The opening weekend for the 2022 high school football season promises a more positive start to the regular season than 2021, with hopefully no positives.
Last year’s opening weekend experienced two cancellations of the three scheduled games for central peninsula programs with the SoHi vs West Valley opener cancelled due to Covid cases for the Wolfpack and the Kenai vs Barrow trip cancelled due to Covid protocols for the Kardinals.
The Nikiski Bulldogs recorded a healthy performance and defeated Eielson 28-27.
The 2022 football opening weekend will match all three central peninsula programs against divisional opponents on the road (or through the air for the Bulldogs).
Soldotna Stars
Northern Lights Conference Soldotna travels to North Pole for a Division II pairing against the Railbelt Conference Patriots. The Stars defeated North Pole 73-20 in the first round of the DII state playoffs in 2021.
The Stars lost the 2021 Division II state championship game to Lathrop 39-28; the Stars own the first eight Division II state championships, winning eight-straight from 2012-2019 (no championship in 2020 due to Covid).
Kenai Kardinals
The Mid-Alaska Conference Kardinals open on the road at Eielson Air Force Base against the Denali Conference Ben Eielson Ravens. Kenai advanced as the #3 seed to the Division III playoffs in 2021 falling to undefeated Redington 60-14 in the first round of the playoffs.
Nikiski Bulldogs
The Denali Conference Bulldogs open their campaign for the single state berth for the Denali Conference with a trip to Utqiaġvik to face the Barrow Whalers on the blue turf.
Nikiski finished 3-1 in conference play in 2021 and did not qualify to the Division III state championships, as Monroe earned the lone seed with a tie-breaker victory over Nikiski in week two.
Football Schedule: Week One
Friday, August 12th
Kenai vs Eielson @ Eielson 6 p.m. KSRM 920AM and streaming at radiokenai.com
SoHi vs North Pole @ North Pole 7 p.m. ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming at radiokenai.com
Saturday, August 13th
Nikiski vs Barrow @ Barrow 1 p.m. ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming at radiokenai.com