The Redington Huskies continue to make program history. The latest came with a 34-14 win over Seward Friday night at Redington.
“We had two boxes to check off today. Our first win at home and first conference win,” Redington head coach Tony Brooke said by cellphone Friday evening. “It’s nice to go check and check.”
Redington used 20 second-half points to improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Peninsula Conference play. Seward dropped to 0-1 in the conference and 1-3 overall after its third straight loss.
The Huskies, who finished 0-8 during their first year a varsity football last season, opened the season with a victory over Monroe Catholic, Redington’s first football win in school history. In Week 2, the Huskies blanked Valdez, posting the program’s first shutout. Friday, Redington added first home win and first conference win to the list of accomplishments. Brooke said it was great to see his players be able to celebrate a win on their own turf.
“It was a pretty good (crowd). The fans were into the game,” Brooke said.
Brooke said the game was tight in the first half, Redington led 14-6 at the break, but the Huskies were able to take control during the final two quarters. Brooke said a key play came when Redington’s Travis Castle and Eli Benson tackled a Seward ballcarrier in the end zone. The safety gave Redington the 22-6 lead.
Quarterback Sam Reed rushed for 83 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Reed also had 43 yards passing a threw a touchdown. Kyler Rumfelt finished with a 135 yards on the ground. Isaiah Hall added 120 yards rushing.
Redington continues conference play next weekend on the road in Nikiski, while Seward will host conference opponent Homer on Saturday.
Nikiski 40, Voznesenka 18
Following a rough start to the season, the Nikiski football team continued a trend of rebounding with a 40-18 Peninsula Conference victory over Voznesenka Saturday in Homer.
Nikiski improved to 1-0 in the conference to forge a tie atop the Peninsula Conference standings with Redington. The Bulldogs are 2-2 overall, and will host Redington next Saturday.
Sophomore quarterback Michael Eiter threw a pair of touchdowns to Tyler Olson and Noah Litke, while Justin Harris, Cody Handley, Ian Johnson and Olson all notched rushing touchdowns. Johnson, Litke and Harris also came up with an interception each on defense.
Voznesenka scored twice on strip sacks on Eiter, and added an offensive touchdown on a long pass play before halftime.
Eiter opened the scoring for the Bulldogs with a 1-yard connection with Olson in the first quarter, then Johnson added to the score with a short run.
Handley continued to pile on the points with a touchdown run in the second quarter, then Litke caught a scoring pass to give Nikiski a 20-7 lead at halftime.
Homer 59, Ketchikan 21
The Mariners won their third straight game with a dominating performance Friday in Ketchikan.
Senior quarterback Teddy Croft had three touchdown passes, two of them to Justin Sumption, who also had a scoring run. Croft also ran in a pair of touchdowns.
Noah Fisk and Jack Heimbold had touchdown runs and Joe Ravin had a scoring reception to complete the points haul.
Homer head coach Walter Love praised the Mariners defense, led by Levi King and Kyle Wells, which he explained had allowed two of Ketchikan’s three scoring plays on fingertip grabs, including a tipped pass that could have been caught for an interception, but was instead taken to the end zone for a touchdown.
“Our defense has stepped up, they played their best defensive game,” Love said. “We have not faced a passing team yet, and they came out and threw a lot, and we shut it down.”
Homer improved to 3-1 this year after losing the season opener to Kodiak. The Mariners will play their first Peninsula Conference game next Saturday at Seward.
Love said the Kings were a better team than their 2017 record indicates, so starting fast on offense proved Homer’s might.
“They played a great game,” he said. “That (24-6 loss to Nikiski) was a one-off game for them.
“Every kid stepped up and played this game, it’s hard to find some fault in it.”
Croft hit Sumption in stride on a 25-yard pickup to give Homer a 19-0 lead in the first quarter, then the two connected again on a 45-yard bomb to put the Mariners up 26-0 by the end of the quarter.
Ravin got in on the scoring garage with a touchdown catch in the third quarter to put Homer up 52-14, effectively icing the victory.
After that, Love said Homer eased up on the passing game.
“We quit throwing the ball in the second half and focused more on running,” he said.
