Teams fight for playoff spots

PALMER — The Alaska prep football postseason officially begins in two weeks, but as far as the Palmer Moose are concerned, the playoffs start right now.

Palmer (3-3 overall, 2-2 in the Railbelt Conference) host the North Pole Patriots (3-3, 3-1) in a game which will undoubtedly factor into the postseason fate of both teams.

“They’re all big games for us,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said of his team, which will play Wasilla in what appears to be another game with playoff implications next week. “There are a lot of good teams in this conference.”

Colony (6-0, 4-0) and Juneau-Douglas (5-2, 4-1) have clinched two of the Railbelt’s four playoff spots.

Colony secured its spot with a 44-19 win over Wasilla last week. Juneau punched its playoff ticket with a 69-6 drubbing of Lathrop in a rare Wednesday night prep football game earlier this week in Fairbanks.

North Pole moved a step closer to earning the right to play in October with a 26-14 win over Juneau last week in the Interior.

North Pole still has Palmer and Lathrop on its schedule. Palmer plays the Patriots and the Warriors. And Wasilla has just one conference game left on its schedule, Palmer.

Colony, Juneau and North Pole are still in the hunt for the conference crown. The Knights face West Valley tonight at 7 p.m. in Fairbanks.

Colony and Juneau meet during the final week of the regular season in the capital city.

On Saturday, when the Moose host North Pole at 4 p.m. at Palmer High School, Palmer will not only look to take a step toward solidifying its spot in the postseason, but snap a three-game losing streak.

Palmer followed losses to Juneau and Colony with a 34-20 nonconfernece loss to Soldotna on the Peninsula last week.

Despite the rough midseason stretch, Christiansen said his players are continuing to work, but injuries and the struggles to find the big play have hurt the Moose.

“We can’t seem to pull off quite enough big plays,” Christiansen said. “We need to be a big play team, on both offense and defense.”

One of Palmer’s big-play threats, junior Jim McCall has been hurt. The wide receiver and defensive back who gained nearly of 500 yards in total offense and scored five total touchdowns during the first four weeks, has missed most of the last two games. He’ll be a game-time decision on Saturday, Christiansen said.

“He’s probably one of the best big-play guys in the state,” Christiansen said.

And speaking of big-play threats, the Moose will have to try to contain North Pole quarterback Lee Jones when the Patriots fire into Machetanz Field Saturday.

Jones, who is built more like a college linebacker than a high school quarterback, has hurt teams with both his legs and his arm this season. ‘

Last week, Jones ran for 229 yards and two scores during the win over Juneau.

During a victory over Wasilla early in the season, Jones passed for 357 yards and four touchdowns. Jones also returned an interception 62 yards for a score against the Warriors.

“He’s one of the best athletes on the football field in the state,” Christiansen said of Jones. “He’s got a good group of receivers and linemen around him. We’ll try to slow him down, take some plays from him.”

The Moose will look to their offense to churn through the yardage and keep the ball out of the hands of Patriots, such as Jones. Leading that charge is senior running back Brennan Bohman, who ranks among the state’s best with 698 yards and four touchdowns.

Fellow senior Coleman Ahrens has 344 yards and five touchdowns for the Moose this season.

Senior quarterback Dustin Silva has 502 yards passing and seven touchdown passes.

In other Valley action, Wasilla will host Houston tonight at 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Field.

The nonconference game, which pits the two prep football games who call the left side of the Valley home, is Wasilla’s homecoming.

Wasilla (2-4) will be looking for its third win of the year, while Houston (1-5) aims for its second victory of the season.

In addition to the fireworks on the field, the Warriors will also host a fireworks show following the game, thanks to a cooperative effort with Gorilla Fireworks.

Colony will work to stay undefeated when the Knights invade West Valley High School tonight at 7 p.m.

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