Alaska prep football roundup: Soldotna reigns supreme on interdivisional weekend

With high school football teams from both Division I and II playing out of state this past week, several matchups between the two levels took place and even one between Division II and III teams.

The most highly anticipated nonconference game of the Week 3 slate was between reigning Division I state champion Dimond and two-time defending Division II state champion Soldotna on Friday night. However, it turned out to be another lopsided victory for the visiting Stars as they steamrolled the Lynx 56-7 to remain undefeated while dropping their foes to 0-3 for the first time since 2021.

“We’re definitely off to a good start,” Soldotna head coach Galen Brantley said. “I feel like our kids are executing really well for where we are at this point in the season.”

Half of Soldotna’s touchdowns were scored by senior running back Andon Wolverton, who rushed for 101 yards and found the end zone four times from 1, 4, 10 and 32 yards out.

“I’m glad we won, it was a battle and it was intense,” he said. I was really trying and at the end of the day, I’m glad I could get into the end zone.”

Wolverton would’ve most likely had a fifth touchdown had an official not made him leave the field after he came up limping a bit, after ripping off a 19-yard run and going down just shy of the goal line. The Stars still scored on the next play on a 2-yard touchdown from senior Ethan Piscoya.

The driving force behind Wolverton and the Soldotna offense’s overall prolific scoring was the Stars offensive line, which was perfectly aligned and executing for most of the night. On most of the scoring runs and large gains, ball carriers went untouched into the end zone or the second and third levels of the defense.

While Dimond’s defense struggled to keep Soldotna from marching up and down the field, the same couldn’t be said on the other side of the ball for both teams. The Stars pitched a shutout in the first half, posting a 42-0 advantage after two quarters of action. They held the Lynx scoreless until the 3:35 mark in the fourth quarter, when senior tight end Austin Young was able to drag a couple of backup defenders who subbed in across the goal line for a 32-yard score.

On Saturday, the top interdivisional matchup also took place in town as two-time Division II runner-up Lathrop came down from Fairbanks to take on South Anchorage. The Division I representative didn’t disappoint in this game, with the Wolverines successfully defending their home turf with a 31-7 victory over the Malemutes.

“It was all the team,” junior Ethan Yarrington said. “We pushed through together.”

He led the charge for the Wolverines on both sides of the ball with a three-touchdown performance on offense and a defensive outing that included several tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

“It was all my offensive line,” Yarrington said. “On the two touchdowns where we just punched it up the middle, I put my nose in there right behind my offensive line, give all the credit to them.”

After establishing a 24-0 lead heading into halftime, South looked like it was poised to cruise to victory but Lathrop showed some promise courtesy of a pair of sparks provided by their special teams unit. A long kickoff return by junior Kenyon Pulgarin set up the offense with a short field, and it only took them three plays to find the end zone and cut into the Wolverines’ lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lathrop caught South’s kick-return team off-guard with an onside kick attempt that was successfully recovered. With the Malemutes driving again, the Wolverines’ defense took the ball and momentum back on the second of three turnovers that senior Carsen Hawes came up with in the game. Just when it seemed like Pulgarin was streaking wide open over the middle for a touchdown, he came over the top and recorded the first of his two interceptions.

“We knew they were going to come back, so we pounced on them right when they did,” Yarrington said. “We were a little bit lackadaisical coming out (of halftime). We were up big and thought it was going to be a breeze, but I knew in the back of my mind that they were going to score no matter what.”

After being held scoreless in the third quarter, he helped the Wolverines pull away for good by ripping off a 62-yard touchdown in which he broke tackles before erupting down the right sideline.

“It was a little toss-play right there, I cut it up and made a play, found green and got out of there,” Yarrington said.

Elsewhere in interdivision action from this past weekend, both West Anchorage and Service narrowly escaped Interior opponents with decisive victories that were decided by less than a field goal to remain undefeated. The Eagles came up with another clutch defensive stop to beat West Valley 28-27 while the Cougars prevailed 8-6 in a defensive battle with North Pole.

Colony pulled off a rally in the Mat-Su after initially falling behind 14-0 at home to Wasilla on Friday night. The Knights forced a pair of overtimes and came up with a defensive stand to complete the comeback 27-21. Emerging Division II contender Palmer’s offense continued to stay hot with a third straight game of scoring 40-plus points in a 41-20 blowout of Division I foe Juneau-Douglas on Saturday to wrap up the weekend’s action.

Outside of the state, Chugiak traveled down to Alameda, California, on Thursday to take on Encinal and returned home with a 45-6 victory. On Friday, Bettye Davis East Anchorage was nearly 500 miles south in the same state to face Southwest San Diego and fell to 0-3 after a 39-21 defeat.