The final weekend of the high school football regular season has arrived and although central peninsula football teams Nikiski, Kenai and SoHi have all gone undefeated in conference play, the Peninsula Conference and the Northern Lights Conference titles and playoff positions are still up for the taking in football’s final weekend.
Northern Lights Conference
The NLC champion will be decided on the turf at KCHS on Saturday, October 3rd; the Kenai Kardinals, 3-0 in the NLC, hosting Soldotna High, 3-0 in the NLC, with the winner earning the conference title and the #1 seed into the Medium School Football playoffs.
The Kardinals stand at 5-1 on the season with their only loss to the #1 Large School Bartlett Golden Bears in week one. Kenai defeated North Pole in week seven 45-8. The Patriots are the top seed from the Southeast Conference into the Medium School Football playoffs.
The Soldotna Stars stand at 7-0 on the regular season. SoHi’s football program has extended its state record win streak to 36 consecutive games. The Stars have defeated four Large School opponents during the regular season.
The winner of the Kenai vs SoHi showdown will earn the #1 seed for the NLC and will face either Juneau or Thunder Mountain (Juneau and T.M. play Friday night in Juneau) in the Medium School Football playoffs. Saturday’s loser will face North Pole in a first-round playoff game. The Medium School Football first round is set for Saturday, October 10th at Dimond High School.
Peninsula Conference
The Nikiski Bulldogs, 3-0 in conference, locked-in the Peninsula Conference championship and a #1 seed into the Small Schools Football playoffs with a 44-0 victory on Friday over the Seward Seahawks.
Nikiski lead 42-0 at the half on the strength of three touchdown runs by Rykker Riddall, who ran for 173 rushing yards; and three touchdown passes by quarterback Cade Anderson, two touchdown completions to Hunter Holloway and the first touchdown of the game to Nate Carstens.
Nikiski, top seed in the Peninsula Conference, will host a first-round playoff game against the #2 seed Barrow from the Aurora Conference on Saturday, October 10th at 4:00 p.m. Eielson will be the #1 seed from the Aurora Conference and will host the Peninsula #2.
Football Side-Notes: according to ESPN 820 in Fairbanks, North Pole has cancelled its final football regular season game against Colony at Colony High School. The Patriots at 3-0 in the SEC and have earned the #1 seed for the SEC. It has been reported that North Pole head coach Richard Henert has resigned his position with one week remaining in the regular season and with the playoffs just days away.
Football Week Eight Schedule
Friday, October 2nd Nikiski vs Seward @ Nikiski 4:00 p.m. Homecoming Game
Saturday, October 3rd Kenai vs SoHi @ KCHS 2:00 p.m.
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