Week two of the High School Football season features matchups of the three central peninsula teams. The Nikiski Bulldogs will open the 2023 season at home against the Eielson Ravens; the Soldotna Stars take on North Pole in their season home opener; and the Kenai Kardinals hit the road to to take on Barrow.
Nikiski Bulldogs
The Denali Conference Bulldogs open their campaign for the single state berth for the Denali Conference against the Eielson Ravens, Saturday at Nikiski.
Nikiski finished 2-0 in conference play in 2022 and qualified to the Division III state championships, where they fell to the Homer Mariners 20-54 in the semi-finals.
The Bulldogs will host the Eielson Ravens on Saturday night 6 p.m. at Nikiski.
Soldotna Stars
The Stars, after a tightly played first half, walked away with a convincing 56-20 drubbing of the back-to-back repeat state champions Lathrop Malamutes from the Interior in a game that was moved to Wasilla High School due to smoke concerns in Fairbanks.
SoHi is 1-0 in the Railbelt conference tied with Eagle River, Wasilla and Palmer. The Stars will face off against Palmer on Friday night 6 p.m. at Justin Maile Field in Soldotna.
Kenai Kardinals
The Kenai Central Kardinal’s 2023 football season kicked off Friday night with a dominant 37-0 win against the visiting Kodiak Bears.
The Mid-Alaska Division III rivals took the field for both teams’ first bout of the year, and both looking to bounce back from disappointing ends to their 2022 campaigns.
Kenai is 1-0 in the Mid Alaska conference tied with Homer and Houston. The Kardinals will travel to Utqiagvik for a rematch against Barrow on Saturday at Noon. Barrow knocked Kenai out of playoff contention last year in both teams’ final regular season game.
Football Schedule: Week Two
Friday, August 18th
SoHi vs North Pole @ SoHi 6 p.m. ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming at radiokenai.com
Saturday, August 19th
Kenai vs Barrow @ Barrow Noon ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming at radiokenai.com
Nikiski vs Eielson @ Nikiski 6 p.m. ESPN 1140AM, 96.9FM and streaming at radiokenai.com – UPDATED
