Homer senior quarterback Carter Tennison rushed for four touchdowns to lead the host Mariners to a 38-20 victory over Kenai Central on Saturday in Mid Alaska Conference action.

The victory was a big one for the Mariners as they chase one of the three berths available to the Division II playoffs out of the five-team Mid Alaska Conference. Homer is now 1-1 in the league and 3-1 overall, while the Kardinals fall to 0-1 and 2-2.

The win came on Homer’s senior night.

“It’s been an absolute journey for sure,” Homer senior Coleman Stephens told the Homer News. “A lot of ups and downs — mostly ups.”

That also could describe the game against the Kardinals.

Homer grabbed an 8-0 lead after the first quarter when Tennison scored on a 5-yard run, then also ran in the two-point conversion.

In the second quarter, Tennison struck again on an 8-yard run. He again ran in the conversion for a 16-0 lead.

The Kardinals fought back in the final minutes of the half on a pair of touchdown runs by Reagan Graves, with a lost Homer fumble coming between those runs. Kenai got one of the two two-point conversions and trailed 16-14 at the half.

“We kept going,” Stephens told the Homer News. “We pushed through and even after, you know, there was a bit of lost momentum, they got some scores, we came back second half and pushed it in.”

Jake Tappan put Homer up 22-14 in the third quarter with a 5-yard run. After Kenai lost a fumble, Tennison quickly made it 30-14 with a 1-yard run and a two-point conversion.

Kenai wasn’t done yet. Early in the fourth quarter, Bridger Beck found Wade James for a 59-yard scoring pass, cutting the deficit to 30-20.

But Tennison wasn’t done yet, either, scoring from 3 yards out and adding another conversion to finish the scoring.

“I think everyone did amazing,” Stephens told the Homer News. “That’s how you win a game.”

East JV 58, Nikiski 20

The Nikiski football team lost 58-20 to East’s junior varsity Saturday in Anchorage.

With Monroe Catholic and Valdez dropping out of the Denali Conference, the Bulldogs had an open week on their schedule and were able to fill it with East JV. Nikiski head coach Matt Trammell said he is not counting it as an official game.

Trammell said he played his varsity for the first half and forged a 20-20 tie with the Thunderbirds. Dwyght Mullins had a pair of touchdowns for the Bulldogs, while Braeden Porter also had a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

The Bulldogs put in the junior varsity squad for the second half.