Warrior offense stymied in 48-12 loss at Chugiak

CHUGIAK — Able to gain only four inches per play in the first half, the Wasilla Warriors found themselves behind early and never threatened the defending state runner-up Chugiak Mustangs in a 48-12 loss Friday night.

“Chugiak is a great team, great athletes and they’re coached very well,” Wasilla head coach Will Stout said. “We knew it would be a battle. They shut us down offensively in the first half, and we finally got something moving in the second half.”

With leading rusher Aeron Milliron out with injury, the Warriors turned almost exclusively to Nicholas Alexander, who finished with 129 yards on 20 carries to go over the 100-yard mark for the third time in four weeks.

Alexander scored the lone offensive touchdown of the night for the Warriors, breaking free of a pile for a 51-yard scamper on the final play of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 41-12.

That put off the 30-point running clock for another 43 seconds until Chugiak’s Ramal Maad scored from 18 yards out to give the game its final.

“(Alexander) has been pretty consistent the last three or four games,” Stout said. “Last week he had 30 carries and this week he had 20, but probably should have had more — he’s a great athlete.”

Apart from Alexander, Wasilla rushers managed just 41 yards on 26 attempts. The Warriors had no passing yards, and in the first half had just three yards on 25 carries with Alexander having just 7 yards on 6 rushes.

The Wasilla defense held up as well as could be expected against a Mustang team with multiple weapons, chief among them running back Derek Snell, who finished with 159 yards on 8 attempts, including touchdown runs of 26 and 21.

“My line was just getting out there blocking for me and coach was calling good plays,” Snell said. “Honestly, we didn’t really play 100 percent. We got undisciplined and made mistakes, but we bounced back.”

Those mistakes included 11 penalties for 120 yards, and an errant snap on a punt try that was recovered by Wasilla’s Evan Desrochers in the end zone for a Warrior touchdown that made it 17-6 with 10:54 to go in the first half.

Wasilla’s first season under Stout, which has already netted two more wins than the year prior, ends next Friday with a game against rival Palmer in the Potato Bowl.

“That’s our bowl game and we’re excited to have it at home,” Stout said. “I don’t see any major injuries today and we get Milliron back next week and we’ll see how it goes.”

At 4-3 Chugiak is fighting for a postseason berth, but closes the regular season with a tough test at once-beaten Colony.

Chugiak 48, Wasilla 12

Friday, Chugiak High School

First quarter

Chugiak — Harr 8 run. (Morey kick) 9:11

Chugiak — Morey 31 field goal. 4:43

Chugiak — Snell 23 pass from Harr. (Morey kick) 1:47

Second quarter

Wasilla — Desrochers fumble recovery in end zone. (Kick failed) 10:54

Chugiak — Snell 26 run. (Morey kick) 6:42

Chugiak — Morey 44 field goal. 2:46

Chugiak — Snell 21 run. (Morey kick) :18

Third quarter

Chugiak — Harr 14 run. (Morey kick) 5:28

Wasilla — Alexander 51 run. (Kick blocked) :01

Fourth quarter

Chugiak — Maad 18 run. (Morey kick) 11:17

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Wasilla: Alexander 20-129, Vroman 4-16, Derochers 8-15, McDermott 4-16, Hongslo 5-3, Cork 4-2, Norton 4-2. Chugiak: Snell 8-159, Faamatuainu 6-45, White 3-23, #1 3-20, Maad 2-15, Jones 5-14, Harr 8-17, Tomasulo 2-(-8), Perish 2-10.

PASSING — Wasilla: Hongslo 0-1-0—0. Chugiak: Team 6-19-0— 110.

RECEIVING — Wasilla: None. Chugiak: Snell 2-58, White 4-52.