Second-half scores lead 'Pack

HOUSTON -- Last season the West Valley Wolfpack walked onto Houston High School Field and walked all over the Houston Hawks, leaving with a 61-0 win.

On Saturday, Houston stood with a firmer grasp on the ground.

Before scoring 19 unanswered points in the third quarter, West Valley led just 13-6 at the half. The three second half touchdowns did seal a 32-6 non-conference win over Houston.

Justin Hernandez, who returned an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown to spark the West Valley effort in the second half, said the play of the small-school Hawks surprised the 4A program.

"For a young, small school, they kept up," Hernandez said.

Steven Debose cut the Wolfpack's lead to 13-6 late in the second quarter after hauling in a 55-yard touchdown catch. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Thamm threw a pass over the middle, and after a West Valley defensive back put himself out of position by going for the interception, Debose made a finger tip catch and sprinted to the end zone. Houston may have found a potent duo in the sophomore quarterback and senior H-back. Debose caught six passes for 111 yards. Thamm out-dueled Dustin Carlin, West Valley's highly regarded quarterback. Carlin was just 6-of-21 for 47 yards.

The Wolfpack crept out and outscored Houston by just seven points in a dreadfully long, 92-minute first half, but bounced back to score the three second half touchdowns.

"We came down and had three great practices," West Valley head coach Jeff Patterson said. "I just think we came out a little flat -- a little complacent."

West Valley eased into its game with a lethargic approach. The Wolfpack tried to instill energy into the offense through the air, but Carlin failed to complete a pass in his first nine attempts. Carlin was able to locate his crew of receivers amid a very young Houston secondary, but in many cases the receivers were unable to bring in the throw.

"We're throwing the ball, putting it right on the money," Patterson said. "We're just not catching the ball. We have a little case of the dropsies."

Patterson said West Valley will be known as a passing team, but it was the running of Dustin Baxtor that led the 'Pack to victory. Baxtor scored three times, running for scores twice and catching a Carlin pass for another. On his first carry of the game, Baxtor followed a pulling West Valley guard through the center of the Houston defensive line and rumbled for a 53-yard gain. The play set up his own 3-yard touchdown.

In the second quarter Baxtor gave his squad a 13-0 lead with a four-yard touchdown catch. On fourth down, Carlin found Baxtor on the goal line and Baxtor fell into the end zone.

In the final seconds of the third quarter, Baxtor burst through the middle of the Hawk line for a 44-yard touchdown run.

"It's something we noticed on film," Patterson said. "We could bang them inside. It worked out well for us."

Baxtor gained 148 yards on 11 carries, running between the guards each time for West Valley. The fullback gained most of his yards while Houston's mammoth Gary Seltenreich -- a 6-foot-6, 435-pound defensive tackle -- was out of the game.

"We had some break downs in the middle of our defense," Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said. "Our big kid, Gary, can only go so long. We have got to work on his conditioning. It leaves a big hole when he is not there."

The win gave Patterson his first victory as head coach of the Wolfpack. If the game was originally as scheduled, the West Valley mentor would have celebrated the feat in front of a home crowd, but poor air quality due to the Fairbanks area forest fires forced the Wolfpack to Houston for the nonconference contest.

Bouchard, also in his first season as a head coach, is still in search of his first victory after early season losses to Homer and now West Valley.

Hot routes … Houston got a scare in the first half as senior and team leader Andy Kappler fell to the turf. Kappler, a starter on both sides of the ball, returned to action. Seltenreich also went down with injury in the first half … Seven different Hawks carried the ball for Houston. Daniel Harvey led the club with 14 carries on 59 yards … Victor Waag intercepted a Carlin pass in the first quarter.