Teams dealt tough draws in Week 1

PALMER — Two weeks. Two opponents. Two teams that played for a state title last year.

There’s no easing into the season for the Colony Knights.

Colony, which travels to face medium-schools defending state champion Soldotna next week, opens its 2013 season tonight against the Service Cougars, the reigning state runner-up at the 4A level.

“We wouldn’t want it any other way,” head coach Brian McIntosh said of the Knights, who hit the field tonight for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Anchorage Football Stadium. “We want to play the toughest teams.”

Six of the eight teams on Colony’s slate qualified for the postseason last year, and three won at least one playoff game.

“I think we have, if not the toughest, one of the toughest schedules in Alaska,” McIntosh said. “I look forward to the competition.”

Nobody in the Valley was dealt a softball in Week 1. Palmer opens its season tonight against Bartlett at 7 p.m. at Machetanz Field. Wasilla makes the trip into Anchorage to face West Saturday at 1 p.m. at AFS.

Houston hosts Seward Saturday at 2 p.m.

Palmer, which finished 9-1 and advanced to the state semifinals last season, meets a Bartlett team that didn’t win a game last year. But longtime PHS head coach Rod Christiansen said he expects the Moose to see a quality Golden Bears squad when the teams hit the Palmer turf tonight.

“Bartlett is much improved,” Christiansen said.

Christiansen said he expects Palmer to see a fast and athletic Bartlett squad that runs a spread offense.

Palmer opens its Railbelt Conference season next week against West Valley, and hosts a team from Woodinville, Wash., during Week 4. Palmer’s nonconference schedule also includes road games against East and Homer.

After opening its season at West Saturday, the Warriors host Kenai next week and jump into Railbelt play against rival Colony in Week 3.

The big change for Valley Railbelt teams is the four-game conference schedule. Both Juneau-Douglas and North Pole dropped to the medium-schools class following the 2012 season.

“That puts a little more pressure on those conference games,” Christiansen said. “I’ve never had four nonconference games (in a season).”

With the loss of Juneau and North Pole, the Railbelt lost one of its postseason berths. Now only three teams will advance, and five teams from the Cook Inlet Conference will move forward to make up the eight-team bracket in 2013.

McIntosh said he’s concerned about the probability of teams finishing in a tie in the standings and the number of playoff spots that could be decided by tiebreakers. Colony finished in a three-way tie last season, and missed the playoffs because of a point-differential tiebreaker.

Houston, led by first-year head coach Glenn Nelson, also has a demanding schedule. The Hawks face a pair of large-schools teams from the Railbelt (West Valley and Wasilla), and travel to Fairbanks, Kenai, Soldotna and Kodiak this year.

“I don’t think anybody, but maybe Barrow, will travel as much as us,” Nelson said.