Capping an exciting season for area football fans, the Kenai Kardinals polished off the Barrow Whalers 20-8 under dreary skies and a cold rain on Saturday afternoon at Service High School in Anchorage. The teams had split their two previous meetings.
The Kardinals last trip to the state championship, was against the Soldotna Stars in 2015 in the medium school division. Kenai was able to end an eleven year drought with the win Saturday against Barrow.
The Kardinals led the entire game, yielding a late 4th quarter “consolation” TD to the Whalers, whose defense could not contain the Kenai team, despite a brilliant and heroic individual performance by Barrow’s Utahuose Tuifua at middle linebacker.
The brilliant performance on the winning side was by Kardinal QB Zeke Yragui, who used a mixture of runners and passing to guide Kenai to the title. After Barrow’s opening onside kick was smothered by Kenai, Yragui moved the ball himself on a critical 4th and 10 scramble out of the pocket that eventually led to an 8 yard TD pass to Sawyer Vann, just 3 minutes into the game. The extra point failed.
In the 2nd quarter, a Barrow fumble, one of several turnovers for the Whalers’ who had more trouble than Kenai holding onto the wet ball, led to a Kardinal drive that was capped by a 2 yard run by William Wilson, and the 2 point conversion was good for a 14-0 halftime lead.
Barrow moved the ball well between the “red zones” but came up empty whenever they came close. Both teams traded numerous punts in the 3rd quarter, with Barrow’s hope looking for a big break. An interception and long return by Ethan Goodwin brought the ball deep into Kardinal territory, but again the Kenai defense stiffened.
The game was all but iced when the Kardinals surprised everyone with a Yragui to Makai Johansen pass, which went against the grain and showed Johansen’s elusive power for a 26 yard TD. The extra point failed, and Kenai led 20-0.
Barrow’s only scoring play was keyed by a 60-yard pass from Dwight Unutoa to Gabriel Ortilla, which was finished with a series of griding rushes for small gains into the endzone. The 2-point conversion was good, but time was down to under 2 minutes.
The Barrow hopes were lost when the predictable onside kick was recovered by Kenai. Yragui took several knees as Barrow eventually allowed the clock to expire, and the Kenai Kardinal football team was a state champion.
