Railbelt battles highlight Week 5 action

WASILLA — One Valley team will wrap up its nonconference play for the season tonight, but three others will be locked in league matchups stocked full of playoff implications.

Colony hosts a Lathrop squad within reach of clinching its first playoff berth since 2004. Wasilla entertains a West Valley squad on the verge of elimination from playoff consideration. Both games start at 7 p.m.

Houston, eager to stay alive in the Northern Lights Conference playoff hunt, is in Kenai for a 6 p.m. date with the Kardinals.

Palmer is in Homer to play the NLC’s Mariners at 6:30 p.m.

Lathrop at Colony

Lathrop (4-0, 2-0) comes to town as the Raibelt’s only team with two conference wins, and the team’s highest ranking in the history of the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network Prep Football Poll (No. 2). The Malemutes can secure its first trip to the postseason since 2004 with a win against Colony tonight or Palmer next week.

Colony (0-4, 0-1) is still searching for that elusive first win of the 2013 season. Although the Knights have not officially notched that first ‘W,’ Colony head coach Brian McIntosh left the field last week after a 33-24 loss to Alaska power Juneau-Douglas feeling positive about the direction of his team.

“Our team finally came together tonight. We were a little short, but I’m proud of my kids; the way they played, the effort they had, the heart they played with,” McIntosh said after a contest in which the Knights scored 24 second-half points and finished with more than 360 yards of total offense.

The biggest positive for McIntosh and the Knights is the amount of ground Colony can still make up in the Railbelt.

“We still have three conference games. We’re trying to get some momentum going,” McIntosh said.

After its game against Lathrop tonight, Colony will see Railbelt rivals Palmer and West Valley during the final two weeks of the season.

Senior quarterback Bryce Niver accounted for about 350 of Colony’s total yards. Niver threw for a career-high 249 yards in the loss to Juneau. He added 91 on the ground.

Niver also hooked up with senior receiver Antonio Bush for three fourth-quarter scores.

Niver is currently second in the state with 777 yards passing and 11 touchdowns.

Bush leads the state in most receiving categories with his 25 catches, 298 yards and eight scores. Bush has snagged at least one touchdown catch in five straight games, a streak that dates back to last season.

West Valley at Wasilla

While Lathrop could be on the verge of clinching a playoff spot, Wasilla’s opponent — West Valley (1-3, 0-2) — is a step backward away from falling right out of the playoff hunt.

West Valley notched its first win of the season last week, a 41-12 nonconference victory over Houston, but has already been dinged with conference losses to Palmer and Lathrop.

Wasilla (2-2, 1-1) currently sits right in the middle of the five-team conference.

Two weeks ago, the Warriors scored a huge 35-26 win at rival Colony, marking only the third time in 11 meetings that WHS bested the Knights. But last week, the Warriors stumbled, suffering a 42-32 loss at Lathrop.

The Warriors have been without its leading rusher from 2012, senior Mitchell Rilatos, who was hurt during a Week 2 loss to Kenai. But Devin Otto has stepped in to help fill the void.

Otto rushed for a career-high 187 yards and four touchdowns against the Malemutes. He now has 267 yards and six scores during the past two weeks.

Senior Cash McGregor, who broke the school record for catches in a season last year, had another five grabs and a score against Lathrop.

Wasilla could improve its playoff chances greatly with a win tonight, but has only one more Railbelt game after tonight. The Warriors have nonconference meetings with Houston and Juneau-Douglas before playing Palmer in the Potato Bowl in Week 8.

Kenai at Houston

Tonight’s game at Kenai Central will feature two of the top running backs in the state. Kards senior Jace Daniels started his season with a 488-yard effort against Nikiski. He has remained at or near the top of the state’s rushing ladder since, and currently has 903 yards.

Houston senior Waylon Soptick has also enjoyed a stellar season so far. Through four games, Soptick has rushed for 864 yards and eight touchdowns.

According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Eielson junior Tony Griffin topped the 1,000-yard mark after a 300-yard effort during a 71-14 win over Barrow last week.

Soptick has rushed for 137 yards or more in each game this season, and posted a career-high 293 against Skyview.

Houston (2-2, 1-1) is currently tied with Kodiak for third place in the NLC. The Hawks are behind 2-0 Kenai and 1-0 Soldotna, and ahead of 1-2 Homer and 0-2 Skyview.

The top four teams from the NLC advance to the playoffs. After tonight, Houston will still have NLC games against Kodiak and Homer.

Palmer at Homer

The Palmer Moose wrap up their nonconference part of the schedule with a road game at Homer tonight.

The Moose, ranked third in the latest ASBN poll, suffered their first loss of the season last week. Woodinville (Wash.) beat Palmer 41-7 in the first game in the history of Palmer’s Machetanz Field that featured a football team from outside of Alaska.

Like Wasilla, Palmer has also been without its leading rusher. Senior James Nisbett, who led the state with 1,555 yards on the ground last season, was injured in Week 3 against East Anchorage and did not play last week.

Despite not playing for basically two weeks, Nisbett is still among the leading rushers in the large-schools class with 303 yards.

During Nisbett’s absence the Moose have relied on depth in the backfield, an improved passing game and defense.

Before allowing 42 points against Woodinville, a team two years removed from an appearance in the Washington Class 4A semifinals, the Moose had only allowed nine points per game.