Wasilla opens season with 52-6 win over Stars

The Wasilla Warriors opened their 2001-2002 football season in grand style by manhandling the Soldotna Stars 52-6 Friday night in Wasilla.

The Warriors' offense, led by senior quarterback Jake Carney, passed for 231 yards and rushed for 203 yards while the defense stifled Soldotna by allowing only 140 total yards.

Soldotna struck first with a touchdown drive after recovering a fumble on the Warriors opening possession. Their extra point attempt was partially blocked and fell short.

The remainder of the game belonged to Wasilla, scoring on seven touchdowns and five successful two-point conversions.

Wasilla effectively blended the running and passing game to move the ball down the field. Carney and senior receiver Travis Webb formed an unstoppable combination, connecting on three touchdown passes in the game.

The second touchdown came on a 38-yard play just into the second quarter. On fourth down with four yards to go for a first down, Webb turned a short first-down reception into a touchdown by shedding tackles and scrambling downfield into the end zone.

With 19 seconds left in the first half, Carney unleashed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Cody Shierman. The two-point conversion made it 24-6 at halftime.

With a comfortable lead in the third quarter, backup quarterback Kevin Donahoe entered the game and continued the Warrior attack with three more touchdown drives, all capped by the rushing of a fine stable of Warrior running backs. Travis Dutcher led all rushers with 100 yards on 12 carries.

"I'm very happy with what our guys learned from the past two weeks," said Warriors head coach Nathan Ford, "they played very well."

The big lead provided an opportunity to give game exposure to all of the players.

"We don't have a big squad, we needed to get them in the game because later in the season when you have an injury, they're going to get playing time," said Ford.

In an earlier game, Wasilla's junior varsity team also opened their season with a convincing 38-0 win over Soldotna's junior varsity.

Wasilla's next game will be against North Pole on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. in Wasilla.