Veterans key to Moose defense

PALMER — Heading into the 2012 season, Palmer stands as the lone team in the squad in the seven-team Railbelt Conference that does not return its starting quarterback.

But luckily for the Moose, Palmer will have plenty of veterans to defend those experienced opposing signal-callers.

“We return a lot on that side of the ball,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said of the Moose defense. “We return probably six guys on defense that started.”

The Moose will feature a number of returning starters at key defensive positions. Senior Luke Heun is back to help lead the defense from his position in the defensive backfield.

“He’s played a lot of different spots,” Christiansen said. “He’s probably more of a defensive back, but in today’s defense he’s like one of those guys in between (defensive back and linebacker). He can play the run, but also play the pass.”

Seniors Chris Cooney and Hayden Niekamp will anchor the defense at linebacker, alongside junior Ben Aumavae.

In addition to Heun, a potentially strong Palmer defensive backfield also includes senior Dylan Myers and junior James Nisbett . Junior defensive tackle Brian Thompson also returns.

“We expect him to be a force in there,” Christiansen said of Thompsons.

On offense, the Moose gradated their top quarterback, running back and top two wide receivers, but Palmer does return Nisbett, who finished third on the team with six touchdowns as a sophomore. Nisbett ran for 229 yards, and caught eight passes for another 106. Four of his touchdowns came in the Palmer rushing game.

Vincent Aumavae, Palmer’s top junior varsity runner last year, has moved to the varsity backfield. Palmer also has junior Zeth Merritt.

With the departure of two-time all-state quarterback Jackson Buresh, senior Cameron Christiansen has earned Palmer’s top job behind center.

Senior Daniel DeLay will be among Palmer’s top receivers.

Seniors Lance Cassagranda and Cole Frohling return to lead the Palmer offensive line. Junior Caleb Nielsen, and sophomores Ben Button and Nick Benshelter will also battle for jobs on the offensive line.

Palmer opens its 2012 season Saturday against small-school power Soldotna in Soldotna. Christiansen said the Moose are looking forward to a tough early season test against the Stars, who have won four small-schools state titles since 2006.

“It’s a good challenge for us,” Christiansen said. “A good challenge in a nonconference game will give us an edge going into the conference season.”

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.