Prep football: South manhandles Colony

Sept. 2, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Sometimes numbers can be deceiving - and sometimes not.

The latter was the case Friday evening, as the South Anchorage Wolverines dominated Colony in nearly every conceivable statistical category while rolling to a 35-0 win over the previously-undefeated Knights at Colony High School.

South's offense outgained Colony by 318 yards, racked up more than twice as many first downs, threw for nearly a hundred more yards and held a 6:52 advantage in time of possession, en route to handing the Knights their worst home loss of this decade.

&#8220The bottom line is they outplayed us,” Colony head coach Jamie Mayo said following the nonconference loss.

A game that was hyped as Colony's chance at redeeming a 26-16 loss in last year's state championship game proved to be anything but. The Wolverines were in control of the game from the outset, establishing a punishing running game that Colony could never manage to slow down.

Colony fell to 3-1 overall on the season, while South improved to 2-2.

South drew first blood with a 1-yard Spencer Agustin sweep in the first quarter, capping a flawless 10-play, 87-yard drive that was highlighted by 57 punishing yards from burly running back Isaac Taylor on five carries.

Taylor finished with a game-high 130 yards and two touchdowns to lead South, which finished with 294 rushing yards on the evening - a whopping 6.7 yards per carry.

&#8220We were back on our heels all game,” Mayo said.

Taylor picked up his first score of the game early in the first quarter, taking the hand-off from quarterback Colin Graham and busting through a gaping hole off right tackle for a 44-yard rumble that made the score 14-0.

Taylor added a 2-yard plunge with just 40 seconds in the half to give the Wolverines a 21-0 edge heading into the locker room.

The Wolverines piled on two more scores in the second half, getting a 21-yard pass from Graham to receiver Kendell Call in the third quarter and a 17-yard Sam Sua touchdown run in the fourth to cap the scoring.

South coach John Lewis credited his offensive line for opening up gaping holes, allowing South's ball carriers to consistently bust into the secondary for big gains.

&#8220Our o-line really did their responsibilities,” Lewis said. &#8220Those guys played their hearts out.”

Lewis said facing Colony in the Valley was a big motivation for his team.

&#8220We had to be at our best,” Lewis said.

While the Wolverines may have played with a chip on their shoulders, Colony quarterback Bradley Truax said it's possible the Knights didn't take the defending champions as seriously as they should have.

&#8220We could have overlooked them because of their record,” Truax said.

When South didn't have the ball, the Wolverines were nearly as impressive in the trenches. Led by 6-foot-4, 245-pound junior defensive end Patxi Colbern, the South defensive front was able to completely shut down a Colony rushing attack that entered Friday's game averaging more than 200 yards per game. South held Colony running back Jaron Murphy - the state's fifth-leading rusher coming into the weekend - to only 49 yards on 12 carries.

Following the game, Colbern said the defending state champions had a lot to prove after suffering defeats to Chugiak and East in the first three weeks of the season.

&#8220Our coaches told us we needed to play 48 minutes strong,” Colbern said.

Colbern said he believes the impressive win over the Knights - ranked No. 4 in the most recent statewide media poll - shows the Wolverines aren't to be written off just yet.

&#8220This is the kick-start,” he said. &#8220This is exactly what we needed.”

As for the Knights, Mayo said he's hopeful the game will serve as a wake-up call for his team.

&#8220It's going to be interesting to see how these kids come back from this,” Mayo said.

Colony (3-1 overall, 2-0 Railbelt Conference) next faces Palmer High (1-3 overall, 1-1 Railbelt Conference) at Machetanz Field at 7 p.m. Friday in Palmer. The Moose also lost Friday, falling 28-7 to Juneau-Douglas in Juneau.

Mayo said the tough loss to South will prove useful if his squad is able to learn from its mistakes and come out stronger in future games.

&#8220They're pretty angry right now, and in a way I like that,” he said. &#8220They've got to use that as motivation.”

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

WOLVERINES 35, KNIGHTS 0

South 7 14 7 7 - 35

Colony 0 0 0 0 - 0

First Quarter

South - Agustin 1 run (Agustin kick), 1:19.

Second Quarter

South - I. Taylor 44 run (Agustin kick), 10:59.

South - I. Taylor 2 run (Agustin kick), :40.

Thrid Quarter

Sou - Call 21 pass from Graham (Agustin kick), 1:45.

Fourth Quarter

Sou - Sua 17 run (Agustin kick), 6:27.

Colony South

First downs 7 16

Rushes-yards 31-75 44-294

Passing yards 10 109

Return yards 36 37

Comp-att-int 2-11-0 7-10-0

Punts 6-33.7 3-32.3

Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 6-40 7-60

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Colony: J. Murphy 12-49, Paoletti 10-28, Mouton 1-6, Truax 8-(-8). South: I. Taylor 15-130, Holland 6-64, Sua 6-45, Beveerly 4-20, Bond 4-20, Nolder 1-12, Agustin 6-12, Graham 2-(-9).

PASSING - Colony: Truax 2-11-0-10. South: Graham 7-10-0-109.

RECEIVING - Colony: J. Murphy 1-6, Bellotte 1-4. South: Call 4-57, a 2-28, Lopez 1-24.