By JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman.com
The Soldotna Stars rode their running attack to another big win over a longtime rival.
The Stars stormed to a 49-7 victory over the Palmer Moose on Friday night at Machetanz Field in Palmer.
Gehret Medcoff, Wyatt Faircloth and Zac Buckbee rushed for a pair of touchdowns each to help SoHi improve to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in Northern Lights Conference play.
The Stars finished with 335 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns. Collin Peck also rushed for a score.
Soldotna scored on its first five possessions in the game, and seven of the nine times they had the ball. The Stars still have not punted once during the 2022 season.
Medcoff led the Stars with 131 yards on only seven carries. Faircloth also topped the century mark, adding 110 yards on nine tries.
In the first quarter, the Stars did not allow Palmer to get a first down. SoHi grabbed a 21-0 lead on a 20-yard run from Medcoff, a 29-yard run from Faircloth and a 45-yard run from Medcoff.
The Stars then stretched the lead to 35-0 at the half as Faircloth had a 28-yard run and Zac Buckbee had a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
The second half saw Buckbee score on a 4-yard run and Collin Peck score from 8 yards out. Jace O’Reagan finished 7 for 7 on extra points.
Palmer spoiled SoHi’s shutout bid during the final moments of the game with a running clock in the fourth quarter. Seth Garland connected with Reed Craner on a 23-yard touchdown catch with 1:33 left in the game. It was Palmer’s second touchdown of the 2022 season.
Kayson Asay led the Moose with 90 yards rushing on 22 carries.
Palmer dropped to 0-6.
Soldotna 49, Palmer 7
Friday, Palmer High
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Soldotna: Faircloth 9-110, Medcoff 7-131, Buckbee 8-50, Peck 7-27, O’Reagan 3-12, Hinds 2-7, Wong 1-5, Huff 1-(-5), Arthur 1-(-2); Palmer: Asay 22-90, Garner 2-(-7), Krukoff 1-5, Heard 1-(-2)
PASSING — Soldotna: Buckbee 2-6-0–55; Palmer: Garner 0-4-0–0, Garland 1-3-0–23
RECEIVING — Soldotna: Medcoff 1-23, Gavalis 1-22; Palmer: Craner 1-23.
Kenai 27, Redington 14
The Kardinals avenged a pair of losses to the defending Division III champs last season with a victory on Redington’s homecoming night.
Kenai came back from a 14-0 deficit to claim the victory.
The Kardinals move to 1-1 in the Mid Alaska Conference and 4-2 overall, while Redington falls to 0-2 in the league and 0-5 overall.
The Huskies took a 14-7 lead at halftime.
Trevor Lawrence put Redington up 6-0 with 5:28 left in the first quarter with an 18-yard run.
With 9:14 left in the second quarter, Bryce Murdock made it 12-0 when he caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Christian Ingraham. Ingraham then threw a two-point conversion to Lawrence.
While Kenai continued to struggle on offense, Luke Armstrong gave the Kardinals a big boost when he picked off Ingraham and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown with 6:56 to play. A Wade James kick drew the Kardinals to within 14-7.
The rest of the half saw crucial turnovers. Murdock intercepted Kenai quarterback Bridger Beck and, after a Kenai penalty, that turnover set up the Huskies on the Kenai 10.
But Armstrong came through again with an interception of Ingraham in the back of the end zone.
Kenai then drove all the way to the Redington 10 but with 15 seconds left until halftime, Beck was sacked and fumbled. The Kardinals lost the ball and Beck was injured on the play.
Beck came back in the second half to hit Armstrong on a 42-yard pass, then an 8-yard touchdown pass, as Kenai, with a James kick, tied the game at 14 with 10:34 left in the third quarter.
On the next drive, Reagan Graves picked off Ingraham and returned the ball to the Redington 19. Graves would then finish a two-play drive with a 5-yard run for a 20-14 lead with 8:15 to play.
A fumble recovery by Rey Perez then set up Graves for a 10-yard scoring run and a kick by James made the score 27-14 with 2:32 left in the third quarter.
Homer 58, Barrow 20
The Mariners wrapped up a spot in the Division II playoffs by toppling the Whalers on Friday for homecoming.
Homer finished Mid Alaska Conference play at 3-1 and also moves to 5-1 overall. Barrow falls to 0-2 in the league and 2-2 overall.
The Clarion’s Jeff Helminiak contributed to this report.
Palmer’s Kayson Asay is tackled by a trio of Stars during a 49-7 loss to Soldotna on Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, in Palmer, Alaska. (Photo by Jeremiah Bartz/Frontiersman)
