Warriors hold on to beat Chugiak

WASILLA — Isaiah Smith has been a horse, carrying the load for the Wasilla offense during the early chunk of the 2023 prep football season. But on homecoming night, Smith came through with his team’s biggest defensive play of the year.

The Wasilla senior picked off a Chugiak pass within his team’s own 5-yard line to preserve a 13-7 win over the Mustangs Friday night at Veterans Memorial Field in Wasilla.

Smith grabbed the interception with 62 seconds left in regulation. Chugiak had the ball, facing 1st-and-10 and the 25-yard line. It was the second big play for the Warriors secondary in a matter of minutes. A pair of Wasilla defensive backs broke up a pass with 2:15 left as the Warriors faced 4th-and-5 at the 12.

“We’ve got a gritty group that finds a way to get it done,” Warriors head coach Matt Jaronik said after the win.

Smith had the play of the day on defense, but Jaronik credited the Warriors on the offensive front for putting his team in the position to win, and improve to 2-1 in the very competitive Division II class.

“We’re an offensive line team through and through,” Jaronik said. “We’ve got some guys up front who do what offensive lineman do, and they take pride in it.”

Wasilla rushed for 128 of its 186 yards in the second half.

“We talked at halftime about who we are and who we need to be. They came out and showed that’s what we believe in,” Jaronik said. “We know who we are. We have our identity. It’s up front.”

Smith, who is also Wasilla’s starting quarterback, rushed for 153 yards and both Warriors touchdowns. He had 104 yards on the ground in the second half.

Wasilla also showed a new twist on offense. Dillon Kester also saw time at quarterback, and completed seven passes for 137 yards, including a 44-yarder to Jimmy Lackey on his first attempt of the game.

“He can throw it around,” Jaronik said. “He has already had a good start to his season. He’s been playing JV quarterback for us. We just thought lets see what he can do on the big stage.”

Jaronik said it’s another twist to the game plan, and an extra thing for opponents to think about.

“Just being more versatile,” he said.

In other action, Colony rallied to beat Division I rival Service 33-25 at CHS. Soldotna rolled to a 76-7 win over Palmer on the Peninsula. Kenai Central beat Redington 54-14. Barrow upset Houston 12-6.

Colony used its running game to rally past a win over the Division I rival Cougars. Senior quarterback Jack Nash rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Julian Ates added a team-best 140 yards on the ground and a score.

Nash also threw for 131 yards and a touchdown pass to Star Jamison. Ridge Spencer led the Knights with five catches.

Nolan Garner rushed for Palmer’s lone score in the loss to Soldotna.

Houston’s Noah Whitted led the Hawks with a touchdown run during the loss to Barrow.

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