Winless Warriors working to rebound

WASILLA — The Wasilla Warriors have been beaten and bruised. But after an 0-3 start and an assortment of injuries, the Warriors are hungry to rebound.

“We had one of our finest practices of the year yesterday,” Wasilla head coach Glenn Nelson said Thursday afternoon. “We had a talk. We can go through all the excuses. We can pack it in, or we can pad up and play.”

The Warriors endured a brutal three-week stretch to start the 2009 season. Wasilla played Bartlett and North Pole, teams that have held the top spot in the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network Prep Football Media Poll this season. And the Warriors also faced Juneau-Douglas, a squad that has advanced to the state title game in three of the last four years.

If the schedule wasn’t enough, the Warriors have been hammered by injuries. As of Thursday, Nelson’s injury board included the names of 14 players. Four of those are starters with season-ending injuries.

Starting quarterback Cody Pfeifer has been banged around. Sophomore running back Tyler Polis, who has emerged as Wasilla’s leading rusher with 137 yards, is also nursing an injury. Wasilla’s top receiver, junior Izaak Probasco, is done for the season after suffering a broken ankle during the loss to North Pole.

But as far as Nelson is concerned, it’s not time to make excuses. And the first-year head coach feels like the Warriors are responding.

“The practice was so good, the kids didn’t want to leave the field,” Nelson said of this team’s effort on Wednesday afternoon.

Today, the Warriors will aim to get off the schnide when they face the Lathrop Malemutes in Fairbanks at 7 p.m. The match pits a pair of winless Railbelt Conference teams eager to bounce back from three weeks worth of struggles.

“It’s a must-win for both of us,” Nelson said.

Wasilla and Lathrop have combined for just six total points during the first three weeks of the season. Wasilla reached the end zone for the first time last week when senior Isaiah Edwards returned a kickoff 66 yards for a score. Lathrop, shutout during the first three weeks, is yet to knock the goose egg off the scoreboard.

Despite the early-season adversity, Nelson is seeing the positive. He’s thrilled with the work of seniors Kaulen Pevan and James Langendorf, and young players like Polis are beginning to show their talents.

“We’ve got some strong senior leadership,” Nelson said.

With some success tonight in the Interior, Nelson feels like his team can move forward.

“We’re trying to get the first win, build some momentum,” Nelson said.

Next week, Wasilla hosts West Valley, another team struggling to find its first win.

Soldotna at Colony

The Colony Knights (3-0) will host Soldotna (2-1), in a battle of two of the top teams in their respective classes, tonight at 7 p.m. at Colony High School.

Colony enters the contest as the top team at the 4A level, according to the latest ASBN Prep Football Poll. Soldotna, ranked third by ASBN, is the three-time defending 3A state champion.

The Knights improved to 3-0 last week with a 46-0 win over Lathrop.

Three of senior quarterback Matt Jaronik’s four completions were for touchdowns, and backup Mitchell Slater tossed for another score.

Colony’s sturdy defense allowed only 25 total yards, and managed to produce eight points. Junior Kenyon DePriest recovered a fumble in the end zone for a Colony defensive touchdown, and senior linebacker JD Mayo recorded a safety.

DePriest also caught a pair of touchdown passes.

Soldotna hammered Houston 70-0 at Houston High School last week. The traditionally strong Soldotna Wing-T offense produced nine rushing touchdowns. Dylan Story scored three times for the Stars, and Braden Price reached the end zone twice.

Soldotna also posted a 33-0 win over Homer this season.

The Stars’ 2009 campaign started with a 34-21 loss to 4A West Anchorage. That defeat snapped the team’s state-high 29-game winning streak.

Before the streak, which lasted nearly three full seasons, Colony was the last team to beat Soldotna. The Stars’ streak started with a 10-9 win over Palmer, the week after the Knights beat Soldotna 41-6 on Aug. 12, 2006.

Palmer at Juneau

Palmer and Juneau-Douglas will battle for the top spot in the Railbelt when the conference rivals meet in Juneau Saturday at 8 p.m.

Both squads sit in 2-0 in conference play, and with 2-0 Colony taking a break from Railbelt play to face Soldotna tonight, it’ll be either the Moose or the Bears on top once the final whistle blows Saturday night.

Palmer, the fourth-ranked team in the latest ASBN poll, improved to 2-0 overall with a 33-0 win over West Valley in Fairbanks on Friday. Senior quarterback Dustin Silva collected a career-high four touchdown passes, and the Palmer defense blanked an opponent for the second straight week.

Silva, who now has passed for 317 yards while completing nearly 50 percent of his passes, connected with junior Jim McCall for two scores.

Senior Mike Daniels and junior Kris Merritt also hauled in Silva touchdown passes.

Senior Brennan Bohman, the Mat-Su Valley’s top rusher, ran for 163 yards and a score.

Juneau suffered its first defeat of the season, a 46-13 loss to Pine View High School in St. George, Utah.

Prior to the loss, Juneau recorded back-to-back lopsided wins over West Valley and Wasilla to start the season.

Homer at Houston

Houston (0-3) will be in search of its first victory when the Hawks host Homer (2-1) at Houston High School Saturday at 2 p.m.

The Hawks and the Mariners have each been a part of three shutouts during the first three weeks of the season. But while Houston has been blanked three times, Homer has issued a pair of shutouts.

The Mariners improved to 2-1 overall with a 21-0 win over Skyview last week. Homer dropped a 33-0 loss to Soldotna two weeks ago.

The Hawks suffered a 70-0 loss to Soldotna last week. Sophomore quarterback Beau Frank led the Hawks with 123 yards passing. Senior Zack Qual, who started the season at quarterback before moving to receiver, posted a team-best four catches for 59 yards.

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