SUMMER BLUES

PALMER — The Palmer Moose have some holes to fill.

Palmer graduated only about a dozen players from a 2010 team that finished just short of the large-schools state title game. But many of those seniors were two-way starters.

“We only have four to five guys that played much varsity (last year),” said Rod Christiansen, who enters his 20th season as the Palmer head coach. “(We graduated) a lot of guys we counted on to play a lot on both sides of the ball.”

The Moose graduated three first-team all-conference selections — running back Brennan Bohman, linebacker Coleman Ahrens and tackle Wes Jansen.

Bohman and Ahrens combined for nearly 2,000 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. Quarterback Dustin Silva, who threw for 558 yards and seven scores, also graduated.

Key members of the defense, such as John Scoresby, Mike Daniels and Zach Zegzdryn, also graduated.

But despite those losses, the Palmer coaching staff still has a talented group with which to work.

“I think we have some team speed, but if we’re going to go anywhere, we’ll have to do it outworking people and outsmarting people,” Christiansen said. “We need to play hard, play well as a team.”

Christiansen said the coaches are looking to seniors such as Jim McCall, David Sorenson, David Clement, AJ Corbin, Kyle Scheibe and Collin Christiansen to be leaders on the field,

Juniors Douglas Chadwick and Jackson Buresh are also expected to play key roles on the team.

McCall, who was named first-team all-conference at defensive back and second-team All-RC at wide receiver, is expected to be a top player on both sides of the ball. McCall recorded 12 catches for 249 yards and four touchdowns on a Palmer team that only threw the ball 106 times last season. McCall had 382 yards rushing, and had a 60-yard run for a touchdown during a state semifinal overtime loss to Chugiak.

“Any time you get the ball in his hands, I think he’s dangerous,” Christiansen said.

Christiansen said Clement, Sorenson, Chadwick, Corbin and junior Ian Ahrens are among the runners who will be tasked with helping fill the void left by Bohman and Coleman Ahrens.

Buresh will enter the season as the starter at quarterback, Christiansen said.

“He’s very athletic,” Christiansen said of the first-year varsity signal-caller. “He can run the option. He’s a pretty big guy, not easy to tackle and can throw the ball.”

The Moose also have Corbin, who saw limited action as a backup quarterback last season. Corbin could be a utility player on the offensive side in addition to starting in the defensive backfield.

Collin Christiansen and Trey Smylie will be at tight end for the Moose, and senior Kris Merritt returns at wide receiver.

Scheibe, along with a group of juniors, will be leading the Moose up front. Christiansen said juniors Ben Self, Jameson Corbin and Kade Owens have been working on the Palmer offensive line. The Moose also have sophomore Kyle Thorton, who has been playing center.

Senior Aaron Donn is another lineman who should see action on both sides of the ball.

The defense could be led by a deep group of returners in the backfield.

McCall, Chadwick, Merritt and Corbin all have experience in the defensive backfield.

Schiebe and Sorenson return to anchor a linebacking corps that also features promising sophomore Hayden Niekamp.

Up front, the Moose have Collin Christiansen and Smylie at defensive end.

The Moose start the 2010 season with the team they ended their 2009 campaign against. Palmer hosts Chugiak on Aug. 7 in a rematch of a 2009 state semifinal game.

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