Prep football: Win moves Moose into the playoffs

PALMER — Todd McCormick has spent much of the 2007 running through everybody.

The North Pole senior stepped onto Machetanz Field in Palmer Saturday afternoon as the state’s top running back in the large-schools class with 1,054 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Even though McCormick hit the 100-yard mark, the stout Palmer Moose defense was able to limit the damage caused by the North Pole runner, and the Moose earned a crucial 28-8 win over the Patriots.

“The big play was their first offensive play,” said Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen, who earned his 98th career victory with the win that clinched his team a spot in the 2007 large-schools playoffs. “They ran their bread and butter play for a 7-yard loss. There was nowhere to run. That was a big deal.”

On that play, North Pole quarterback Steven Wright pitched the ball to McCormick, who tried to break free off the left side of the North Pole line. But senior Conrad Smith led a charge of Moose, and brought McCormick down seven yards behind the line of scrimmage.

“We definitely keyed on McCormick ,” Palmer senior linebacker Shannon Sawyer said. “We knew he had skills, and we knew North Pole would give it to him.”

McCormick logged 10 carries on the first half for a mere 27 yards. He broke away with a 32-yard run early in the third quarter, and finished with 100 yards on 22 carries.

“I was very, very concerned with all phases of their game,” Christiansen said. “They obviously have the ability to run with McCormick. He’s gained a lot of yards on everybody.”

But the Moose also prepared for the pass. Wright has a handful of capable targets including wide receivers Dane Ebanez and Trevor McCumby.

“We knew North Pole likes to throw the fade, because they’ve got some tall receivers,” Sawyer said. “We practiced against that fade all week, and we seemed to be prepared for it.”

North Pole’s lone score came in the fourth quarter, a 4-yard touchdown pass from Wright to McCumby. The duo also connected on the two-point conversion.

North Pole had averaged more than 26 points per game before its loss to Palmer, and the Patriots’ total of eight points against PHS marked the second time in as many weeks the Moose have held an Interior foe to just a single touchdown. Palmer walloped West Valley 52-6 last week.

North Pole head coach Richard Henert said it was Palmer’s deceptive play on defense that was key.

“They did a great job of changing alignments on every play, shifting around and making it hard for our offensive line to get a read on it,” Henert said. “When they were firing off the ball, they were still moving and shooting gaps.”

Sawyer and senior Brandon Dezarn also recovered fumbles for the Moose.

“That’s probably the best job all year we’ve seen from a defense,” Henert said.

Sawyer also credited a pair of defensive reserves — defensive back Nick Stahler and lineman Tait Johnson — with solid play in relief.

“A couple key players were hurt, and a few guys stepped in and really stepped it up this week,” Sawyer said.

While the Moose defense was able to contain North Pole’s go-to guy, Palmer’s top runner — senior Devin Konkler — burned the Patriots for 203 yards and and three touchdowns.

Konkler gave the Moose the early lead with a 6-yard run in the first quarter, added a 20-yard run in the third and sealed the game with a 7-yard touchdown score late in the fourth.

“Devin’s been running really hard in practice,” Sawyer said. “He showed he’s one of the better guys in the state.”

Smith added 93 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Moose.

Led by senior linemen Everest Moore and Drew Frohling, the Moose topped the 300-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season.

With the win, the Moose improved to 4-3 overall and 4-1 in Railbelt Conference play. Palmer also locked up one of the conference’s four playoff spots. The Moose, who play at Wasilla on Friday in the 2007 Potato Bowl, can now finish no worse than third.

“It’s just us and Wasilla for second,” Christiansen said.

North Pole (3-4 overall, 2-3 in Railbelt play) has not been eliminated, but the road to the playoffs is much more complicated for the Patriots.

“We’ve still got a heartbeat,” Henert said.

North Pole needs a win over West Valley in the final game of the season to stay in contention for one of the final two spots, but the final call will most likely come down to a series of tiebreakers.

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

Palmer 28, North Pole 8

Saturday, Machetanz Field

First quarter

Palmer — Konkler 6 run (kick failed) 4:04.

Third quarter

Palmer — Konkler 20 run (Konkler run) 1:39.

Fourth quarter

Palmer — Smith 2 run (Ott kick) 10:21.

North Pole — McCumby 4 pass from Wright (McCumby pass from Wright) 7:26.

Palmer — Konkler 7 run (Ott kick) 1:29.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — North Pole: McCormick 22-100, Lewis 6-34, Wright 4-25; Palmer: Konkler 22-203, Smith 13-93, Sawyer 6-9, Bohman 5-8, Lechiminant 1-0.

PASSING — North Pole: Wright 8-16-0—67, Jones 1-3-1—51; Palmer: Smith 5-12-1—66.

RECEIVING — North Pole: Ebanez 4-40, McCumby 3-27, Wright 1-51, McCormick 1-0; Palmer: Swetzof 4-31, Draughon 1-36.