Perseverance puts Palmer in final

PALMER — At the halfway point of the regular season, the Palmer Moose were at a crossroads. The Moose were off to a 1-3 start and facing the possibility of missing the playoffs for only the second time in 13 years.

Rather than retreating, the Moose continued on. Palmer won five of it’s next six, and Saturday the Moose have a chance to win their second ASAA large-schools state championship in school history. The Moose face Railbelt Conference foe Juneau-Douglas for the title. Kickoff at Anchorage Football Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Palmer made some adjustments in the second half of the season that contributed to the success, but overall, head coach Rod Christiansen feels fighting through the tough start made the Moose a better football team.

“We had to step up to the challenge,” Christiansen said.

The Moose made some personnel adjustments, most notably the addition of senior Conrad Smith to the starting defense.

“He’s a big part of what we do defensively now,” Christiansen said of Smith, who before just assumed his role as Palmer’s top quarterback.

Christiansen also credits the maturation process of younger players such as Mitch Swetzof and Nick Stahler, and the emergence of senior Justin Draughon.

The large-schools state title game will feature Railbelt foes Palmer and Juneau for the second time in three years. The rivals also played in 2005 with Juneau earning a 49-29 win.

Juneau also scored a 28-7 win over the Moose early in the season.

“That was week four,” Christiansen said. “We’ve had a lot of changes since then.”

Christiansen said the Moose went into halftime against the Bears feeling pretty good about how they were playing. Juneau scored twice in the first half, but one of those touchdowns came on defense and the other was set up by a blocked punt that was recovered at Palmer’s 1-yard line. Plus, the Moose completed a 10-play drive capped by a Shannon Sawyer touchdown right before the half.

But in the second half, Juneau put together a pair of scoring drives and kept the Moose out of the end zone.

Since that loss to Juneau, Palmer has done much of the opposite. The Moose now are putting together long drives and have greatly improved on the defensive side of the ball. Following that loss to the Bears, the Moose have given up more than 20 points only once — in a 36-35 loss to Wasilla in the Potato Bowl.

Palmer has also out-scored opponents 55-27 in the third quarter.

Offensively, Palmer has used its ground game to control the clock. The Moose have rushed for 2,693 yards this season and have 284 yards or more in each of the last six games.

Senior Devin Konkler leads the Moose with 1,334 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior fullback Shannon Sawyer has 513 yards and six touchdowns, and Smith has 371 yards and nine scores.

Juneau also sports a potent running attack, led by sophomore Silver Maake. The tailback has 1,221 yards and 11 touchdowns going into Saturday’s title game.

Arguably, Juneau’s largest threat on offense is wide receiver Alex Fagerstrom. The junior has 22 receptions for 569 yards and eight scores.

The Bears will most likely be without Faifo Levale, their first-team All-Railbelt center. The standout, possibly one of the top lineman in the state, was ejected during the final quarter of Juneau’s semifinal win over South Anchorage last week. ASAA rules state an ejected player must sit out the following game. Juneau has appealed the decision, but as of press time the ruling had not been overturned.

Levale factored heavily into the win over the Moose early in the year. He returned a fumble 5 yards for a score to give the Bears a 7-0 lead, and later blocked a punt that gave the Bears the ball on the Palmer 1. Juneau followed the play with a score and took a 14-0 lead.

Christiansen said he has urged his players not to focus on whether or not Juneau’s standout lineman will be in the lineup.

“It’s been a roller-coaster all week,” Christiansen said. “We are telling them prepare like he’s going to be there.”

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