Wet and wild win

HOUSTON -- By the looks of Houston High School on Thursday, an Olympic rowing team was working out. In a constant downpour a muddy and wet Houston High Field was better suited for ducks, rather than Hawks, but Houston survived the monsoon-like conditions to earn a 28-6 win over Great Land Conference rival Sitka.

Karl Thistle and Mallory Smyth each scored twice for the Hawks as they improved to 1-2 on the season.

With the Hawk air attack grounded due to weather, Houston rode the S.S. Thistle to victory. Thistle scored twice in the second half, running a muddy ball into the end zone on scores of five and 25 yards. The sophomore, in his first start with Houston, paced the Hawk ground game with 32 carries for 204 yards.

"This week running with our scout offense (Thistle) was running right through our first team defense, and we are a pretty tough defense against the run," Bouchard said. "Just a sophomore, we figured we'd give him a shot."

Thistle is the third Hawk back to carry the ball more than 15 times in the last three weeks. Victor Waag was the go-to guy, with 17 carries, in a loss to Homer in the first week and last weekend Daniel Harvey led the Hawks with 16 carries in a loss to West Valley.

"During the week we are giving people shots," Bouchard said. "Who puts in the effort -- that's who's going to play. It's an open position right now, and we have three guys working for it."

Thistle is most likely at the top of the list after his 200-yard performance. He paced the Hawks early, carrying the ball five times on the first drive and setting up an early Smyth score.

In the second half, Thistle kept the momentum on the side of Houston, churning up large chunks of turf to keep the ball in the Hawks' possession.

The Houston defense forced nine fumbles in the contest, recovering three. Andy Kappler, Clinton Banzoff and Chris Minsch each recovered a loose ball for Houston.

Sitka brought a pro-style offense with a shotgun formation and favored the pass, despite the rainy conditions.

"We saw their film and we knew [quarterback Jason Koelling] was athletic," Bouchard said. "He has a good arm, and we knew they were going to put the ball in his hands and see if he could do something with it."

Koelling connected with Sitka receiver Mark Manuel on a 13-yard scoring pass to tie the score late in the third quarter. Overall, Houston held Koelling to 95 yards passing. Sitka posted just 40 yards rushing.

The wet weather led to bizarre plays on the field. Long snaps went through the hands of punters, passes were blocked and caught, and teams fumbled numerous times -- sometimes on the same play.

"We played in Sitka weather today," Bouchard said. "They certainly had the advantage over us."

Random hits … The victory gives Houston a 1-0 record in Great Land Conference play … The win also marked Bouchard's first as head coach of Houston … Kappler was moved from fullback to offensive guard this week to bolster the Hawk's running game. "We felt it wasn't doing us a lot of good having him in the backfield gaining two yards when we can put him back on the line and gain four," Bouchard said. "He made a big difference." Houston now has arguably the top left side of an offensive line in the conference with Kappler and all-stater Minsch … The Hawks scored more points in the second half, 22, than in the first two games of their season, 12.