The semi-final round of the ASAA First National Bowl football championships featured a come-from-behind victory for the Soldotna Stars and a dominating performance by Eielson in a win over Nikiski.
Survive and Advance: SoHi 25 – North Pole 21 Medium School playoff game
The Soldotna Stars football team rallied in the second half of Saturday’s semi-final football contest against the North Pole Patriots to narrowly defeat the Patriots 25-21.
Survive and Advance.
SoHi halted a possible game-winning drive by North Pole late in the game with an interception by Jace Urban inside the 10 yard line; then Cy Updike intercepted another pass with under a minute remaining to uphold a 25-21 advantage.
Survive and Advance.
SoHi fumbled six times (mishandled snaps another half dozen times), lost three and turned the ball over on fumbles twice inside the Patriots 5-yard line; the last, lost fumble set up North Poles final drive.
Survive and Advance.
The Stars trailed 15-0 with :42 seconds remaining in the first half and turned the tide of the entire game with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Brenner Furlong.
Furlong retreated to the five yard line to recover the kick and broke loss for the touchdown. According to the game clock, Furlong ran a state-record 95 yards in 7-seconds! (only 7 seconds ran off the clock on the return.)
Halftime score: North Pole 15 – SoHi 8
SoHi scored on the opening drive of the third quarter with a 63-yard drive capped by a 23-yard run by Jace Urban. Blake Jones added a 20-yard field goal for the Stars first lead at 18-15. North Pole scored on the first snap to retake the lead at 21-18.
The Stars offense mounts a final drive to open the fourth quarter ending on a 3-yard touchdown carry for Urban.
Final Score: SoHi 25 – North Pole 21
Survive and Advance.
The Stars will face the Palmer Moose ( 28-26 winner’s over Thunder Mountain) in the Medium School football championship game on Saturday, October 15th at Palmer High School.
Small School Semi-Final: Eielson 70 – Nikiski 18
The Eielson Ravens eliminated Nikiski and advance to the Small School state championship game with a dominating 70-18 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Four different Eielson running backs recorded over 100 yards rushing. Ian Johnson, for the Bulldogs, passed for 200 yards including a 53-yard touchdown to Patrick Perry. Matt Minium rushed for 71 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
The Bulldogs, 2013 Small School state champions, will miss the championship game for the first time in five years.
Eielson, state champions in 2012, 2014 and 2015, will face Houston (44-6 winners over Seward) for the Small School title on Saturday, October 15th at 4:00 p.m. at Palmer High School.
