Prep football: Warriors edge Moose to win Potato Bowl, playoff spot

WASILLA — It’s not often you see the kicker hoisted on his teammate’s shoulders following a prep football game.

But on Friday, Wasilla senior kicker Derek Cottle-Bosch was lifted high into the air just minutes after he kicked the go-ahead extra point with 25 seconds left to help the Warriors earn a 36-35 win over Palmer in the 29th annual Potato Bowl.

A single play as routine as the point after touchdown is most often an afterthought. But it proved to be the difference in a game that marked Wasilla’s first victory over Palmer since 2001, and guaranteed the Warriors a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

“(I just thought) I gotta make it,” Cottle-Bosch said moments after grasping the Mayor’s Cup Trophy, the traveling prize awarded to the winner of the annual Potato Bowl. “(I thought) it’s just like practice.”

Cottle-Bosch quickly leant praise to both his holder, sophomore Cody Pfiefer, and his long snapper, senior Quinn Dunphrey. The execution of all three helped overshadow moments by both the Wasilla and Palmer special teams that could have marked the difference in the game.

Wasilla failed to convert the extra point following its first touchdown, and Palmer’s attempt was foiled late in the fourth quarter after the Moose took a 35-29 lead.

“I looked down at the ground and just zoned out everything,” Dunphrey said of the game-winning snap. “I told (Derek) it might be a little slow, but I’ll get it there.”

Wasilla junior Chris Crane scored with 25 seconds remaining in regulation to set up the final kick. Crane posted an astounding five rushing touchdowns in the contest, but was not the sole reason the Warriors will meet the Moose next week in a rematch in the first round of the Alaska Schools Activities Association large-schools playoffs.

Wasilla wide receiver Tim Orr caught five passes for 118 yards, including a spectacular one-handed grab for 67 yards that preceded Crane’s game-winning touchdown.

The Wasilla defense also forced two Palmer fumbles that the Warriors offense turned into touchdowns.

All of the above helped the Warriors erase a two-touchdown deficit the team faced in the third quarter, and allowed Wasilla to out-score the Moose 21-6 in the final seven minutes of play.

Wasilla’s win in come-from-behind fashion was remarkably similar to the Warriors’ 28-21 overtime victory over Colony last week.

“We believe in each other,” Wasilla senior Shane Green said. “We never give up.”

While the Moose were firmly cemented in the playoffs thanks to a 28-8 win over North Pole a week ago, the Warriors entered Friday’s game in limbo. The team spent the week knowing a win would get them in, and a loss would not necessarily would end their season. But if they did lose, the Warriors would have needed a lot of help. Green said during the week the thought did cross his mind that the Potato Bowl might be the last game of his career. But that thought didn’t occur to the senior on game night.

“Before all of us stepped on this field, we knew it would not (be our last game),” Green said.

Wasilla took an early 6-0 lead, on a 19-yard Crane run, just two plays after Palmer fumbled on its first play of the game.

Palmer took the lead seven minutes later on senior Shannon Sawyer’s first of two touchdowns in the game, a score that signaled the start of the back-and-forth affair.

Palmer senior wide receiver Justin Draughon caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from fellow senior Conrad Smith to give the Moose the one-score lead early in the second quarter. Crane cut the Palmer lead to 14-12 with a 3-yard run midway through the quarter.

Sawyer scored his second touchdown of the half, a 3-yard run, with 1:22 remaining, and Cottle-Bosch booted a 32-yard field goal into the wind to end the half at 21-15.

Smith gave the Moose the two-touchdown lead in the third with a 3-yard scoring run.

But in the fourth, Crane scored three touchdowns, including two in a 20-second span.

A short Palmer punt gave the Warriors the ball deep in Moose territory with eight minutes remaining in the game. On the first play of the drive, Crane took the ball on the halfback option and threw the ball down field, connecting with quarterback Adrese LaVern on a 26-yard reception. On the next play, Crane dove in the end zone from a yard out.

On the first play of the ensuing Palmer drive, Wasilla senior defensive lineman Kris Firey forced the Moose to fumble, and Orr jumped on the ball to give the Warriors possession at the 4-yard line.

Crane scored on the next play.

Palmer scored what appeared to be the final touchdown with just a minute left in the contest when junior Mitch Swetzof caught an 8-yard Smith pass to give his squad the 35-29 advantage.

But that was before Wasilla completed its improbable comeback win.

The key play on the Warriors’ drive was the 67-yard Orr reception.

Facing 2nd-and-10 and their own 22, LaVern found Orr down the middle. Running through traffic, the 6-foot-3 receiver hauled in the one-handed grab and raced down to the 4-yard line.

LaVern said he always has confidence that Orr will come down with the big reception.

“I know if I put it up there high, he’ll make the catch,” LaVern said. “He’s got the height, and he can pull it down.”

Palmer nearly silenced the roaring Wasilla crowd — with an unofficial estimated attendance of more than 3,000 — in the final seconds.

On the first play of its final drive, Swetzof took a short Smith pass and sprinted 52 yards toward the end zone, but Tim Orr made the game-saving tackle at the 14-yard line.

On the next play, with 14 seconds left on the clock, a powerful Wasilla rush surrounded Smith in the backfield for the stop. The final seconds ticked off the clock, and Palmer was not able to get another play off before the final horn sounded.

Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said the plan was to try to get up to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball.

“We could have had an opportunity to run another play, but we didn’t communicate well enough,” Christiansen said. “We didn’t get the ball down for the spike.”

Palmer has had control of the last five Potato Bowls, but Christiansen said he was not surprised at how close the 2007 game was.

“You had to know it really easily could be that close,” Christiansen said. “They all seem to be close at Wasilla.”

Palmer used the running game to pave its way to the two-touchdown third-quarter lead. Shannon Sawyer enjoyed arguably the finest offensive game of his career with a team-high 98 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Devin Konkler added 92 yards on 22 tries.

“We ran the ball well,” Christiansen said.

The Moose out-gained the Warriors on the ground 284-110, and surpassed the 2,000-yard mark for the season.

But balance on offense and timely defense helped Wasilla grab the victory.

“The kids played four quarters,” Wasilla head coach Jim Shetter said. “They never quit.”

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

WARRIORS 36, MOOSE 35

Pal 7 14 8 6 - 35

Was 6 9 0 21 - 36

1st Quarter

Was — Crane 19 run (pass failed), 11:03

Pal — Sawyer 1 run (Ott kick), 4:04

2nd Quarter

Pal — Draughon 13 pass from C. Smith (Ott kick), 9:42

Was — Crane 3 run (run failed), 6:53

Pal — Sawyer 3 run (Ott kick), 1:22

Was — Cottle-Bosch 32 field goal, :00

3rd Quarter

Pal — C. Smith 3 run (C. Smith run), 1:50

4th Quarter

Was — Crane 1 run (Cottle-Bosch kick), 7:29

Was — Crane 4 run (Cottle-Bosch kick), 7:09

Pal — Swetzof 8 pass from C. Smith (kick failed), 1:07

Was — Crane 3 run (Cottle-Bosch kick), :25

Was Pal

Rushes-yards 28-110 53-284

First downs 10 18

Passing yards 215 119

Passing 11-19-0 5-9-0

Penalties 5-25 4-30

Fmb-lst 3-2 3-2

Punts 3-32.0 2-28.5

Return yards 0 39

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Wasilla — Crane 17-55, Katchinska 6-40, Russel 3-16, Barkley 1-1, LaVern 1-(-2). Palmer — Sawyer 16-98, Konkler 22-92, Bohman 6-50, Lechiminent 1-22, C. Smith 7-21, Swetzof 1-1.

Passing: Wasilla — LaVern 10-18-0-189, Crane 1-1-0-26. Palmer — C. Smith 5-9-0-119.

Receiving: Wasilla — T. Orr 5-118, Green 4-73, LaVern 1-26, Russel 1-(-2). Palmer — Swetzof 3-78, Mitchell 1-28, Draughon 1-13.