Prep footballs: Knights to play for state title

Oct. 20, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

PAL MER - The Colony Knights are looking for one more win.

For some, it's one more win for the 2006 season.

For others, it's one more win in their high school careers.

And for a large group of seniors, it is one more win in a career that began nearly a decade ago.

&#8220We were in the fifth grade when we won the state championship in (Mat-Su Youth Football Association) and ever since then, every year we're like, I can't wait until I'm a senior,” Colony senior George Percak-Dennett said after the Knights' 12-0 win over Chugiak in the large-school state semifinals at the Anchorage Football Stadium last week. &#8220We're going to do pretty well (when we are seniors). We've been saying that since the fifth grade.”

And now Percak-Dennett and his classmates are seniors. He and many of his teammates were on a pair of state championship teams at the youth level, and are looking for one more to complete the trifecta.

The Colony seniors can write the final chapter of that trilogy with a win over South Anchorage in the 2006 Alaska Schools Activities Association First National Bowl Saturday at the Anchorage Football Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Percak-Dennett said the senior class has been working toward this moment since their days in the MYFA program.

The senior-laden Colony squad has 25 players participating in their final high school game Saturday.

&#8220And I think 13 were on the teams that won state in the fifth and eighth grade,” Percak-Dennett said.

The group of seniors includes nine first-team All-Railbelt Conference selections - quarterback Teddy Babcock, running back Chebon Jimenez, offensive tackle Wade Bowen, defensive tackle Justin Beauchamp, defensive tackle James Savage, linebacker Nathan Kowalczk, defensive back Ryan Coffman, defensive back Robin Minoza and Percak-Dennett, a selection at both tight end and defensive end.

Jimenez is the state's leading rusher with 1,551 yards and 16 touchdowns. Babcock has thrown 20 touchdown passes, best among the large-school signal callers. Babcock has connected with Percak-Dennett on seven of those scores. The senior tight end leads the team with 25 catches.

While the offense has routinely found the end zone, the defense has kept opponents out of it. Colony has posted a margin of victory of 274-52 in eight regular season games. In two playoff games, Colony has outscored its opponents 67-6.

South Anchorage (10-0) is the lone undefeated team in the state, and was rarely tested during the 2006 season. The Wolverines have posted 30 or more points in seven of their 10 games, and have not scored fewer than 26 points in a game this season. Most of their victories were lop-sided. South hammered first-year program Eagle River 70-0, and beat West Valley 56-26.

The Knights and Wolverines had three common opponents this season - Dimond, Juneau-Douglas and West Valley. Colony beat Dimond 49-14, while South scored a 49-14 win over the Lynx. South beat West Valley easily during a nonconference regular season game, while Colony scored big wins over the Wolfpack during both the regular and postseason.

Juneau-Douglas is the one school to split against the state championship bound teams. The Crimson Bears upset Colony 22-13 during the regular season, but fell to the Wolverines 27-6 last week.

Like the Knights, the Wolverines also sport a balanced attack on offense.

Senior running back Leeanthony Jenkins has 1,304 yards and 14 touchdowns. He topped the 100-yard mark six times, and has topped the 200-yard mark twice. Jenkins had a season-high 252 yards in a 42-13 win over Bartlett during the final week of the regular season.

Senior quarterback Grant Stophlet has thrown for 1,007 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has touchdown passes in eight of 10 games this season.

Senior wide receiver Zach Sterling leads the squad with 21 receptions for 555 yards and seven touchdowns.

In their ninth-straight season with an appearance in the postseason, the Knights are searching for the first state title in the program's history. Colony made one other trip to the final game, losing to Dimond in the 200 championship contest.

In its third year as a varsity program, South is also looking for its first state title. Colony has already played an important role in South's program history. The Knights were the Wolverines' first varsity opponent in 2004.

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