Nikiski head coach Ted Riddall was not at the Bulldogs’ game against Seward on Saturday.
Unfortunately for the Seahawks, running back Christian Riddall was present.
While his dad was busy getting inducted into the football hall of fame at Pacific Lutheran University, Christian had six touchdowns — five on the ground and one through the air, to lead the Bulldogs to a 69-14 victory in cold rain. Riddall rushed for 231 yards on 10 carries.
With the victory, Nikiski moved to 5-1 in the Greatland Conference and 6-1 overall. Seward fell to 4-2 in the league and 5-3 overall.
Nikiski wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the small-schools playoffs and will host Seward, the No. 3 seed, in a first-round playoff game.
“I thought our guys came ready to play,” Nikiski assistant Scott Anderson said. “They knew it was a big game coming in.
“They played as well as they have all year today. Kudos to them. Their head coach was gone but they kept working.”
In the cold rain, Anderson said it was impressive his team did not turn the ball over. Seward lost three fumbles and threw two interceptions.
Hunter Holloway, Corin Cooper, Nico Castro and Larry Cutsforth added scores for the Bulldogs.
Homer 17, Houston 6
The Mariners ended their season Saturday with a big, nonconference homecoming victory over the Hawks.
Homer finishes 3-5 overall.
Homer led 11-0 after the first half. The Mariners also would score a TD in the second half.
Sheldon Hutt, who was 13 of 24 for 142 yards and two picks, had a touchdown pass to Teddy Croft, while Connor Seay had the other touchdown on the ground. Seay added a 20-yard field goal.
For Houston, Noah Griffeth had a rushing touchdown.
Anderson said the offensive line, particularly Luke Johnson and Rueben Sepeda, continues to get better and better.
Despite the big victory, Anderson doesn’t expect the club to relax, especially because Seward was missing some key players.
Saturday
Bulldogs 69, Seahawks 14
Nikiski 34 28 0 7 —69
Seward 6 8 0 0 —14
First quarter
Nik — C. Riddall 11 run (D. Jackson kick), 10:19.
Nik — C. Riddall 30 run (D. Jackson kick), 7:01.
Nik — Holloway 71 punt return (kick failed), 6:20.
Sew — No. 1 54 pass from No. 9 (pass failed), 4:24.
Nik — C. Riddall 53 run (Jackson kick), 4:06.
Nik — C. Riddall 6 pass from C. Anderson (Jackson kick), 2:07.
Second quarter
Nik — C. Riddall 60 run (Schwenke kick), 9:24.
Nik — Cooper 10 run (Schwenke kick), 7:38.
Sew — No. 91 65 kickoff return (No. 44 run), 7:24.
Nik — C. Riddall 5 run (Schwenke kick), 6:00.
Nik — Castro 11 run (Schwenke kick), 1:17.
Fourth quarter
Nik — Cutsforth 32 run (Schwenke kick), 5:54.
Nik Sew
First downs 21 5
Rushes-yards 28-410 23-(-36)
Passing yards 113 112
Return yards 142 116
Comp-att-int 5-8-0 5-20-2
Punts-avg 1-23.0 4-35.5
Fumbles-lost 3-0 5-3
Penalties-yards 7-60 n/a
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Nikiski: C. Riddall 10-231, Castro 4-22, Broussard 4-65, Cooper 1-10, Cutsforth 4-64, Perry 2-9, I. Johnson 2-7. Seward: No. 1 5-7, No. 44 5-6, No. 22 2-(-2), No. 9 9-(-43), No. 50 2-(-4).
Passing — Nikiski: C. Anderson 5-6-0—113, I. Johnson 0-2-0—0. Seward: No. 9 4-17-2—83, No. 50 1-3-0—29.
Receiving — Nikiski: Holloway 1-24, Carstens 1-31, Broussard 1-25, Castro 1-27, C. Riddall 1-6. Seward: No. 1 2-61, No. 91 2-22, No. 9 1-29.
Saturday
Mariners 17, Hawks 6
Houston 0 0 6 0 —6
Homer 8 3 6 0 —17
Hou Hom
Rushes-yards 20-3 36-107
Passing yards 69 142
Return yards 99 0
Comp-att-int 6-12-0 13-24-2
Punts-avg 3-31.7 1-26.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties 12-75 10-88
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Houston: Ritter 2-(-4); Jirik 3-(-14); Griffeth 9-23; Mose 5-3. Homer: Hutt 12-22; Hill 2-6; Seay 3-17; Fisk 14-46; Swoboda 3-12; McKenna 1-4.
Passing — Houston: Ritter 4-10-0—14; Griffeth 1-1-0—(-1); Mose 1-1-0—56. Homer: Hutt 13-24-2—142.
Receiving — Houston: Vantyler 1-56, Mose 3-11, Quincy 2-3. Homer: Croft 5-80, Lowe 1-18, Seay 3-25, Fisk 3-19, Knisely 1-0.
