Prep football: Warriors face big Railbelt test; CHS, PHS play nonconference games

WASILLA — Coaches may not always like to throw around terms like, “must-win,” midway through a season. But Wasilla’s date with West Valley in Fairbanks Saturday afternoon could have some serious playoff implications.

Both Wasilla (1-2 overall, 0-1 in Railbelt play) and West Valley (0-3, 0-1) are looking for their first conference victory of the season. Saturday will also mark the halfway mark in the four-game Railbelt season for both teams.

“We’re getting close to that have-to type of thing,” Wasilla head coach Kent Rilatos said earlier this week, referring to the importance of the game, which kicks off at 1 p.m. at West Valley High.

Three of the four Railbelt teams earn a state playoff berth. While a second conference loss Saturday would not officially eliminate either Wasilla or West Valley, it would certainly create an up-hill trek toward a potential spot in the postseason.

Rilatos said the Warriors certainly know the importance of Saturday’s game.

Wasilla dropped to 0-1 in Railbelt play with a 21-10 loss to Lathrop at WHS last week. Lathrop used its passing game to separate itself against the Warriors. Lathrop quarterback Glenn Maiden finished with 314 yards passing and three touchdowns. Maiden threw a 64-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first quarter and a 51-yard scoring passing during the final seconds of the second quarter. In the third, Maiden completed 14 of 16 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown.

“We didn’t do a good job of making adjustments to stop their pass,” Rilatos said. “They had a good game plan. As coaches, we need to get our kids in the right spots. It wasn’t a matter of lack of effort. We didn’t scheme that well to shut them down.”

Neither team had success running the ball consistently. Wasilla finished with 92 yards on the ground, Lathrop was held to only 13.

Rilatos said the Warriors continue to work to get the offense going.

The Warriors did have a bright spot late. Quarterback Blake Marks hit receiver Layne Morrison on a quick slant, and Morrison sprinted 48 yards for a score.

Rilatos said he expects Wasilla to see a heavy dose of Joshua Cummings Saturday. Cummings, West Valley’s sophomore running back, enters Week 4 with 461 yards rushing . Cummings ran for 159 yards during a 42-20 loss to Colony two weeks ago, but finished with only 36 yards during a 29-7 nonconference loss to Dimond last week.

Kodiak at Colony

Colony (3-0) continues nonconference play hosting Kodiak (1-2).

The Knights stayed undefeated with a 48-0 win over Juneau-Douglas last week, Colony’s first win in school history at Juneau. Senior Logan Conway scored four touchdowns for the second consecutive week. Conway also rumbled for a game-high 181 yards on the ground. Conway has 458 yards rushing and 10 total touchdowns through three games.

Kodiak suffered a 56-8 Northern Lights Conference loss to Kenai Central last week. The Bears opened the season with a 50-0 loss to large-schools Chugiak and rebounded to beat Homer 22-20 in Week 2.

Palmer at Kenai

Palmer (1-2) also continues nonconference play, traveling south to face Kenai (1-2) today at 6 p.m. at Kenai Central High School.

Palmer, which opened its season with back-to-back games against defending state champions, earned its first win of the year last week, a 54-49 thriller over North Pole. With less than 90 seconds left and the Moose trailing 49-48, Palmer quarterback Justin Roth unleashed a long pass down the middle. The ball was tipped by a North Pole defender right into the hands of PHS junior Chase Ferris. Once Ferris grabbed the ball at the 5-yard line, he snuck into the end zone for the go-ahead score.

The play capped a huge night for Ferris, who finished with 291 yards rushing, five rushing touchdowns, and the go-ahead 29-yard touchdown catch.

Kenai also earned its first win of the season last week, a 56-8 victory over NLC rival Kodiak. Kenai had dropped a 28-15 loss to Juneau-Douglas in Week 1 and 7-6 loss to Lathrop in Week 2.

Houston at Sitka

The Houston Hawks are off this weekend, but travel to Southeast Alaska next week and play twice within a four-day span.

Houston is at Sitka on Wednesday and Thunder Mountain on Saturday.

Houston (1-2) earned its first win of the season, a 36-6 victory over Valdez.

Vanu Mose ran for a game-high 117 yards and a touchdown in the win. Tanner Barclay added 87 yards and two scores.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.