Valley rivalry continues tonight at CHS

PALMER — Local football fans still talk about that foggy night at Colony High in mid-September, 2010.

Host Colony was a win away from clinching the Railbelt Conference title. Palmer was on the verge of yet another playoff berth.

The game took five lead changes, more than 700 yards of total offense and 60 total points to decide. And on that night when fogged blanketed the CHS field, Colony, which held on for the 32-28 victory, couldn’t celebrate until after the Knights survived a late Palmer drive during the final minute of the game, which ended with a Moose incomplete pass in the corner of the end zone.

When asked about his team’s return to Colony High for the game tonight at 7 p.m., Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen was quick to recall that foggy night in 2010.

“I’m sure it could be like the ‘Fog Bowl.’ I am sure it will be some kind of bowl (tonight),” Christiansen said Thursday afternoon. “They have a lot of good veteran players who have experienced some success. They’re pretty confident. We’re kind of the same. It should be a good high school contest.”

A conference title won’t exactly be on the line tonight, but Palmer and Colony are both fighting for top spots in the wide-open Railbelt.

“They’re just kind of like the whole conference,” Christiansen said. “Right in the middle of it.”

Palmer (4-0 overall, 2-0 in Railbelt play) sits at the top of the Railbelt in a first-place tie with North Pole (4-0, 2-0). Juneau (3-1, 2-1) is in third, just ahead of Colony (3-1, 1-1).

The Moose improved to 2-0 in conference play and remained undefeated with a 26-7 win over West Valley (2-2, 1-2) last weekend at Palmer High. Junior James Nisbett eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the third time in four games, and scored his seventh touchdown of the year. Senior quarterback Cameron Christiansen completed 4 of his 5 attempts for 57 yards, and tossed a late 22-yard touchdown passes to senior receiver Daniel DeLay to help seal the game.

While the Moose, who are third in the Railbelt with an average of 36 points per game, had success on offense, Palmer’s defense was central to the victory.

Palmer has the top-ranked scoring defense in the Railbelt, allowing only nine points per game.

“I thought we did a nice job last week stopping the run,” Christiansen said. “It will be a whole different game for us this week.”

While Palmer needed to stop West Valley’s three-headed rushing attack, Christiansen knows this week, the Moose will have to slow down a potent Colony passing game. The Knights are the top scoring team in the conference, averaging 40 points per game.

Senior quarterback Rob Lorentz has been stellar through the first half of the regular season, completing 54 of 107 passes for 811 yards. Lorentz has tossed nine touchdown passes, compared to only one interception.

Loretnz has a pair of receivers with 20 or more catches. Daniel Bilafer leads the team with 23 receptions, and has 275 yards and three touchdowns. Antonio Bush has 20 grabs for a team-high 361 yards and five scores. Jacob Hall is also a threat with seven catches for 109 yards and at touchdown.

Bilafer has 17 catches in the last two games.

The Moose also know they can’t forget about the Knights ground game. Junior Bryce Niver leads the team with 305 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Wyatt Peltier has 162 yards and four scores, despite missing the last two weeks with an injury.

“I think they like to mix it up and do a little bit of everything,” Christiansen said. “We’ll prepare for both running and throwing.”

Colony dropped to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in Railbelt play with a 21-20 loss to conference power Juneau-Douglas last week at Colony High. Colony head coach Brian McIntosh praised the work of his defense against the high-octane Crimson Bears offense.

“They forced turnovers, had an amazing goalline stand,” McIntosh said of his defense.

The Knights shut down Juneau’s passing game for much of the contest. Colony didn’t allow a Crimson Bear completion until the 1:32 mark of the third quarter.

Colony allowed only one touchdown through three quarters, and held a 13-7 lead heading into the fourth.

Juneau’s Billy Palmer scored twice during the final quarter to give the Bears the win.

“We just didn’t make plays like we did against Wasilla, Kenai and Skyview,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh said his players have been eager to get back after it during the week of practice that followed the Juneau loss.

“Not taking anything away from Juneau, but we felt that was a game we let go,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh said Colony, which returned the bulk of its team from last season, has also spent time thinking about a rough 42-6 loss to the Moose at Palmer High last year.

“They were pretty embarrassed. They have a little chip on their shoulder,” McIntosh said.

North Pole at Wasilla

A pair of teams on different ends of the conference meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Wasilla’s Veterans Memorial Field.

Wasilla (1-3, 0-3) hosts North Pole (4-0, 2-0).

Despite its 1-3 overall mark and 0-3 record in the Railbelt, Wasilla has had no trouble scoring points. The Warriors are second in the Railbelt in conference scoring with 82 points. The team also boasts one of the conference’s top rushers, junior Mitchell Rilatos, who has 514 yards and four touchdowns on the ground this season.

But while the Warriors have had success on offense, Wasilla has been trapped in a rough stretch on the defensive side of the ball. The Warriors have allowed a conference-high 156 points in three Railbelt games.

The road through the Railbelt doesn’t get any easier for the Warriors tonight. Wasilla, which suffered a 48-32 loss to Lathrop last Saturday at WHS, hosts a North Pole team that includes one of the top all-purpose threats in the state.

Quarterback Moo Rogers has completed 42 of 78 passes for 889 and nine touchdowns. Rogers has also rushed for 547 yards.

Houston at Soldotna

Houston, fresh off a 32-26 win over Skyview, heads to Soldotna to face the Stars tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Soldotna High School.

Houston (2-2, 1-1) jumped back into the Northern Lights Conference playoff race with the win over the Panthers. Quarterback Nai Saechao scored the go-ahead touchdown, a 2-yard run, with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth to give the Hawks the win. Houston also had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the victory. Waylon Soptick and Hunter Smith both topped the 100-yard mark. Saechao threw for 157 yards, which included an 85-yard touchdown pass to Kruz Kleewein.

Soldotna cruised to its second straight NLC win, scoring a 38-8 win over Homer. The Stars beat Skyview 73-7 in Week 3, a week after posting a 70-0 nonconference win over Ketchikan.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com, follow him @matsu_sports and find him by searching Valley Sports Huddle on Facebook.