Potato Bowl postponed due to poor air quality

PALMER — As heavy winds plagued the Mat-Su Valley Friday, property was damaged, power was lost across the Mat-Su and the Valley’s most cherish sporting event was blown to Saturday.

Fans eager to see the 32nd Potato Bowl were forced to wait an extra day. The annual prep football matchup between the Palmer Moose and the Wasilla Warriors , a game slated for Friday at 7 p.m. at Palmer High School, was postponed until Saturday afternoon due to poor air quality caused be the high winds that blew across the Valley.

The final decision was made just after 3 p.m. on Friday as the junior varsity teams prepared for their scheduled 4 p.m. game.

“It’s all about the safety of the athletes and the safety of the spectators,” Wasilla High School assistant principal Dan Michael said after the game was postponed. “It’s a no-brainer.”

Michael said officials from both schools and the Mat-Su School District analyzed the situation. The Mat-Su Borough had issued an air quality advisory earlier in the day. That combined with a high-wind advisory in the Valley that continued through the night led to the decision. Michael said it’s more about the air quality than the winds.

“It’s about the dust particles,” Michael said.

Palmer senior Jim McCall said the players had no idea what to expect after the game was officially postponed on Friday.

“We didn’t even know if we were going to play (Saturday) with the wind,” McCall said. “I sent mass texts, Facebook posts, telling people it was rescheduled.”

The junior varsity game was canceled. Michael said school officials worked to try to get both the junior varsity and varsity games rescheduled, but could not find enough officials to work both games.

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