Wolverines stun the Warriors with late touchdown pass

The Wasilla Warriors were 93 seconds from earning their first varsity football win against an Anchorage team in more than a decade.

And then it all went South.

South Anchorage quarterback Cole Yarrington connected with receiver Caleb Doerr with 1:19 left in regulation to push the Wolverines to a 28-25 win over the Wasilla Warriors Friday night at Veterans Memorial Field in Wasilla.

The Yarrington-Doerr pass and catch came on South’s first offensive play that followed Wasilla’s go-ahead touchdown. Warriors junior quarterback Kade Russell found junior receiver Adam Corneliussen on a 39-yard scoring pass with 1:23 left in the fourth. That gave Wasilla the 25-21 lead, and put the Warriors in reach of their first win over an Anchorage school since Wasilla beat West Anchorage 24-14 on Aug. 17, 2013.

But Yarrington used his third touchdown pass of the day to help play spoiler, and also lead South to the win in the first meeting between the Wolverines and Warriors.

South Anchorage, which improved to 2-2 overall, was the Division I state runner-up last season. Wasilla, a Division II program, is now 1-3 at the midway point of the 2024 season.

Wasilla, which beat Barrow on the road last weekend, held a 19-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Backup quarterback Brayden Sparrs plunged in from a yard out to give the Warriors the 12-point lead with 7:33 left in the first half.

The Warriors needed less than two minutes into regulation to grab a lead. Corneliussen recovered the opening kickoff as the South kick return team allowed the live ball to bounce to the 23-yard line. Eight plays later, Russell, Wasilla’s starting quarterback, dove in from the 1-yard line at the 10:28 mark to give Wasilla a 6-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Wasilla sophomore Brandon Wadleigh hit the end zone on a 9-yard run to give Wasilla a 13-7 lead.

Russell finished 8 for 15 with 129 yards passing in the loss. Senior Jimmy Lackey had four catches for 69 yards. Senior Ryan Mikkelsen rushed for 61 yards.

Yarrington completed 8 of 19 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns for the Wolverines. Landon Drumm led South with five catches 96 yards and two touchdowns. Ethan Yarrington ran for 97 yards on 16 carries.

Wasilla returns to the road and will face West Valley Sept. 13 in Fairbanks.

In other action Friday, Homer got past Houston 18-6 at Houston and Colony suffered a 36-0 loss to Bartlett in Anchorage. Eagle River scored a 42-14 home win over Palmer.

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