THE LAST GREAT GAME: Hawks, Huskies excited about new rivalry

KNIK — The newest rivalry in Valley football has had only one winner so far, but if you listen to Houston head coach Glenn Nelson, there is a bright future of football in two dog mushing communities when they meet in the “Last Great Game.”

"We got tired of getting bullied about five years ago. They've got a super coaching staff. In a couple years it's going to be a tough, tough game," said Nelson of the future of the rivalry.

In just their third year of football and second year of varsity, the Huskies tallied four wins, including their first home and conference wins. However, they have yet to win against cross-Valley rival Houston, which has built a flourishing Division III program. Though the Hawks will miss the playoffs this year, they used the game against the Huskies as a final showcase for their departing seniors, cruising to a 41-0 victory.

While the Huskies face disadvantages in size, speed, experience, and the number of players, they never missed out on an opportunity to give their all on senior night.

After a pair of completions, Houston was marching down the field. Pint-sized Eli Benson broke through the offensive line and made contact with Houston quarterback Terry Hershman. Just as Hershman was about to slip away, help arrived in the form of a much more traditional looking defensive lineman: big, tall, Isaac Carlson-Hammo. The duo punished Hershman and stopped the Hawks offensive momentum with a sack of the quarterback resulting in a 12-yard loss.

The Hawks were determined to use every play in their playbook, and leave nothing undone before their season ended. Four different Hawks threw passes. When Houston got a first down at the Redington 15-yard line with one second left in the third quarter, they quickly set up for a Denali Whitted field goal. But when Owen Mulhaney received the snap, he did not put it on the ground for Whitted to kick, instead he found a wide-open Noah Plumb in the end zone. Plumb threw three passes himself after taking a lateral from Hershman.

"Noah Plumb is a great senior leader. He was injured last year, but came back and did everything we asked him. We asked the seniors to sacrifice a lot. They didn't get to play much, but we kept telling them look forward to playoffs. Well we came short, so the seniors played whole game. They played smart and had some fun," said Nelson.

Houston was determined to make sure their seniors went out on a high note. On their first drive of the second half, 255 pound Reed Graham, accustomed to playing the offensive line, ran the ball in for the touchdown. In a display of sportsmanship from Houston, the Hawks did not attempt to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Already up 41-0, the Hawks lined up for a Whitted field goal every time they got the ball in the red zone. Whitted made 6 of her 7 PAT attempts, but was unable to kick any of her field goal attempts through the uprights.

Late in the fourth quarter with a running clock mercy rule in effect, Isaiah Hall sprinted around the left edge for his longest carry of the game, having been punished by the Houston defense all night. Despite sloppy play and a multitude of turnovers from both teams, the Huskies kept fighting to improve their football team, even down to the last seconds of the game.

"These eight seniors, I would go to war with any day against anybody else's. They don't quit, they don't give up, they fight and they have the heart and the desire to want to win," said Redington head coach Tony Brooke. "I think they've instilled that in these younger guys and paved that path for them."

Tim Rockey is a freelance writer for the Frontiersman. Contact him at timothy.rockey@gmail.com.

Houston 41, Redington 0.

Friday, Redington High School

First Quarter:

Houston - Hershman 7 run (Whitted kick) 6:13.

Second Quarter:

Houston - Hershman 5 run (Whitted kick) 11:30

Houston - Sasiu 4 run (Whitted kick) 10:39

Houston - Silas 36 pass from Hershman (Whitted kick) :54.

Third Quarter:

Houston - Graham 4 run (Kick failed) 10:13

Houston - Plumb 15 pass from Mulhaney (Whitted kick) :01.

Fourth Quarter:

No scoring.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

Rushing- Houston: Plumb 7-47, Croghan 2-5, Ritter 1-9, Graham 1-4, Sasiu 2-12, Hershman 14-139; Redington: Reed, 1-(-5), Horne 1-5, Rumfelt 9-31, Lovejoy 1-8, Long 3-(-11), Hall 17 -(-15), Benson 1-(-1).

Passing- Houston: Hershman 5-15-1-172, Plumb 1-3-0-24, Ritter 0-2-1-0, Mulhaney 1-1-0-15; Redington: Reed 1-5-1-5.

Receiving- Houston: Plumb 2-25, Silas 2-60, Ritter 2-35, Wilson 1-16, Ewing 2-75; Redington: Amirault 1-5.