Warriors, Hawks ranked in latest poll

MAT-SU — A pair of Mat-Su Valley teams are recognized in the latest Alaska Sports Broadcasting Prep Football Poll, released Monday.

In the large-schools division, Wasilla is the fifth-ranked squad, while Houston is the No. 5 team in the small-schools class.

Wasilla is 1-0 after a 21-14 nonconference win over Chugiak Friday at Chugiak High School.

“It’s really positive for the kids to play a much bigger school like Chugiak,” Wasilla head coach Jim Shetter said of the victory. “It’s a big win for the kids.”

Wasilla senior Chris Crane led the Warriors with a pair of touchdowns in the win. Crane used a 34-yard touchdown run to give Wasilla the 7-6 lead midway through the second quarter, and caught a 9-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Adrese LaVern with 16 seconds remaining in the first half.

Wasilla opens its Railbelt Conference schedule Friday when the Warriors travel to Juneau to face the top-ranked Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears.

Juneau, the defending large-schools state champions, opened its 2008 season with a 45-7 win over West Valley in Fairbanks last Saturday.

Service stomped East Anchorage 49-6, and the Cougars are the now No. 2 in the large-schools poll.

Third-ranked South Anchorage scored a 19-6 nonconference win over Palmer, while fourth-ranked North Pole notched a key early-season Railbelt win with a 20-16 come-from-behind victory over Colony.

Houston cruised to 1-0 with a 47-8 win over Delta, and are now ranked in the small-schools top-five. The Hawks scored on each of their first three drives to build a 21-0 lead within the first seven minutes of play of the win.

Kodiak, the 2007 small-schools runner-up, are the top-ranked small-schools team, ahead of defending state champion Soldotna. Both teams won big in week No. 1. Kodiak drilled Seward 53-0, while Soldotna scampered past Nikiski 55-22.

Eielson and Barrow are ranked third and fourth respectively. Barrow is making its first appearance in the ASBN poll in the history of the Whalers football program.

The fifth-ranked Hawks, competing in their first season in the Northern Lights Conference, will host Skyview in their conference opener on Saturday at Terry Shurtleff Field. Skyview suffered a 37-36 loss to Barrow during the first week.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

ASBN Prep Football Poll

Large-schools

1. Juneau-Douglas (1-0), 2. Service (1-0), 3. South Anchorage (1-0), 4. North Pole (1-0), 5. Wasilla (1-0). Others receiving votes: West Anchorage.

Small-schools

1. Kodiak (1-0), 2. Soldotna (1-0), 3. Eielson (1-0), 4. Barrow (1-0), 5. Houston (1-0). Others receiving votes: Homer.