Valley gridiron teams notch playoff berths

The Palmer Moose and the Colony Knights each won a Northern Railbelt Conference contest in Fairbanks this weekend to remain undefeated in conference play and earn a one-way trip to the post season.

Palmer and Colony join Valley foe Wasilla in the playoffs. The Warriors clinched a berth with their win over Lathrop on Friday.

Colony blanked the West Valley Wolfpack 9-0, while Palmer came from behind to defeat the North Pole Patriots 42-30.

The Knights once again relied on their simple formula to gain the win -- good defense and a steady running game. Colony's Auggie Manelick came up with a clutch play once again to help the Knights win. The senior returned a fuble 54 yards for the lone touchdown of the contest. The Knight defense also notched a safety in the fourth quarter.

The Knights gained 185 yards on the ground including a team-high 56 from Nolan Smith.

The Moose fell behind 14-0 early in the second quarter, but scored the next six touchdowns to take the 42-30 victory. Mike Weber led the Moose with 137 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the Moose improved to 5-0 on the season.

Charlie Bentti threw for 136 yards and a touchdown. It is the second time this season that Bentti has thrown for 130 yards or more.

Bentti added scored a touchdown on the ground for the Moose. Dustin Mason and Kenny Waterer also scored for the Moose.

Palmer eclipsed 400 yards of total offense, with 269 on the ground and 136 through the air. The Moose defense forced three North Pole turnovers.

Houston 21 Sitka 14

The Houston Hawks notched their first Greatland Conference victory of the season this weekend with a win over Sitka on the road.

With the tie deadlocked at 14-14 with less than two minutes to go in the game, Hawk quarterback Peter Clemens found receiver Taylor Richey on a 50-yard scoring strike to clinch the victory.

The game-winning score was Clemens' second touchdown pass of the day. Clemens also connected with DJ Sandidge on a six-yard touchdown pass.

Sandidge also reached the end zone twice for the Hawks.

Sandidge posted a key defensive play, returning an interception 60 yards for the score.