Prep football: Bulldogs push Hawks out of second place

NIKISKI — The Nikiski Bulldogs kept their playoff hopes alive — while dealing a blow to those of a Greatland Conference rival — with a tight 23-20 win over the Houston Hawks Saturday at Nikiski High School.

“It was really big for us,” Nikiski running back Beau Calderwood said following the game.

The win put both Nikiski and Houston into a four-way tie for third place in the conference, a half-game behind Barrow for one of the Greatland’s two berths in the Alaska small-schools playoffs, which begin in three weeks.

Calderwood’s 13-yard touchdown catch with 3:09 left in the third quarter was the difference-maker in an exciting game that saw Houston rally from an early 16-0 deficit to take the lead in the third quarter.

“It was an even football game,” Houston coach Norm Bouchard said afterward. “It was just a toe-to-toe kind of battle.”

Calderwood scored all three of Nikiski’s touchdowns, including a 6-yard hook-up with Bennett to open the scoring with 3:19 left in the first quarter, and a 2-yard run in the second. The junior running back finished with 164 yards on 22 carries.

Josh Hall added a 26-yard field goal for the Bulldogs.

Houston’s Brandon Parks also scored three times and looked unstoppable at moments, rolling to a game-high 232 yards on 22 carries for the Hawks. Houston held a 322-218 edge in rushing yards and out-gained Nikiski 385-320.

The big difference was turnovers. Houston turned the ball over on two of its final four possessions, while the Bulldogs didn’t have a fumble or interception.

“It was just the little mistakes we made that cost us the game,” Parks said.

Nikiski raced to a big early lead behind Calderwood’s running and another Houston miscue.

After Hall’s field goal put Nikiski up 10-0, the Bulldogs forced Houston to punt from deep in its own territory. A high snap forced Webb to chase the ball toward his own end zone, and by the time he picked it up, Hall and Josh Vance were there to pounce.

The play gave Nikiski the ball on Houston’s 24-yard line, and the Bulldogs needed just four plays to cash in, getting Calderwood’s second score of the game, a 2-yard plunge up the middle.

The touchdown seemed to fire Houston up, and on the next drive the Hawks went 68 yards on nine plays, capping the things off with a 6-yard run by Parks. The junior picked up 71 rushing yards on the drive, including a 34-yard carry with the Hawks facing 2-and-20 after a Vance sack.

Houston cut the lead to 16-13 on the opening drive of the second half, getting a 4-yard Parks run on a counter play that paid big dividends for the Hawks all afternoon.

After a Nikiski punt, the Hawks took the lead with a two-play drive that was highlighted by a 50-yard scamper that set up his bullish 10-yard touchdown run.

“The kids played really hard today,” Bouchard said.

The lead only stood up for three-and-a-half minutes, as the Bulldogs marched down the field on seven plays, the last being Calderwood’s winning score, on which he slipped out of the backfield into the flats to meet Wiley Bennett’s rollout pass.

Nikiski’s defense made sure the lead stood up, getting a fumble recovery by Dustin Couch and an interception from Walker Boyle to slow the Houston attack.

The Hawks got the ball back late in the fourth quarter, but Webb’s desperation pass to John Stinson in Nikiski territory fell short as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“The kids really rose to the challenge today,” Nikiski coach Ted Riddall said following the game.

The win enabled Nikiski to keep its hopes of grabbing a playoff spot alive. Nikiski, Houston, Seward and Valdez all have identical 2-2 conference records with two games remaining.

“This is something we want to use as a step to next week,” Riddall said.

Nikiski travels to Greatland-leading Eielson, which at 3-0 in the GLC will be looking to clinch a playoff spot.

The loss didn’t kill the Hawks. With wins in its final two games, Houston could likely wind up in second.

“We’re really still in the driver’s seat,” Bouchard said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com

Nikiski 23, Houston 20

Saturday, Nikiski High School

Nikiski 7 9 7 0 — 23

Houston 0 6 14 0 — 20

First Quarter

Nik — Calderwood 6 pass from Bennett (Hall kick), 3:19.

Second Quarter

Nik — Hall 26 yard field goal, 9:35

Nik — Calderwood 2 run (kick failed), 5:28

Hou — Parks 6 run (kick blocked), 2:18

Third Quarter

Hou — Parks 4 run (Contreras kick), 8:16

Hou — Parks 10 run (Contreras kick), 6:44

Nik — Calderwood 13 pass from Bennett (Hall kick), 3:09

Hou Nik

Rushes-yards 33-322 44-218

Passing yards 63 102

Passing 6-20-1 9-15-0

Fmb-lst 1-1 2-0

Penalties 5-30 14-95

Punt 1-30.0 3-31.3

First downs 13 12

Return yards 36 0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

Rushing — Houston: Parks 22-232, Morales 7-24, Webb 4-6. Nikiski: Calderwood 22-164, Boyle 19-57, Bennett 3-(-3).

Passing — Houston: Webb 6-20-1-63. Nikiski: Bennett 9-15-0-102.

Receiving — Houston: No. 8 2-26, Sumner 2-13, Stinson 1-14, Contreras 1-10. Nikiski: Calderwood 5-56, Holloway 4-46.