Rough road

MAT-SU — Wasilla had a rough start to the 2009 season, thanks to a 39-0 loss to then second-ranked Bartlett at Veterans Memorial Field last week.

And things aren’t getting any easier for the Warriors.

Tonight, Wasilla (0-1) hosts fourth-ranked Juneau-Douglas (1-0) and next week the Warriors travel north to face North Pole, the team that stood at the top of the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network Prep Football Poll at the start of the season.

It’s certainly a rigorous stretch, but first-year head coach Glenn Nelson said his taking it as a good opportunity.

“We like it that way,” Nelson said after the loss to Bartlett. “We want to play the toughest teams right off the bat. It’s a character building thing. It helps us with conditioning. There are so many positives to playing good teams right off the bat.”

With their win over the Warriors, the Golden Bears vaulted themselves into the top spot of the latest poll.

Juneau, the 2008 4A state runner-up, actually dropped from third to fourth in the media poll, despite walloping West Valley 41-0 last week.

Juneau scored five time on the ground and another through the air. Running back Jack Perkins scored a pair of running touchdowns and hauled in an 11-yard Phillip Fenumiai touchdown pass to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.

Juneau beat Wasilla 35-7 in Juneau last year.

Wasilla, a team that features a bevy of new starters on both sides of the ball, finished was outgained by Bartlett 443-130 during the first week. Much of Bartlett’s damage was done by the Golden Bears two-headed running back monster of Jamal Hale and Cyrus Chenault. The duo combined for 387 yards rushing and five scores.

Senior quarterback Cody Pfeifer, who led Wasilla in virtually every passing category as a part-time starter last season, finished with five completions for 77 yards. Tight end David Green caught three balls for 51 yards. Senior running back Chris Bydlon finished with two catches for 26 yards.

Kickoff is slated for tonight at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial. The game marks the Railbelt Conference opener for the Warriors.

Houston at Kenai

Like Wasilla, the Houston Hawks have an arduous undertaking during the first half of the season.

The Hawks started the season with a 57-0 loss to 4A Eagle River last week. Now, Houston has the distinction of meeting Kenai Central and Soldotna — the winners of the last seven 3A state titles — during the next two weeks.

Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said the biggest task for his coaching staff is to get a very young Hawks squad ready to play teams the caliber of Kenai and Soldotna.

“We’re feeling a lot better this week,” Bouchard said on Thursday. “We worked real hard on a lot of fundamental things.”

Houston lost a handful of players due to injury during the Eagle River loss, something that hurt a Hawks team that already lacked depth, but Bouchard said the Hawks are healthy this week.

One key loss was senior quarterback Zack Qual, who left in the second quarter and didn’t return. Qual will play this week, Bouchard said.

The Hawks will also have a larger roster of players to take to Kenai for the Northern Lights Conference game that is slated for Saturday at 2 p.m.

“We’re a little deeper, a little better,” Bouchard said. “We needed that to compete.”

Beau Frank, who filled in at quarterback for Qual, led the Hawks with eight completions for 65 yards. Wide receiver Brett Lapham emerged as a potential top target for the Hawks, snagging three balls for 30 yards.

Brandon Dukes led HHS with 27 yards rushing.

Kenai was one of nine Alaska teams to post the shutdown during the first week, posting a 47-0 win over 4A Lathrop.

Sophomore AJ Hull threw for four touchdowns and ran for another.

Lathrop at Palmer

Palmer (1-0) opens Railbelt Conference play by hosting Lathrop (0-1) tonight at Machetanz Field at 7 p.m.

The Moose used the passing game to score a pair of touchdowns during the final four minutes of regulation and post the 25-22 come-from-behind nonconference win over Dimond.

Lathrop suffered a 47-0 loss to Kenai Central in Kenai.

A pair of Palmer players scored twice to lead the Palmer offense. Senior fullback Coleman Ahrens ran for 83 yards and two scores. Junior Jim McCall caught four Dustin Silva passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns.

The Silva-McCall connection was central to the Moose comeback. Trailing 22-12 late in the game, Silva found McCall for a 25-yard score with four minutes left. With 12-seconds left in regulation, McCall cut to the center of the end zone and grabbed a 14-yard Silva pass to put the Moose ahead.

Palmer did have to overcome three lost fumbles and a handful of penalties to win the game.

“It was the first game, both teams had their mistakes to hurt them,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said after the win. “We felt like if we could sustain drives, we wouldn’t of had to get to the antics at the end.”

Palmer finished with nearly 400 yards of total offense against a Dimond squad that advanced to the 4A state playoffs last year. The Moose ran for 242 yards and threw for 127.

Palmer allowed 84 yards rushing and 165 yards passing.

Lathrop allowed 343 total yards in the loss to Kenai.

Colony at Kodiak

Colony posted arguably the biggest win in the state last week, knocking off the previously top-ranked North Pole Patriots 17-7 at Colony High School.

Now, the Knights (1-0) head south to Kodiak to play the 3A Bears. But head coach Jamie Mayo and the Knights know Kodiak is not your average small-schools program. And Kodiak Island is not your average Alaska football destination.

“Simple fact that we’re going to Kodiak, regardless of how good or how bad they might be, you go to Kodiak, you’re pretty much down 21 points when you step on the plane,” Mayo said prior to the beginning of the season. “That’s going to be a big test for our kids.”

Kodiak is the three-time 3A runner up, and 1-0 after a 21-0 win over Barrow on the North Slope last week.

Colony used the legs of senior Matt Jaronik and stellar play on defense to beat the Patriots.

Jaronik, Colony’s starting quarterback, ran for a game-high 92 yards and a score. Chad Lowery recorded one of the Colony defense’s three interceptions and returned it 50 yards for a score.

Colony and Kodiak are slated to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

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