Wasilla lineman inks NLI

WASILLA -- Following the Wasilla Warriors victory over the Valley-rival Colony Knights, a win that essentially gave the Warriors a piece of the Northern Railbelt title, Wasilla head coach Nathan Ford had just three things to say.

"Sam Widmer, Sam Widmer, Sam Widmer."

Widmer, a senior nose guard, led a defensive charge that neutralized a potent Colony ground attack. Widmer's defensive efforts were key in the Warrior victory as he registered three sacks, numerous tackles and forced a fumble.

"The kid had a great senior year, he kept us in games," Wasilla assistant coach Dan Michael said. "He has a great motor."

Widmer is now taking his talents and motoring to the next level.

The soon-to-be graduate of the 2003 graduate of Wasilla High School signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to join the University of Mary.

Widmer will join the Bismarck, N.D. NAIA school's football squad for the 2003 season.

A starter at both offensive guard and defensive nose guard for the Warriors during his senior season, Widmer is expected to play linebacker with the Marauders.

"They said that I can play where I want to play," Widmer said.

Widmer said that the Marauder coaching staff has stated that he can chose to play on either the defensive line or at linebacker. The 6-foot 1-inch, 230 pounder feels he is more suited to play linebacker on the collegiate level.

"It will be a challenge," Michael said of Widmer's possible move to the linebacker position. "He will need to work on his speed."

Michael added that Widmer has great potential as a player noting Widmer's intelligence.

"He has been an overachiever for us," Michael said.

Widmer was an All-Northern Railbelt Conference and All-State selection following his senior season. The standout was also named Wasilla's Defensive Most Valuable Player. Widmer was named second team All-Conference following his junior campaign. Widmer wore the Wasilla white and red for three years, the final two on the varsity roster.

The Mary Marauders finished second in the Dakota Athletic Conference with an 8-1 record last season. Mary finished in a tie at the top of the conference, but lost the tiebreaker to Dickinson State.

UM advanced to the NAIA national playoffs for the fifth consecutive season in 2002. The Marauders opened the post season with a 21-18 win over Minot State, but suffered a 13-10 loss to Sioux Falls in the following round.; Sioux Falls has bumped Mary from the postseason in each of the last two years.

In 1999 Mary fell just one game short of the NAIA title game after losing in the semifinals to eventual national champion Northwestern Oklahoma.

The University of Mary was ranked seventh in the nation in the final NAIA poll of the 2002 season and is expected to be a top-10 team again next season.

Widmer will join a pair of Alaska athletes on the 2003 Marauder roster.

Jeff Smiley a freshman linebacker from Eagle River and Keenan Laird, a freshman defensive lineman from Anchorage, also hail from the 49th state.

Widmer will not be the only Valley athlete on a Dakota Athletic Conference football roster. Former Palmer lineman John Wessell will enter his sophomore season with South Dakota Tech and Valley City State has a pair of Valley players, former Warrior wide receiver Cole Lund and the recently signed Ali Larijani of Palmer.