Redington, Colony, Wasilla host games on a busy Friday night for Valley football

WASILLA — The Redington Huskies have spent the first two weeks of the regular season making history. Friday night, the Huskies will hit their home field for the first time this year, hosting Barrow at 7 p.m. at Redington.

“We finally get to play at home,” Redington head coach Tony Brooke said earlier this week.

After finishing 0-8 during its first season of varsity football last year, Redington is off to a 2-0 start and sits on top of the Division III Peninsula Conference. The Huskies opened the year with a 54-40 win over Monroe Catholic, their first victory in program history. Last week, the Huskies posted a shutout for the first time, blanking Valdez 45-0.

“The biggest part of that is the momentum we’ve got going in,” Brooke said of his team’s 2017 debut at home.

The Huskies have scored a combined 99 points in two games, and their top three options in the offensive backfield have rushed for a total of 861 yards and 12 touchdowns. Quarterback Sam Reed leads Redington with 358 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Kyler Rumfelt has 322 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. Another running back, Isaiah Hall, has 181 yards and two scores.

Brooke has praised the work of his offense throughout the early chunk of the season, but lauded the work of his defense during the win over Valdez. Redington forced five turnovers in the win.

Redington hosts a Barrow squad from the Division III Aurora Conference that opened its season with a 26-14 loss to Homer in Barrow last week. The Whalers were idle in Week 1.

Palmer at Colony

Valley rivals meet for the first time this season when Palmer makes the short trip to Colony to meet the Knights Friday at 7 p.m. at CHS.

The now nonconference rivalry features teams from two different divisions. Colony, of the Division I Railbelt Conference, is 2-0. Palmer, of the Division II Northern Lights Conference, is 0-2. The Knights improved to 2-0 with a 33-27 victory over Bartlett last week. Colony is the top-ranked team in its division, according to the latest Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network Poll.

Four of Colony’s five touchdowns against the Golden Bears were from 26 or more yards. Senior Jon Pomrenke rushed for 215 yards on only 10 carries. He scored twice on the ground, and also caught a Parker Kizer touchdown pass.

Palmer fell to 0-2 with a 27-6 loss to Division I Service in Anchorage last week.

“We’re young. There’s a lot of learning,,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said after the loss.

Senior Larry Cutsforth scored for the second straight week for the Moose.

North Pole at Wasilla

A week after notching their first win at Wasilla High since 2014, the Warriors get another test at home, hosting North Pole Friday at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field.

Wasilla improved to 1-1 with a 30-0 win over Eagle River, a victory that snapped a nine-game losing streak at home.

Quarterback Aeron Milliron rushed for a pair of touchdowns, running back Jordan Quenga added another on the ground, and Sean McDermott returned a fumble for a touchdown on the defensive side. Wasilla also pitched a shutout for the first time since 2010.

North Pole, a Division II team, is 2-0. The Patriots scored 20 unanswered points to edge Palmer 20-19 two weeks ago and slipped past Kenai 8-6 last week.

Houston at Seward

After an unexpected week off, Houston is back at it with a road game Friday at 5 p.m. at Seward.

Houston (0-1) was scheduled to host Voznesenka last week, but Voznesenka forfeited the game. The Hawks, of the Division III Aurora Conference, opened the season with a 27-20 loss to Juneau-Douglas.

Seward, of the Division III Peninsula Conference, is 1-1. The Seahawks opened the season with a 32-12 win over Valdez, but suffered a 56-0 loss to Eielson last week.

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