The Soldotna Stars football program faced adversity Saturday as the Service Cougars scored on the games first play. Total time for concern=under two minutes. SoHi answers the Cougar score on the Stars first possession, en route to a 72-29 dismantling of Service and a third-straight victory for SoHi over a Large School division opponent.
SoHi 72- Service 29
SoHi and Service traded touchdowns in the first quarter; the Stars lead 17-15 at the end of the first quarter. SoHi outscored Service 35-6 in the second quarter for a 52-21 lead at the half. Three, second half touchdowns for SoHi and the Stars win 72-29.
SoHi scored on its first eight possession, the ninth ended with time running out on the first half; then, scored on three of four possessions in the second half. For the game, seven rushing touchdowns, three passing touchdowns, one field goal.
Kristian Palaniuk scored five touchdowns for SoHi with four rushing touchdowns (41 yards, 20 yards, 12 yards and 13 yards), one reception of 45 yards for TD. Keola Finau rushed for touchdowns of 20 and 12 yards and Austin Schrader scored the Stars final TD with a 3-yard run.
Quarterback Dylan Simons passed for three scores with touchdowns to Palaniuk (45 yards), Trevor Walden (40 yards) and Jace Urban (17 yards).
SoHi stands at 3-0 on the regular season and the Stars football program 32-0 for a continuing state record. The Stars face Northern Lights Conference opponent Kodiak on Saturday, September 5th at Soldotna High School, SoHi’s first conference game of 2015.
Kenai 46 – Kodiak 18
The Kenai Kardinals controlled the second half against Kodiak for a 46-18 NLC victory for the Kards.
Kenai lead 19-12 at the half and outscored Kodiak 27-6 in the second half.
Kardinal Zack Tuttle lead the way with two rushing touchdowns ( 5 yards and 37 yards); one kick-off return for an 80 yard touchdown; and two interceptions for the Kenai defense. Kenai’s first touchdown came on a 4-yard run by Draiden McMinn. Chase Gillies and Nick Beeson added rushing touchdowns of 13 and 11 yards.
Kenai stands at 1-1 on the season and 1-0 in the NLC. The Kards host Aurora Conference Houston on Friday night, September 4th in a non-divisional contest at KCHS.
Nikiski 50 – Homer 18
In the only conference game of the weekend for central peninsula teams, the Nikiski Bulldogs rushed for 350 yards against the Homer Mariners for a 50-18 Peninsula Conference victory. Nikiski improves to 2-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Small School division.
Corin Cooper scored five rushing touchdowns and amassed 138 yards. Rykker Riddall scored twice with 127 rushing yards and Dylan Broussard added 87 rushing yards.
Nikiski lead 22-6 at the half and outscored Homer 28-12 in the second half, the Mariners adding two late touchdowns to close the gap. Final Score: Nikiski 50 – Homer 18.
The Bulldogs travel to Homer for a Peninsula Conference game on Saturday, September 5th against Voznesenka.