Warriors on winning streak

WASILLA — The Wasilla Warriors grounded out a 30-9 victory over the West Valley Wolfpack at Veterans Memorial Field on Friday night, winning their second game in a row for the first time under head coach Glenn Nelson.

Despite a tough performance from the Wolfpack’s Brandon Comeau, a squad of Wasilla running backs carried freshman Ben Fielder to his second victory in as many weeks at quarterback.

“I’ve got to give props to the offensive line,” Nelson said. “We ran right behind (Kaulen) Pevan and (Gilbert) Perez.”

While the defense of the Warriors shut the Wolfpack down in the second half, the beginning of the game looked as if it was going the other way. West Valley opened with a 13-play drive led by Comeau sweeps to the right side. But West Valley’s momentum was stopped on the 5-yard line, and the Wolfpack settled for a field goal by Ty Davis.

After three-and-outs by both teams, Wasilla generated some offense through the air. Fielder connected with a diving Cody Pfeifer first for a 35-yard drive-saving catch, then a 14-yard touchdown.

“Fielder was on the C-team three weeks ago,” Nelson said of the freshman, who threw for 290 yards and five touchdowns during a 53-0 win over Lathrop in Fairbanks last week.

The Wolfpack were forced to punt on their next drive, and Wasilla blocked the kick. Misha Hall recovered the loose ball and ran it into the end zone. The referees, however, negated the score by ruling a ball cannot be advanced on a blocked punt.

Both teams were hit with a spat of turnovers of penalties. The Wolfpack managed to put a touchdown on the board before halftime with a Sam McKinstry 28-yard quarterback keeper, but the extra point was blocked by the Warriors.

With the ball to start the third quarter, Wasilla looked to the ground.

The Warriors, who used five different running backs during a 12-play stretch, capped the drive with a 34-yard Paul Sliwa field goal.

Following the long field goal, the Warriors defense stepped up.

Thanks to a few Wolfpack incompletions and another blocked punt, Wasilla found itself in good field position once again. Kyle Welton took advantage, and posted a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Warriors the 17-9 lead at the end of the third quarter.

After another Wolfpack fumble, recovered by Wasilla sophomore Devon Teeling, the Warriors padded their lead with a 3-yard touchdown run by Tyler Polis.

West Valley mounted a drive from deep within its own territory, but dropped passes shot themselves in the foot.

Late in the contest, Welton scored again for Wasilla, this time from 30 yards out.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.

WASILLA 30, WEST VALLEY 9

Friday, Veterans Memorial Field

First Quarter

West Valley — Davis 20 field goal, 5:22.

Second Quarter

Wasilla — Pfeifer 14 pass from Fielder (Sliwa kick) 9:28.

West Valley — McKinstry 28 run (kick failed) 1:00.

Third Quarter

Wasilla — Sliwa 34 field goal, 5:40.

Wasilla — Welton 2 run (Silwa kick) 1:04.

Fourth Quarter

Wasilla — Polis 3 run (Sliwa kick) 6:31.

Wasilla — Welton 30 run (kick failed) 1:56.

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — West Valley: Comeau 19-155, McKinstry 11-58, Agae 1-0, Cogley 2-0; Wasilla: Polis 11-54, Welton 7-62, Fielder 6-14, Chafin 5-17, Lapiz 4-11, Bydlon 3-28, Hall 1-(-1), Langendorf 1-2, Edwards 1-4.

PASSING — West Valley: McKinstry 4-15-1 51, Plass 0-1-1 0; Wasilla: Fielder 5-13-0 61.

RECIEVING —West Valley: Agae 3-51, Comeau 1-0; Wasilla: Pfeifer 2-48, Green 2-15, Bydlon 1-(-3).