Warriors win Potato Bowl, Railbelt Conference title

WASILLA — It took a first-year football player to help erase a 12-year drought.

Wasilla placekicker Kyler Perry booted a 30-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Warriors to a 23-22 win over the rival Palmer Moose in the 2011 Potato Bowl at Wasilla High’s Veterans Memorial Field Friday night.

The Perry game-winner not only gave Wasilla its first Potato Bowl win since 2007, it — coupled with Juneau-Douglas’ beating of Lathrop in Fairbanks Friday — secured the Warriors first conference championship since 1999.

“This is an awesome feeling right now,” said Wasilla’s Tyler Anderson, who caught a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first half.

As the Warriors celebrated their first conference championship in more than a decade and just their third Potato Bowl victory during that span, players received hugs and high-fives. Some even brushed away tears. But Perry stood calm and casual. Perry admitted he wasn’t quite sure what to think.

“No, not really,” Perry said. “Everyone keeps asking me that. I don’t know what to say.”

But as it became apparent the 33rd Potato Bowl might just be decided by a field goal, Perry spent his time knocking warm-up kicks into a net along the Warrior sideline, wondering if he’d have a chance to help decide the outcome.

“I was kind of hoping I would. I just wanted to kick a field goal,” Perry said.

While Perry’s a first-year guy, the Wasilla football veterans praised the kicker’s role in erasing a career’s worth of woes against the Moose.

“I don’t really think he knows what to think,” Wasilla senior Braydon Kuiper said as he celebrated his first career varsity football win over the Moose. “This is his first year. I don’t know if he understands the level of excitement we all have with Wasilla being down so many years. He’ll figure it out.”

But the Warrior veterans knew the new kid — a WHS soccer standout — could get the job done.

“We had 110 percent confidence in him,” Wasilla senior lineman Ryan Pomrenke said.

Perry’s field goal capped a 10-point fourth quarter and 17-point second half, and helped the Warriors come back from a 14-7 halftime deficit. The Warriors not only rallied during the second half, but rebounded from a pair of second-half turnovers.

“Coach said never get down on ourselves, play through adversity and battle,” Kuiper said. “Hopefully it comes out your way, but all you can do is battle.”

And the Warriors battled.

Both teams battled actually.

Led by all-state quarterback Jackson Buresh, Palmer earned the early advantage and carried a 22-14 lead into the final quarter.

The Moose controlled the first half. Buresh scored on a 20-yard run in the first quarter to give Palmer the lead. Late in the second, Palmer senior Ian Ahrens capped a 16-play, 67-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown, and the Moose carried a 14-7 advantage into the half.

Ahrens, who scored for the 10th time this season in the loss, gained 67 of his 105 yards during the first two quarters.

Wasilla tied the score midway through the third quarter, after burning six minutes off the third-quarter clock. Senior Devon Teeling, the state’s leading rusher with nearly 1,300 yards, dove in from 1-yard out to even the score at 14.

On the ensuing drive, with Palmer facing 4th-and-short, Buresh ran around the right side up the sideline for a 23-yard score. After a Wasilla encroachment penalty on the extra-point attempt, Palmer cashed in and scored the two-point conversion on an Ahrens run. That gave the Moose the 22-14 advantage.

Wasilla turned the ball over twice in the second half, but grabbed a key fumble recovery after a punt on special teams midway through the fourth quarter.

The Warriors took advantage of the opportunity, capping an 8-yard play with a 2-yard Mitchell Rilatos touchdown.

Rilatos, a speedy sophomore, gained 33 yards on four carries during the drive.

After the Wasilla score, the Warriors recovered an onside kick, but fumbled the ball two plays later at the Palmer 12-yard line. Sophomore James Nisbett created the fumble and junior Luke Heun recovered for the Moose.

The Wasilla defense was able to force a Palmer punt and started its final drive at its own 35-yard line. Arguably the key play on the drive came with Wasilla facing 4th-and-10 at Moose 42-yard line.

Wasilla quarterback Ben Fielder took the ball in the shotgun, rolled to the right and flipped it back to Anderson, who was running to the left. Anderson sprinted toward open space, and ran for 12 yards and the first down.

It was Anderson’s second big play on fourth down. His first-half touchdown also came with the Warriors facing fourth down.

Four plays later, with only four seconds left on the clock, Perry booted the game-winner.

Wasilla’s win, its sixth straight, lifted the Warriors to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in Railbelt play. The Warriors are one of three Railbelt teams to finish with a 5-1 conference mark. West Valley is 5-1 and Juneau-Douglas improved to 5-1 with a 59-8 victory over Lathrop in Fairbanks Friday.

Point differential among the teams in question gave Wasilla the overall title and conference’s No. 1 seed in the postseason. The Warriors will host the Cook Inlet Conference’s No. 4 seed Friday at Veterans Memorial Field.

Palmer slipped to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in the loss, and will represent the Railbelt as the No. 4 seed and represent the CIC’s top seed, Service, in the first round of the postseason.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Wasilla 23, Palmer 22

Friday, Wasilla High

First quarter:

Palmer — Buresh 20 run (Wisner kick) 4:25.

Second quarter:

Wasilla — Anderson 25 pass from Fielder (Perry kick) 4:06.

Palmer — Ahrens 1 run (Wisner kick) 2:13.

Third quarter:

Wasilla — Teeling 1 run (Perry kick) 6:54.

Palmer — Buresh 23 run (Ahrens run) 3:22.

Fourth quarter:

Wasilla — Rilatos 1 run (pass failed) 4:33.

Wasilla — Perry 30 kick, 0:00.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:

RUSHING — Palmer: Ahrens 25-105, Buresh 7-67, King 3-20, Chadwick 2-13, Nisbett 2-4; Wasilla: Teeling 26-109, Rilatos 7-56, Fielder 6-31, Anderson 1-12.

PASSING — Palmer: Buresh 7-13-0—64, Wasilla: Fielder 9-20-1—116, Teeling 1-1-0—18.

RECEIVING — Palmer: Nisbett 3-37, Lee 2-7, Straight 1-11,Chadwick 1-9; Wasilla: Anderson 3-62, Kuiper 3-41, Teeling 2-30, Parks 1-16, Adair 1-1.