Soldotna 69, North Pole 20
Clichés are usually a bad practice in writing, but from time to time, unavoidable. Hence, it’s Deja Vu all over again; Soldotna High school Football will face off against Lathrop in the Division II State Championship this Saturday. It’s the third consecutive year the two programs will meet to determine who sits atop the DII football mountain. Soldotna advanced to the final with a lopsided, 69-20 win over North Pole last Saturday.
The Stars played the semifinal matchup without one of their most critical backfield components, Wyatt Faircloth, who was kept out of the starting lineup due to an injury. He was replaced by promising young halfback, Andon Wolverton, who has been a rotational mainstay for the Stars all season every time the second string offense enters the game.
The game started atypically for SOHI, who turned the ball over on their opening drive after a Wolverton fumble. The Stars defense took the field, and sufficiently foreshadowed the rest of the game, forcing to Patriots to punt after only a handful of plays. On their next drive, Soldotna righted the ship and drove the length of the field for their first score. The drive was highlighted by a brilliant touchdown pass play.
Coach Galen Brantley broke from his typical two tight end formation, and slid Andrew Pieh out right to wide receiver. Pieh ran a post route off the snap, successfully pulling the Patriots secondary along with him, leaving the right side of the field barren for Colin Peck who was releasing on a wheel route out of the backfield. Zac Buckbee ran out to the right and completed the pass to Peck, who basically danced into the end zone.
The game progressed in much the same way. Gehret Medcoff was consistent, bullying his way through the heart of the North Pole defense time and again, which successfully softened the edges of the defense, allowing for several big plays from Peck and Wolverton.
The Stars led 42-0 at the half.
Once the second half started, SOHI quickly extended its lead to 55-0 before turning things over to the JV squad. North Pole was finally able to establish some offense with Brantley’s second string on the field, and put up three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
This weekend’s matchup will between Soldotna and Lathrop will be the teams’ first meeting since opening the season on a neutral field in Wasilla. The game was supposed to be played in Fairbanks, but air quality concerns due to forest fires in the area forced the game further south. The game was close in the first half, but SOHI pulled away in the second half, winning by a comfortable, 56-20 margin.
Also, as mentioned in this article’s introduction, this is a SOHI v. Lathrop 3.0 State Title matchup (a point very few need enumerated), with the previous two championships going the way of the Malamutes (see previous parenthetical). Like this year, last season’s Stars went into the title game undefeated, but ultimately fell to Lathrop 21-18. Thus, despite their win in the season opener, the Lathrop monkey won’t be fully off these Stars back until they hoist a 2023 state title trophy.
The Stars face off against the Malamutes this Saturday, October 21st at 2:00 p.m. at the Service High School Football Field. The game airs on ESPN 1140 AM, 96.9 FM, and radiokenai.com.
