Patriots cruise past Colony in quarterfinals

NORTH POLE — Beforehand, it looked as though Colony would give North Pole its toughest game of the high school football season — but one thing was overlooked.

No one could catch Dane Ebanez.

Ebanez rushed for 244 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead the No. 1-ranked North Pole PatrioTs to a 34-0 victory over the Colony Knights in a large schools quarterfinal playoff game at Patriot Pride Field.

Ebanez went for more than 10 yards seven times, and with every breakaway run he was serving notice to the rest of Alaska high school football about just how good the Patriots can be.

“Hopefully, we sent a message to the state that we keep evolving, keep getting better,” he said.

Colony head coach Jamie Mayo apparently got the memo.

“If that’s not a state championship team,” Mayo said, “then I don’t know what the heck I’m doing.”

Wearing a tight black hood he called “my playoff beard,” the 5-foot-8, 172-pound Ebanez didn’t think he was the star of the game.

“Talk to the linemen!” he demanded as reporters approached him.

Did Ebanez mean the North Pole defensive linemen who held the ever-dangerous Colony quarterback Collin Murphy to 49 passing yards and 79 running yards?

That could be, as the Patriots’ defense kept a powerful running attack from gaining more than 20 yards in the first half.

Or Ebanez may have been talking of the Patriots offensive linemen, who supplied room for Eric Antesberger (76 yards) and Josh Eriksen (20 yards) to run for a touchdown apiece.

“(The Patriots) were about as flawless as you can be,” Mayo said. “… The whole game, they were a half-step quicker.”

North Pole coach Richard Henert had a different reason for what he called “the best game of the year”: fullback Taylor Lewis, who frequently paved Ebanez’ path.

It was a good night to have a run-heavy game. The field was covered in snow, and the temperature began at 29 degrees and dipped lower throughout the game.

“I love playing in the snow,” North Pole lineman Brendan Martinez said. “Ever since I was a kid … I’ve taken to the snow. It’s just icing on the cake.”

Ebanez agreed, saying the conditions made the win “more fun than any other game.”

The victory puts North Pole into next week’s semifinals against the Service Cougars of Anchorage. That game will be played Friday or Saturday at the Anchorage Football Stadium.

Antesberger got the Patriots on the scoreboard with a 2-yard touchdown burst with 4:17 left in the first quarter.

Ebanez helped North Pole take a 13-0 halftime lead with a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He added a 13-yard touchdown dash in the second quarter.

Quarterback Lee Jones hit Trevor McCumby with a 41-yard touchdown pass in the Patriots’ first drive of the second half. It was North Pole’s only completed pass.

After Ebanez scored later in the third quarter, Josh Erickson capped the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown run in the fourh quarter.

Mayo said he wasn’t disappointed with the Knights in their back-to-back losses that ended a comeback season.

“The bottom line is, we came up against two good teams in Juneau and North Pole who were better prepared than we were,” Mayo said. “I’ve got to take responsibility for that.”

PATRIOTS 34, KNIGHTS 0 Colony 0 0 0 0—0 North Pole 7 6 14 7—34 First Quarter NP—Antesberger 2 run ( Hingst kick), 4:17. Second Quarter NP—Ebanez 3 run (Hingst kick missed), 11:54. Third Quarter NP—McCumby 41 pass from Jones (Hingst kick), 8:54. NP—Ebanez 13 rush (Hingst kick), 5:17. Fourth Quarter NP—Eriksen 20 run (Hingst kick), 6:27. NP Col First downs 12 12 Rushes-Yards 44-372 33-115 Comp-Att-Int 1-6-1 6-18-2 Passing yards 41 49 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 4-1 Return yards 139 51 Punts-Yards 2-40 4-39.3 Penalties-Yards 9-80 7-35 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—North Pole: Ebanez 21-244, Antesberger 10-76, Eriksen 1-20, Wiggins 5-28, Lewis 3-13, Woster 2-(-2), Jones 2-(-7). Colony: Murphy 20-79, Paoletti 5-22, Krieg 7-12, M. Jaronik 1-2. PASSING—North Pole: Jones 1-5-1-41, Wright 1-0-0-0. Colony: Murphy 6-17-2-49, M. Jaronik 1-0-0-0. RECEIVING—North Pole: McCumby 1-41. Colony: Swan 3-19, M.Jaronik 1-16 McGraw 1-11, T. Jaronik 1-9.