Young gun leads Wasilla to win

WASILLA — Giant balls of light filled the sky above Veterans Memorial Field for a post-game homecoming fireworks show Friday night.

But before that, it were the spirals of Wasilla freshman quarterback Ben Fielder which filled the air.

Fielder, in just his fourth career varsity start, threw four touchdown passes to lead the Warriors to a 58-0 nonconference win over the Houston Hawks.

“He’s pretty good,” said Wasilla senior Cody Pfeifer, who caught two of Fielder’s touchdown passes. “As long as our line gives him time, like they did a lot this (game) and last (game), he’s doing good.”

Pfeifer caught two first-quarter touchdown passes, and David Green and Zach Johnson also had touchdown grabs to help the Warriors improve to 3-4 overall.

“He’s got some offensive weapons,” Wasilla head coach Glenn Nelson said of his young signal caller. “And the (offensive line) is doing a good job of blocking.”

Wasilla took the quick 14-0 lead in the game, with the two Pfeifer catches.

The senior, who began the season as the starter under center, caught a 1-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the left side of the end zone to give the Warriors the 7-0 lead.

Pfeifer used his long arms and 6-foot-2 frame to pull down a jump ball for a 9-yard score with 29 seconds left in the first.

Fielder said it certainly makes his job easier as a young quarterback when he has Pfeifer lining up on the outside.

“He’s huge for me,” Fielder said. “It just brings another element to the team.”

Pfeifer has been on the receiving end of six of Fielder’s 10 touchdowns in the last four games.

Senior Pat Chafin scored on both offense and defense, senior Isaiah Edwards rushed for a 21-yard touchdown and sophomore Tyler Polis returned a punt 56-yards for a score en route to the lopsided win.

After kicker Paul Sliwa gave the Warriors the 23-0 lead with a 31-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, Polis gave the Warriors the 30-point lead when he returned the punt with 2:13 left in the first half.

In the third quarter, Chafin took advantage of his only carry of the game, and burst through the Houston defense for a 35-yard score.

Six minutes later, Chafin stepped in front of a Houston receiver, picked off a pass and returned it 22 yards for the touchdown.

While Fielder accounted for the bulk of the Wasilla offense, throwing for 163 yards and those four touchdowns, the Warriors showed a few different looks in the game.

On the opening drive, Wasilla debuted its version of the “wildcat” offense, with the 6-3, 258-pound Green taking the snaps from a shotgun set.

Green, who typically lines up at the tight end and slot positions, ran for 15 yards on four carries.

“We feel like we can do a lot with that with David,” Nelson said, noting this formation is something the Warriors may use again in the future.

“We were hoping Palmer was in the stands,” Nelson said.

Wasilla hosts Palmer Friday in the Potato Bowl, with the winner of that game earning one of the Railbelt Confernece’s final two playoff spots.

The Warriors also put a group of its linemen in the backfield late in the game. Offensive guard Gilbert Perez played a series at quarterback, while fellow linemen Kaulen Pevan, Nick Baker and Adam Spencer had a chance to carry the ball.

Wasilla held the Hawks to negative yards on the ground and 78 yards through the air.

Tyler Barron led the Hawks with four catches for 15 yards.

Norm Bouchard, whose young Hawks team dropped to 1-6 with the loss, said the Hawks prepared well for the game, but didn’t have success executing their game plan.

“We just need to do a better job of coming out ready to play,” Bouchard said.

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

Wasilla 58, Houston 0

Friday, Veterans Memorial Field

First quarter

Wasilla — Pfeifer 1 pass from Fielder (Sliwa kick) 7:48.

Wasilla — Pfeifer 9 pass from Fielder (Sliwa kick) 0:29.

Second Quarter

Wasilla — Green 14 pass from Fielder (kick blocked) 9:07.

Wasilla — Sliwa 37 FG, 4:08.

Wasilla — Polis 56 punt return (Sliwa kick) 2:13.

Third Quarter

Wasilla — Chafin 35 run (Sliwa kick) 8:35.

Wasilla — Johnson 32 pass from Fielder (Sliwa kick) 3:28.

Wasilla — Chafin 22 interception return (Sliwa kick), 2:35.

Fourth Quarter

Wasilla — Edwards 21 run (Sliwa kick) 2:45.

Individual statistics

RUSHING —Houston: Dukes 7-15, Co. Buzby 4-12, Barron 1-4, Ch. Buzby 1-(-1), Qual 2-(-16), Frank 7-(-54) Wasilla: Green 4-15, Bydlon 3-20, Spencer 2-4, Chafin 1-35, Edward 1-21, Baker 1-20, Polis 1-12, Pevan 1-0, Fielder 2-(-9).

PASSING — Houston: Frank 8-14-3-73, Qual 2-4-0-5. Wasilla: Fielder 10-14-0-163.

RECEIVING — Houston: Barron 4-15, Qual 2-22, Co. Buzby 2-19, Ch. Buzby 1-18, Ruta 1-4. Wasilla: Green 3-35, Bydlon 2-48, Pfeifer 2-10, Polis 1-34, Johnson 1-32, Taylor 1-4.