Soldotna soars against Hawks

SOLDOTNA — Despite holding a 20-point lead going into the final 90 seconds last week against Homer, Soldotna only came away with a 26-20 win. So when the Stars took the field Friday night, they wanted to atone for their late-game Week 3 letdown and re-establish themselves as a dominant force in small-schools football.

Bad news for Houston.

SoHi trounced the visiting Hawks 70-0 to notch its third consecutive Northern Lights Conference victory and remain undefeated this season.

The Homer game left a sour taste in the team’s mouth, Stars head coach Galen Brantley Jr. said. SoHi had something to prove this week.

“Our pride was challenged a little bit,” Brantley Jr. said. “We underperformed. Offensively, it’s as good as we’ve looked all year,” he said.

SoHi racked up 448 total rushing yards, averaging 22.4 yards per carry. Big plays and quick drives summed up SoHi’s offense. The Stars’ longest drive was only six plays.

Soldotna found the end zone on the first play of a drive four different times in the game, including scoring touchdowns on the first snap three straight offensive possessions.

The first of those came when Robbie Smithwick took in a 19-yard run after a failed fake punt by Houston with 7:19 to play in the first quarter. Smithwick finished the game with 91 rushing yards with two touchdowns on just two carries.

Three minutes later, Tanner Fowler hit Garrett Bosick with a 37-yard pass after a Hawks punt to give SoHi a 21-0 lead.

Houston went three-and-out on its next possession, and again, the Stars wasted no time. Phil Bennett took the first snap and escaped for a 40-yard score. He had 97 yards on six carries and four touchdowns.

SoHi’s offense didn’t need to take the field to squeeze in one more score before the opening quarter ended. Bennett reached the end zone for the third time on a 65-yard punt return. The Stars led 35-0 after the first 12 minutes.

Five different Stars gained 60 yards or more on the ground. Six of SoHi’s 10 touchdowns were 40 or more yards. Sophomore Auston Tennis provided the longest touchdown, a 97-yarder. After forcing a turnover on downs, SoHi started a drive at its own 3-yard line. Tennis started outside then cut back inside and found daylight on the second play from scrimmage with under a minute to go in the half. Tennis piled up a team-leading 135 rushing yards on just four carries. The Stars took a 56-0 lead to the locker room.

Prior to Tennis’ field-length score, Smithwick took the first snap after a Houston punt into the end zone on a 72-yard run. Daniel Koch was a perfect 10-for-10 on PAT attempts.

Though many starters watched the second half from the sidelines, the Hawks had no answer for SoHi’s running attack.

Less than two minutes into the third quarter, sophomore Reid Schmelzenbach scored on a 46-yard run. He finished with 68 yards on four carries. Jared Duncan added a 44-yard touchdown to round out the scoring with 6:27 to play in the third.

Stars 70, Hawks 0

Friday, Soldotna

First quarter

Soldotna: Bennett 28 run (Kock kick), 8:50

Soldotna: Smithwick 19 run (Kock kick), 7:19

Soldotna: Bosick 37 pass from T. Fowler (Kock kick), 4:17

Soldotna: Bennett 40 run (Kock kick), 3:02

Soldotna: Bennett 65 punt return (Kock kick), 0:49

Second quarter

Soldotna: Bennett 16 run (Kock kick), 9:31

Soldotna: Smithwick 72 run (Kock kick), 5:53

Soldotna: Tennis 97 run (Kock kick), 0:54

Third quarter

Soldotna: Schmelzenbach 46 run (Kock kick), 10:16

Soldotna: Duncan 44 run (Kock kick), 6:27

Fourth quarter

No scoring

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSING — Houston: Dukes 19-100, Frank 10-(-26), Kleewien 2-(-8), Ch. Buzby 2-12, Co. Buzby 1-(3), No. 2 1-(-4); Soldotna: Bennett 6-97, Tennis 4-135, Smithwick 2-91, Schmelzenbach 4-68, Duncan 3-60, N. Fowler 1-(-3).

PASSING — Houston: Frank 10-17-0-56, Dukes 0-1-0-0; Soldotna: T. Fowler 1-4-0-37.

Receiving — Houston: No. 2 1-3, Ch. Buzby 2-4, Ruta 2-6, Hendricks 1-11, Dukes 1-5, Lapham 1-9, Co. Buzby 1-18; Soldotna: Bosick 1-37.