Palmer prevails

WASILLA — The adjustments at halftime were subtle, but the second-half effort was significant.

Rather than reworking the game plan, the Palmer Moose simply regrouped, overcame a 12-point halftime deficit and scored a 29-19 win over the Wasilla Warriors in first-round playoff action at Veterans Memorial Field on Friday.

“They didn’t want to go home yet,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said “It’s tough being down 12, but we told the guys we can drive the ball on these guys. We just need to stop them a couple times.”

And that’s exactly what the Moose did.

Palmer scored on its first three possessions of the second half, and held the ball for more than 16 of the final 24 minutes.

Even though the Warriors moved the ball easily against the Moose in the first half, Christiansen said the Moose coaching staff didn’t feel there was a need for major adjustments at halftime. Instead, the players were reminded of what it would take to win the game.

“We needed to stop the run and make them throw,” Christiansen said.

And that’s exactly what the Moose did.

Palmer held Wasilla to 23 yards rushing in the second half, compared to the 174 yards the Warriors gained in the first and second quarters.

Even though the Palmer coaching staff didn’t call for major changes, there was plenty to talk about during the intermission.

“Coach Armstrong came in there and gave us probably the most rousing speech I’ve ever heard,” Palmer senior lineman Everest Moore said, referring to a halftime pep talk courtesy of Moose defensive coordinator Keith Armstrong. “It really put a fire in our gut, got us going.”

That fire fueled a 10-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard Devin Konkler touchdown. Konkler’s score cut Wasilla’s lead to 19-14.

On the ensuing Wasilla drive, the Warriors were forced to send the ball back to Palmer after just three plays.

That would be the last time the Warriors held the ball with the lead.

Palmer followed the defensive stop with a nine-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard Shannon Sawyer touchdown.

Palmer senior quarterback Conrad Smith sealed the win with a 47-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. Facing 1st-and-20, after a pair of Palmer penalties, Smith took the snap from center Kevin Priestly, found a hole on the left side of the line, rumbled to the sideline and went the distance for the score.

Wasilla head coach Jim Shetter said his team did not fall because a lack of effort. Palmer just did what they do best — run the football.

“They got the momentum and they executed their bread and butter pretty well in the third and fourth quarter,” Shetter said.

Palmer topped 200 yards rushing in the second half, led by Konkler’s 118 yards in the final two quarters.

Konkler hit the 100-yard mark in each half, and amassed a game-high 224 in the win. But most of the credit was handed to an impressive performance by the Palmer offensive line.

“Oh my gosh, I barely had to do anything,” Konkler said. “Just run.”

Konkler sparked the Moose in the first half with a 69-yard touchdown run on Palmer’s first play from scrimmage. The speedy senior spent the evening darting through the line and up the field.

“That was our plan,” Sawyer said. “Get Konkler to turn it up the field. We’ll get him past the front, and he’ll do the rest.”

Sawyer rushed for 51 yards on nine carries and Smith added 50 yards on nine tries behind the Palmer offensive line.

“Wasilla put a lot of guys up there to stop the run, and in the second half they put up some more guys,” Christiansen said. “And we were still able to move the ball.”

Wasilla’s emphasis on stopping the run did not surprise the Moose.

“We knew it was going to be a battle up front in the trenches,” Moore said.

Wasilla struck first in the battle between the two Valley powers. The Warriors used an 11-play, 56-yard drive to take an early lead. Wasilla junior quarterback Adrese LaVern found senior tight end Shane Green in the corner of the end zone, and the duo connected on an 8-yard scoring pass to give Wasilla the touchdown-lead.

LaVern was 4-for-4 and passed for 49 of his 114 yards on the drive. Green kept the drive alive with a key 17-yard reception on 4th-and-13.

Wasilla junior Chris Crane gave the Warriors the 13-7 lead with an 8-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. That scoring drive was set up by a Joe Barkley fumble recovery.

Junior fullback Beebo Russel gave the Warriors the two-touchdown cushion with a 6-yard scoring run late in the second quarter.

Russel burned the Moose for 127 yards rushing in the first half. He had more runs for double-digit yardage in the first half, than he had carries in the second half.

Wasilla threatened Palmer’s 10-point lead in the final two minutes of the game.

On 4th-and-long with 1:20 left in regulation, LaVern and junior wide receiver Tim Orr connected on a 19-yard pass to give Wasilla the ball at the Moose 5-yard line. But two players later, Sawyer picked off a pass for Palmer to secure the win.

“The ball was up in the air, it bobbled once, bobbled twice and fell into my hands,” Sawyer said. “I saw I got that interception and just dropped.”

With the win, Palmer moves ahead to face Service in the large-schools state semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. at Anchorage Football Stadium. Service, the fourth-seed from the Cook Inlet Conference upset Chugiak, the top seed from the CIC, in double-overtime on Saturday.

Palmer 29, Wasilla 19

Friday, Veterans Memorial Field

First quarter

Wasilla — Green 8 pass from LaVern (Bosch kick) 7:12.

Palmer — Konkler 69 run (Ott kick) 6:59.

Second quarter

Wasilla — Crane 8 run (kick failed) 9:40.

Wasilla — Russel 6 run (run fail) 2:38.

Third quarter

Palmer — Konkler 15 run (Ott kick) 6:52.

Palmer — Sawyer 3 run (Smith pass to Swetzof) 00:01.

Fourth quarter

Palmer — Smith 47 run (Ott kick) 2:40.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Palmer: Konkler 22-224, Sawyer 9-51, Smith 9-50, Swetzof 1-4, Bohman 1-3, Mitchell 1-(-8); Wasilla: Russel 17-131, Crane 16-60, Katchinska 1-4, Chafin 1-1, LaVern 1-0, Barkley 1-(-1).

PASSING — Palmer: Smith 5-8-1—44; Wasilla: LaVern 9-20-1—114.

RECEIVING — Palmer: Draughon 2-20, Mitchell 1-15, Konkler 1-5, Swetzof 1-4; Wasilla: Green 3-33, Orr 2-30, Russel 2-24, Barley 1-30, Crane 1-(-3).