Nikiski continued a strong football season by steamrolling Monroe Catholic 40-0 at Kiwanis Field in Fairbanks.
Nico Castro, the Bulldogs senior running back, ran for 151 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs. All of his yardage came in the first half, when the defending small schools state champion did all the scoring.
Back in October, the Bulldogs downed the Rams 36-28 at the Anchorage Football Stadium for the state title.
The Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 Greatland Conference) didn’t have to work very hard to score their first touchdown, just 1 minute and 34 seconds into the game. Castro and Bulldogs quarterback Cade Anderson led the Bulldogs on a four play, 59-yard drive that was completed when Anderson found Dylan Broussard for a touchdown from 20 yards out. Broussard also ran for 114 yards on seven carries for the Bulldogs, with 51 of those yards coming on one carry in the second half. Anderson went 5 of 8 through the air for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs finished the quarter by scoring three touchdowns in just over four minutes. Castro scored from 5 yards out with 4;56 left before the Bulldogs turned a Rams (0-3, 0-2 Greatland Conference) fumble into another score, from Christian Riddall, with 3:40 left in the quarter.
Homer 30, Barrow 12
The Mariners put themselves into the win column in 2014 with a triumph in Barrow.
Just over 90 seconds into the game, Homer quarterback Sheldon Hutt connected with Connor Seay on a 66-yard pass to put Homer up 8-0, after Hutt ran the ball in for two points.
Josh Fisk added a 9-yard run in the first quarter to extend Homer’s lead. With 2:16 left in the frame, the Homer defense added a third touchdown with an interception return.
In the second half, Eric Hill returned a Barrow fumble for a score that iced the game in the fourth quarter.
Ketchikan 61, Seward 30
The Kings earned a home victory over the visiting Seahawks, using a 27-point second quarter to take the win.
Seward led 14-8 at the end of the first quarter, getting a 4-yard run from quarterback Alex Pahno and a 2-yard run from Ben Miranda.
However, Ketchikan scored four times in the second quarter. The Kings ended Saturday with 332 rushing yards, led by Connor Hicks with 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Seward quarterback Alex Pahno passed for 136 yards and a touchdown. Terrance Annogiyuk carried the ball for 61 yards, and Zach Martin had 136 receiving yards.
Eielson 77, Voznesenka 0
Saturday morning, Eielson running back Anthony Griffith dashed along the sidelines during a blistering performance in a 77-0 rout of the Voznesenka Cougars in the Greatland Conference contest on Eielson Air Force Base.
The senior running back amassed 424 yards on 11 carries and scored seven times, including all of the unbeaten Ravens’ five touchdowns in the first quarter.
He showed on his first carry Saturday how much he missed playing.
Defensive tackle Jonathan Baird recovered a fumble in Cougars territory. With 10:53 left in the opening quarter, Griffith quickly capitalized on the Ravens’ blocking and rattled off a 26-yard touchdown run on Eielson’s first play from scrimmage.
That scoring burst was joined in the quarter by touchdown dashes of 36, 47, 56 and 61 yards. He zoomed into the end zone from 74 yards out with 1:05 left in the second quarter, and he added a 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Voznesenka, led by 35 yards rushing from Kiril Sanarov and 31 yards passing from Kalugin, slipped to 0-2 Greatland and 0-3 overall after the loss to Eielson.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporters Tim O’Donnell and Danny Martin contributed to this report.
BULLDOGS 40, RAMS 0
Nikiski 27 13 0 0 —40
Monroe 0 0 0 0 —0
1st Quarter
Nik — Broussard 20 pass from Anderson (Jackson kick) 10:26
Nik — Castro 5 run (PAT failed) 4:56
Nik — Riddall 7 run (Jackson kick) 3:40
Nik — Castro 21 run (Jackson kick) :11.9
2nd Quarter
Nik — Holloway 26 pass from Anderson (Jackson kick) 9:29
Nik — Riddall 43 run (PAT failed) 5:32
Nik Mon
First Downs 13 3
Rushes-Yards 30-606 16-(-24)
Comp-Att-Int 5-9-0 10-22-2
Passing Yards 104 26
Return Yards 36 52
Punts-Averages 1-37 7-35.42
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 7-50 2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Nikiski: Castro 8-151, Carstens 2-7, Riddall 3-60, Anderson 2-13, Broussard 7-114, Holloway 3-26, Perry 2-11, Hollinger 1-(-2), Jackson 3-52. Monroe: Thomas 9-(-11), Meyer 2-(-17), Maines 3-6, Brantley 2-(-2).
PASSING — Nikiski: Anderson 5-8-0, Johnson 0-1-0. Monroe: Meyer 6-12-1, Brantley 4-10-1.
RECEIVING — Nikiski: Broussard 1-20, Castro 1-4, Holloway 3-80.
