The pressure of qualifying for high school football playoffs was ramped-up Wednesday and will be on display on Saturday as Kenai and SoHi battle in a Division II showdown and Nikiski travels to Seward to secure a Division III playoff spot.
The ASAA Board approved a playoff format for all three divisions of football in the state of Alaska, with the possibility of three Kenai Peninsula teams qualifying for the football post-season; one in Division II and two teams from Division III.
Saturday Football Game Preview
Nikiski @ Seward Noon Seward High School Saturday, September 26th
The Nikiski Bulldogs, with a victory on Saturday in Seward can clinch the #2 Peninsula playoff spot for the Division III football playoffs. The Nikiski vs Seward game was rescheduled to Saturday at noon due to a scheduling issue with officials.
Nikiski defeated Seward 39-8 on September 18th and stand at 1-1 in Division III play with an early season 48-6 loss to the Homer Mariners. Homer is unbeaten against Division III opponents with victories over Nikiski and Seward. Homer has earned the #1 Peninsula seed and has a bye on Saturday before closing-out their season on October 3rd at home against the Soldotna Stars.
SoHi vs Kenai @ Soldotna High School 2 p.m. Saturday, September 26
The Division II football playoffs will have one team from the Kenai Peninsula, one from the Mat-Su, one from Fairbanks and one from Anchorage in a four-team bracket for the state championship.
The Kenai Peninsula playoff spot is on the line Saturday at Soldotna High School with the 2-0 Stars facing the 0-2 Kenai Kardinals in the final pairing of Division II schools: Kenai closes the regular season next Friday against Nikiski and SoHi travels to Homer next Saturday.
The Stars defeat Kenai 58-14 in week two of the revised regular season, building a 52-7 lead at the half.
Saturday’s contest at SoHi is scheduled for a 2 p.m. varsity game. Revised mitigation measures will be in affect, increased mask usage will be required.
Follow the Stars and Kardinals on ESPN 1140AM and streaming live at radiokenai.com. The Sweeney’s Pregame Show begins at 1:45 p.m.
