Patriots rally past Moose

PALMER — As the North Pole Patriots celebrated, the Palmer Moose stood stunned.

North Pole scored 20 unanswered points in the final nine minutes of play to swipe a 20-19 win over the Moose in the season opener for both teams Friday night at Machetanz Field in Palmer.

“Fourth quarter is the money quarter,” North Pole quarterback Craig Borba said after the win. “We don’t give up.”

Easton Kirven ran in the 2-point conversion with 38 seconds left to play to push the Patriots past the Moose.

“It’s big, exactly what we needed,” Borba said. “It’s huge coming back like that in that fashion.”

CJ Fontana scored twice and Borba connected with Jamie Johnson on a 28-yard touchdown pass as the Patriots scored on their final three possessions in the win.

“Our intensity came up a lot,” Borba said. “People started picking each other up. They didn’t start getting down on each other. They kept a positive attitude.”

Fontana rumbled for a game-best 105 yards and two scores in the win.

“He’s a big strong runner. Any run you give him, he’s going to create some yards,” Borba said.

Johnson hauled in three of his four catches in the second half, and finished with a game-high 74 yards receiving.

“We’ve got strong runners, strong receivers,” Borba said.

North Pole started its really early in the fourth quarter, shortly after Palmer hit the end zone for the third time to take the 19-0 lead. Palmer senior Larry Cutsforth scored on an 8-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to extend his team’s lead. On North Pole’s following possession, Fontana capped a seven-play drive with a 2-yard score. The touchdown was set up by a 24-yard Johnson catch, a snag on a jump ball, that gave the Patriots the ball near the goal line.

After Palmer was held to a quick 3-and-out, the Patriots put together a nine-play drive. Johnson hauled in a 28-yard Borba pass for the score.

Late in the game, trailing 19-12, North Pole forced a Palmer fumble deep in Moose territory. Three plays later, Fontana scored again to pull the Patriots within one. North Pole went for the 2-point conversion, and the win, and Kirven sliced into the end zone.

After a scoreless first quarter, Palmer senior Jeff Glynn gave the Moose a lead with a 7-yard touchdown. Senior Jared Oviok scored about three minutes later to push Palmer’s advantage to 12-0.

Cutsforth led Palmer with 71 yards rushing.

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

North Pole 20, Palmer 19

Friday, Machetanz Field

First quarter:

No scoring

Second quarter:

Palmer — Glynn 7 run (run failed) 5:00

Palmer — Oviok 12 run (fun failed) 1:53.

Third quarter:

No scoring

Fourth quarter:

Palmer — Cutsforth 8 run (Cutsforth kick) 11:54.

North Pole — Fontana 2 run (run failed) 8:43.

North Pole — Johnson 28 pass from Borba (pass failed) 3:21.

North Pole — Fontana 2 run (Kirven run) 1:38.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — North Pole: Fontana 23-105, Antesberger 5-11, Borba 3-(-7), Kirven 2-4, Gaines 1-6, Rady 1-(-1); Palmer: Cutsforth 20-71, Oviok 8-41, Glynn 6-50, Guggenmos 2-(-6), Ferris 1-4.

PASSING — North Pole: Borba 8-18-0—116; Palmer: Guggenmos 5-8-1—71.

RECEIVING — North Pole: Johnson 4-74, Kirven 2-30, Erickson 1-8, Schlenker 1-4; Palmer: Daniels 4-57, Dickens 1-14.