Week three football preview: Hawks face a key test

Aug. 26, 2005

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

MAT-SU - It's only the third week of the season, but the Houston Hawks are treating tonight's contest against Nikiski as one of the biggest games of the season.

Houston (2-0 in Great Land Conference play) travels south today to face the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. at Nikiski High School.

Houston scored a convincing victory over a young Delta squad in the season opener and beat an improving Valdez squad last week. But now Houston faces a team in Nikiski that usually earns one of the conference's two postseason berths.

Houston head coach Norm Bouchard is obviously pleased with his team's 2-0 start, but realizes his squad still has work to do.

&#8220(2-0) is a great way to start,” Bouchard said on Monday. &#8220Two big conference wins look pretty good in the paper, but we've got to become a better team by Friday.”

The Hawks and Bulldogs found themselves in a similar position last year. They met in week three and a 20-14 win over the Hawks was one of the main reasons Nikiski earned a playoff berth.

Bouchard said the reasons why playing Nikiski will be a challenge are the same reasons why playing Nikiski is a challenge every year.

&#8220Nikiski's a smart, disciplined, well-coached football team,” Bouchard said.

If Nikiski sees a Houston weakness, the Bulldogs will find a way to exploit it, Bouchard said.

Houston earned its first two wins despite facing injury problems during the first week, and difficult playing conditions last week. In its win over Delta, Houston was missing five starters on offense. Quarterback Ryan Thamm, running back Karl Thistle, fullback Israel Morales and wide receivers Blake Elder and Donovan Parker saw little or no playing time. And last week, playing in a virtual downpour, Houston was forced to take the conservative approach on offense.

Both weeks the Hawks managed to rack up the yards on the ground. Sophomore Kyle Sumner rushed for 283 yards in a 41-19 win over Delta, and Houston ran for 158 yards in the wet at Valdez.

Nikiski is 1-1 after a season-opening 38-0 win over the East Anchorage junior varsity and a 25-0 loss to Homer last week. Bouchard said the 25-point loss to the Mariners could actually be a testament to Nikiski's abilities.

&#8220Nikiski got beat pretty bad by Homer, but to hold them to 25 points wasn't an easy task,” Bouchard said. &#8220I know they would have thrown up 40 if they could have.”

Homer upset defending Great Land Conference champion and small-school power Eielson during the first week, and is expected to be one of the top teams at the 3A level at the end of the season.

Houston's date at Nikiski concludes a three-game road stretch. The Hawks host defending 3A state champion Kenai in their home opener on Sept. 2 at 3 p.m.

Wasilla at Skyview;

Friday, 6 p.m.

Also making a trip to the Peninsula today are the Wasilla Warriors, who meet the Skyview Panthers in a nonconference contest at Skyview High tonight.

Wasilla (1-1) is coming off of a win for the first time in more than a year. With a 9-7 win over West Valley last week, the Warriors snapped an eight-game winning streak that dated back to the first week of the 2005 season.

&#8220It was good to get a win. We're still learning how to win,” first-year Wasilla head coach Jim Shetter said. &#8220But we've got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Skyview is the first of three road games for Wasilla in the next three weeks. Shetter and the Warriors know they have key Railbelt Conference matches against Lathrop and defending 4A state champion Juneau-Douglas in the weeks ahead, but they can't over look the Panthers.

&#8220Skyview will be a tough nonconference match for us,” Shetter said.

Skyview (1-1) opened with a win over Seward, but suffered a 30-6 loss to Kodiak last week. Kodiak topped Wasilla 33-27 in week one.

Running Gregor Bosick supplied much of Skyview's offense in the loss, rushing for 143 yards on 31 carries. He also intercepted a pass that set up the Panthers' lone score, a 1-yard Clark Buffington run in the fourth quarter.

Despite facing terrible winds and rain, Wasilla quarterback Hunter Scholtz completed 10 of 19 passes, and threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Orr in the win over West Valley. The Warrior defense held a normally potent Wolfpack ground game to just 99 yards, and kicker Vladimir Dahl converted a 40-yard field goal.

Palmer at Lathrop;

Saturday, 7 p.m.

After traveling south to face Soldotna last week, Palmer heads north to take on Lathrop at Kiwanis Field in Fairbanks.

The Moose (1-1) suffered a 10-7 loss to the small-school Stars. Another team facing rain and muddy conditions, Palmer held a 7-2 lead going into the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Soldotna running back Mike Reed scored a 5-yard touchdown and added the two-point conversion to put the Stars ahead.

Palmer senior Haakan Bohman, who rushed for a career-high 260 yards in a week-one win over West Anchorage, posted a team-high 118 yards in the loss to Soldotna. Bohman gave Palmer the early 7-0 lead with a 10-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The Malemutes are Palmer's first Railbelt Conference opponent of the season.

Lathrop (0-2) has been the thumping post of the Railbelt so far this season. In their first two games, the Malemutes have been outscored 114-13. Last week Juneau handed Lathrop a 69-6 beating.

Lathrop is one of the teams hit hardest by graduation in the conference. Many of its starters are new to the varsity level, and there are still several positions still unsettled, including quarterback. Levi Brower and Freddie Richards have both seen time this year.

Colony at West Valley; Saturday, 1 p.m.

The Knights improved to 2-0 with a 25-13 win over North Pole last week.

Senior Chebon Jimenez posted 171 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the win. He already has 337 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Colony used big plays to beat its Railbelt rival. Each of Colony's four scores were good for 45 yards or more. Jimenez ran for scores of 45 and 76 yards. Ryan Coffman caught a 62-yard Teddy Babcock touchdown pass. On special teams, Robin Minoza returned a kickoff 74 yards for a score.

West Valley dropped to 1-1 with the two-point loss to Wasilla. In week one, West Valley used Dustin Baxter's 255 rushing yards to crush Eagle River 38-6.

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