Seniors lead Knights past Wasilla

PALMER — As a junior in 2017, Kaiden Jimenez was Colony’s workhorse in the backfield leading the Knights with 700 yards rushing on 132 carries. But as a senior, Jimenez’s role in the offense changed when the Knights made the transition to a shotgun-oriented attack.

Friday, Jimenez proved he’s still a viable option in the Colony offense. The senior rushed for a pair of touchdowns and helped lead Colony to a 42-7 win over the Wasilla Warriors at Colony High.

“He’s another weapon,” Colony offensive coordinator Matt Jaronik said after the win. “He’s hard-nosed runner as we saw last year. None of that left him.”

Jimenez finished with 36 yards for the Knights, who rushed for 226 as a team.

“He gives another dimension to our offense,” Jaronik said. “Every week we’ve added something new as far as our offense goes.”

Senior quarterback Eric Christy led Colony with 88 yards rushing and a score. Senior Zane Vrvilo added 82 yards and a touchdown.

“Zane gives us a slash and dash type thing. Kaiden is so patient and sets up his bocks really nice,” Jaronik said.

Adding the package that includes Jimenez to the offense could be key as Colony moves forward, Jaronik said.

“Having those guys, now can throw in speed. Now we can throw in power. Now we can throw in shiftiness,” Jaronik said. “We can open things up and be flexible.”

Wasilla also featured its workhorse Friday. Senior Jordan Quenga rushed for 178 yards on 38 carries.

“He’s a tough little back,” Jaronik said of Quenga. “Couple of times we were a little worried.”

Jaronik said the message to the defense was simple.

“You’re just going to have to grit your teeth. We’ve got to go out and we’ve got to be really tough, really physical,” Jaronik said.

Senior Julian McPhail also stood out for Colony, scoring twice in 90 seconds. Christy connected with McPhail on a 37-yard touchdown pass with 4:53 left in the fourth. On the ensuing drive, McPhail returned an interception 50 yards for a score.

Jimenez gave Colony the early lead with a 3-yard touchdown plunge. Christy added another short touchdown run later in the first. Vrivilo gave Colony the three-score lead with a 6-yard touchdown run late in the first half. Jimenez scored for the second time in the game in the third, and gave Colony the 28-0 advantage.

Quenga put Wasilla on the scoreboard with am 18-yard touchdown run.

Colony improved to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in Chugach Conference play. The Warriors dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the Chuguch. The Knights travel to Juneau Friday. Wasilla hosts Bartlett Friday night at 7 p.m.

Contact Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com

Colony 42, Wasilla 7

Friday, Colony High School

First quarter:

Colony — Jimenez 3 run (Krozel kick) 5:00.

Colony — Christy 1 run (Krozel kick) 0:32.

Second quarter:

Colony — Vrvilo 6 run (Krozel kick) 1:45.

Third quarter:

Colony — Jimenez 2 run (Krozel kick) 6:11.

Wasilla — Quenga 18 run (No. 85 kick) 1:23.

Fourth quarter:

Colony — McPhail 37 pass from Christy (Krozel kick) 4:53.

Colony — McPhail 50 interception return (Krozel kick) 3:23.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Wasilla: Quenga 38-178, Matthews 10-23, Drummond 7-25, Malave 2-3, Lindquist 1-2; Colony: Christy 13-88, Vrvilo 9-82, Jimenez 7-36, McPhail 2-12, Ravel 2-5, Connaker 1-3.

PASSING — Wasilla: Malave 0-2-1—0, Colony: Christy 4-8-1—66.

RECEIVING — Wasilla: none; Colony: McPhail 4-66.