The Kenai Kardinals’ home opener matched the 1-0 Kardinals against Division II North Pole on Saturday at Kenai Central with the Patriots downing Kenai 35-13 in non-divisional football.
North Pole 35 – Kenai 13
The first quarter of the 35-13 North Pole victory over Kenai produced only one touchdown as each teams’ offenses stalled; North Pole impacted by penalties and Kenai punting on three drives. The Patriots scored on a 51-yard pass completion from quarterback Marcus Lipari to Collin Drumhiller for an 8-0 lead.
North Pole opened the second quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run by Via Skipps. Kenai answered with a touchdown pass from quarterback Roc Riggle to Shane Taylor. A 10-yard touchdown run for Ivan Nicholson pushed the Patriots to a 21-6 halftime lead.
The Patriots added two, third quarter touchdowns. Lipari connected with Izak D’Hondt for a 13-yard TD pass and Skipps ran for a 48-yard touchdown pushing North Pole to a 35-6 lead. Only one touchdown in the fourth quarter and Kenai completed a 56-yard drive with a touchdown pass from quarterback Bridger Beck to Wade James. North Pole’ Via Skipps averaged over 10-yards per carry with 10 carries for 164 yards (not including runs called-back due to Patriot penalties).
Final Score: North Pole 35 – Kenai 13
Kenai travels to Palmer on Friday, August 26th for a pairing against Division II Palmer at Palmer High School, scheduled for a 7 p.m. kick-off.
