Seward 36, Nikiski 6
For the second straight year, the Nikiski Bulldogs had to settle for second place in 9-man football. The Bulldogs faced a tough Seward team that has not lost a game in the 9-man conference since its inception in 2023.
The Seahawks jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs answered back in the 2nd. They kept Seward out of the end zone until the end of the quarter and engineered a long drive to bring the score to 16-6. A drive by Seward before the half, though, put the Seahawks back up 22-6.
Nikiski was set to recover the second-half kickoff and make a run at closing the score gap, but an onside kick recovery by Seward to start the third quarter dampened the Bulldogs’ enthusiasm.
Seward is now 15-0, dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season.
Kenai 27, Redington 20
The Kenai Kardinals survived a close game against the Redington Huskies in the DIII State Semifinal to advance to the State Championship for the second straight year.
The game was scoreless through the first quarter, and then in the second, the Huskies struck first when quarterback Christian Ingraham scrambled for a 43-yard touchdown run. Kenai answered back when a Tony Perez pass found Buzz Vann in the corner of the end zone to level the game 8-8.
With one minute to play, Ingraham drove Redington 63 yards for the Huskies to take a 14-8 lead into halftime.
The Kardinals scored first in the third quarter to take a 15-14 lead, but Redingon once again responded with a drive down the field to retake the driver’s seat. Heading into the fourth quarter the Huskies led 20-15.
A 29-yard touchdown run by Bobby Hayes in the fourth quarter gave the Kardinals a lead they wouldn’t surrender, 21-20. With just under two minutes to play, Kenai padded their lead with an Aasen Campenella touchdown.
A last-minute drive by Redington came up short after a turnover on downs near the Kenai 30-yard line.
Soldotna 30, North Pole 6
The Stars punched their second straight #1 overall seed heading into the Division II playoffs with a big win over the North Pole Patriots.
Soldotna took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Owen Buckbee, then doubled their lead in the second when Jaykob Kemp torched the North Pole defense on a 60-yard run.
A Luke Hillyer field goal in the third quarter pushed the Soldotna lead to 17-0, and a Lokeni Wong touchdown run put the game on ice in the fourth quarter.