Championship Saturday for the ASAA First National Bowl Division II and Division III Football Championships will feature a pair of Alaska’s winningest coaches and programs and a pair of football programs looking to make their mark and name in Alaska football.
SoHi vs Eagle River Division II Championship will be broadcast on ESPN 1140AM and www.radiokenai.com with the Sweeney’s Pregame Show beginning at 11:15 a.m. and kick-off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Division II State Football Championship
The Soldotna Stars shot for a seventh-straight Division II (Medium School) football state championship, and ninth state championship since 2007 when SoHi faces Eagle River on Saturday at Palmer’s Machetanz Field in the Division II football championship game scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. kick-off. The Wolves advance to their first-ever football championship game.
The Soldotna Stars advance to the Division II title game on Saturday at Palmer High School on the strength of a dominating 55-21 playoff victory over Palmer in the DII semi-final contest. The Stars enter the championship game with an 8-1 overall record for 2018.
SoHi football notched its 13th-straight Northern Lights Conference title (24th NLC title overall) en-route to the Division II title game on Saturday.
SoHi head coach Galen Brantley, currently in his 12th season as the Stars head coach, stands at #5 on the Alaska football coaches list for victories with 115 wins; a winning percentage of over 90%. Soldotna football has lost one game since August of 2012; a record of 67-1 and holds the state’s record for consecutive wins with 59 (SoHi also is tied for second longest streak with 29-straight in 2009).
The Soldotna offensive attack has average 54 points per game for nine games and the SoHi starting defense has allowed just over one touchdown per game, eight-straight games have gone to the Mercy Rule with a running clock.
In week five of the regular season, The Stars defeated an unbeaten Eagle River 55-19 in an NLC showdown.
SoHi vs Eagle River Division II Championship will be broadcast on ESPN 1140AM and www.radiokenai.com with the Sweeney’s Pregame Show beginning at 11:15 a.m. and kick-off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Division III State Football Championship
The Division III ASAA State Football Championship will feature the reigning 2017 champion Barrow Whalers and the perennial power from Fairbanks, the Ben Eielson Ravens.
The Whalers will face the Ravens in the ASAA First National Bowl Division III Football Championship Game on Saturday, October 13th at 3 p.m. at Palmer’s Machetanz Field.
The Ben Eielson Ravens own five state football championships including 1992 (one classification), 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Ravens will battle for a fifth state Division III (small school) in seven years; Eielson missed the championship game in 2017.
The Ravens advance to the championship game on the strength of a 55-0 shutout of the Ketchikan kings in the Division III semi-final game. Eielson completed the regular season with a 6-1 record and a lone loss to Division II West Valley. The Ravens averaged 49 points per game through eight games and are unbeaten against Division III opponents.
David DeVaughn, Eielson head coach, has recorded 126 wins in 18 season of Alaska football, ranking third on the all-time wins list for Alaska football.
The Barrow Whalers defeated the Homer Mariners in 2017 earning Barrow its lone football state championship. The 2018 Whalers finished second in the Aurora Conference with a 4-3 regular season record. Barrow fell to Eielson in week six 44-6.
The Eielson vs Barrow Division III Championship Game will be broadcast on 820AM in Fairbanks and is available at http://820sports.com
Current Alaska Football Winningest Coaches (wins as of Oct. 12, 2018)
#1 Rod Christiansen, 28 seasons (Palmer) 159 wins*
#2 Buck Nystrum, 31 seasons (Eielson and North Pole) 150 wins
#3 Bruce Shearer, 21 seasons (Kenai, Chugiak and East) 130 wins
#4 David DeVaughn, 18 seasons (Eielson) 126 wins*
#5 Galen Brantley, currently in 12th season (SoHi) 115 wins*
#5 Bob Boudreaux, 22 seasons (SoHi, Kenai and Service) 105 wins
#6 Jim Beeson, 19 seasons (Kenai) 103 wins
* active Alaska coaches
