Prep football: WHS runs all over Lathrop

FAIRBANKS — In the end, all the Lathrop coaching staff could do was scratch their collective heads.

The Malemutes had ever reason to come out strong Saturday.

It was Senior Night. They were fighting for their playoff lives. They were coming of their two best games of their season, facing an opponent that was struggling. They still had their athletes.

But what could have been a competitive game, on a cold and rainy night at Lathrop football stadium, Lathrop miscues and Wasilla running back Chris Crane conspired to turn into a rout.

The Wasilla Warriors gave no surprises and pulled no punches and the Malemutes never figured out how to counter, dropping a 47-6 decision that eliminated them from playoff contention.

“I’m flabbergasted. I don’t really even know what to say about what happened out there,” Lathrop coach Pat Romans said. “We certainly expected the exact opposite out there and we didn’t get it. Good luck to Wasilla. They’re fighting for a playoff spot and we’re not anymore.”

Senior fullback Mitchell Flores, the only player to find the end zone for Lathrop, didn’t have any answers either.

“I have no idea. I mean, it might be the rain, I don’t know,” he said. “We were just unfocused or something. It was tough.”

The toughest task of the night stopping Wasilla’s wishbone attack, and, more to the point, containing Chris Crane.

The Warriors junior only touched the ball 13 times, but he made those count, running for 256 yards — almost 20 yards a carry — and scores of 30 and 65 yards.

“Just talk to my line,” Crane said. “They were the ones that did it.”

And what did a line that helped the Warriors compile 400 yards on the ground have to say?

“I think it actually starts with the line then it comes with the running backs, getting the points,” senior Quinn Dunphrey said.

Not that they weren’t impressed with Crane’s fancy footwork.

“Chris inspires me so much,” Dunphrey added. “I would want to be a running back, I look up to Chris so much.”

What let the combination of draws, counters, dives and tosses work so well against the Malemutes?

“I don’t know. It’s basically an offense we run,” Romans said. “I give it to Chris Crane, he ran great. It was a good game plan, but it wasn’t anything we didn’t anticipate.”

But very little went as anticipated for the Malemutes.

The lone high point came early in the first quarter, when Lathrop jumped out to a 6-0 lead on quarterback Freddy Richard’s 9-yard play-action pass to Flores, who snuck out of the backfield to make the grab near the right pylon.

“It means a lot to me,” said Flores, who missed most of the season with a knee injury. “My mom hasn’t gotten to see a lot of my high school career. She was here to see it tonight. That meant a lot.”

It was all downhill from there for the Malemutes, who fumbled the ball five times, threw three interceptions, took five sacks and committed eight penalties.

“We moved the ball pretty successfully, and we shoot ourselves in the foot every time,” Romans said.

Lathrop’s workhorse all year, Kenny Lewis finished 147 yards on 21 carries.

Contact staff writer Adam Raeder at 459-7583.

WARRIORS 47,MALEMUTES 6

Wasilla 6 21 13 7 — 47

Lathrop 6 0 0 0 — 6

First Quarter

L—Flores 9 pass from Richard (kick failed), 8:22.

W— Green 14 pass from Lavern (kick failed), 5:25.

Second Quarter

W— Russel 24 run (Crane run), 11:34.

W— Crane 30 run (pass failed), 9:06.

W— Katchinska 3 run (Cottle-Bosh kick), :36.8.

Third Quarter

W— Crane 65 run (Cottle-Bosch kick), 11:46.

W— Orr 10 pass from Lavern (pass failed), 7:21.

Fourth Quarter

W— Russel 6 run (Cottle-Bosh kick), 7:05.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING— Wasilla: Crane 13-256; Russel 8-66; Katchinska 4-38; Gonser-Chafin 5-27; Barkley 5-13; Lavern 1-2; Pfiefer 1-(-2). Lathrop: Lewis 21-147; Flores 4-51; Allen 8-30; Richard 5-(-63).

PASSING—Wasilla: Lavern 5-7-0-109. Lathrop: Richard 3-8-2-12; Lewis 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING—Wasilla: Green 2-37; Crane 1-35; Campbell 1-27; Lavern 1-20; Orr 1-10. Lathrop: Flores 1-9; Allen 1-5; Higgenbottom 1(-2).