to what Stortz is doing on the sidelines.

“I seem to get a lot of positive support,” Stortz said. “I’ve had a lot of good compliments. [Fans] really support me and the two other flag runners.”

Stortz tries to stay involved with the team in any way he can.

“Cheering on players, the team. Filling water bottles,” he said. “Anything I can do to help support my team and my school.”

And Stortz said he has the support of the Palmer High players.

“They appreciate what I do,” Stortz said. “They support me.”

Stortz came up with the idea of being the team’s mascot after talking with his school counselor at PHS.

“They had the costume and needed someone to step up and show some school spirit,” he said.

Stortz can now be seen at about any sporting event at Palmer High School. If he’s not at Machetanz Field wearing the brown ruff of the Moose mascot costume, he’s sitting with his fellow students in the PHS gymnasium cheering for the Palmer basketball and volleyball teams.

Stortz is also a member of the Palmer High School hockey team. He is set to begin his third season with the Moose. A right wing, Stortz said if he does not make the lineup as a regular skater on the varsity squad, he may drop the stick and pick up the Moose head to bring the same school spirit to the hockey rink.

Stortz is an avid fan of the National Hockey League and the New Jersey Devils and has played the sport for five years.

Stortz is also a member of the Partners Club at Palmer High School. His future plans may include college, perhaps to study sports broadcasting and maybe become a college mascot.

His ambitions may come through even before he walks away from Palmer High School as a part of the class of 2009. Following Saturday’s game, Dennis Weatherholt, president of the Alaska Wild professional indoor football team, presented the junior with an offer he may not be able to refuse — being the Alaska Wile mascot. Should Stortz decide to spread his wings with the Wild, it likely won’t keep him from waving the Moose flag, and prompting everyone around him to bleed blue.

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