The Homer Mariners defense forced three fumbles and held the Houston Hawks on downs five times as the Mariners defeated Houston 22-20, holding-off a final drive in the final seconds of the 2022 ASAA Division IIII State Football Championship Game on Saturday at Service High School in Anchorage.
Houston opened the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown run by Mark Kudryn in the game’s first two minutes. Homer answered with a 2-yard touchdown run by Chris Martushev and 2-point conversion by Carter Tennison for an 8-6 Homer lead. Houston’s Hayden Howard scored on a 63-yard pass reception from quarterback Carter Seime for a 13-8 Hawks lead after one quarter.
The second quarter opened with a Mariner touchdown run of 1-yard by Tennison and Homer lead 16-13 at the half. The second quarter featured both defenses, with Homer recovering two fumbles and Houston recording an interception.
Tennison scored with :02 seconds remaining in the third quarter for the Mariners final touchdown and a 22-13 Homer advantage.
Defense again reigned in the fourth quarter as the two teams combined for five punts. Houston rallied for a final touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Seime to Keldin Nicoll to close to 22-20 with 1:09 remaining.
Needing to only cover the on-side kick and take a knee, the Mariners fielded the kick and fumbled the football back to Houston. From the Houston 32-yard line, the Hawks threw three incomplete passes and turned the ball back to Homer; the Mainers closed on a kneel-down and the Mariners celebrated the 2022 ASAA Division III State Football Championship.
Final Score: Homer 22 – Houston 21
More game details to follow…
