The Soldotna football team defeated Wasilla 58-7 on Friday in Railbelt Conference action at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School.
The Stars received three touchdown runs, a touchdown reception and an interception from Dax Walden in moving to 5-0 in the league and 6-0 overall. The Warriors fall to 0-5 and 0-6.
“He really kind of broke out, and we need him,” Soldotna head coach Galen Brantley Jr. said of Walden. “He’s one of those seniors that’s been with us. He’s played a lot of football.
“For us to be successful at the end of this thing, we need guys like him to step up and be a playmaker.”
Brantley Jr. said the dominant win felt good after both Eagle River and West Valley were in the game in the second half in the past two weeks.
“It was one of those weeks where it was back to the drawing board, back to basics and really try and tighten things down,” he said. “We have certain things we feel like we need to do, and we were just sputtering.
“Practice went pretty good all week, and our kids did a good job of executing.”
Chase Hall had a pair of short touchdown runs in the first quarter to put the Stars up 14-0.
With 11:07 left in the second quarter, Bryan Berg caught a 1-yard pass from Owen Buckbee and Eli Richards ran in the conversion for a 22-0 lead.
Wasilla quarterback Brayden Sparrs struck for a 7-yard touchdown run with 7:13 to play, but Walden responded with touchdown runs of 13, 45 and 11 yards before the end of the half for a 43-7 lead.
Walden, Liam Peck and Mason Bock had interceptions for Soldotna in the first half.
“The three interceptions were big,” Brantley Jr. said. “Takeaways are huge for us. We count them throughout practice. We keep a running total every single day.”
The coach said all three picks came on great plays on the ball. He added Zack Kemp played well at safety and Logan Myers made a welcome return to defensive end.
Brantley Jr. said the defense as a whole is understanding the scheme better.
“When we do run into a team that is in and out of multiple things, I feel like we’re going to be able to check in and out of things a lot better,” he said.
In the third quarter, Walden caught a 34-yard pass from Buckbee for a score, and Trevin Moore ran 39 yards for a touchdown. Matthew Innes hit Manuia Wong for the two-point conversion.
The Stars were able to roll up rushing yards with Andon Wolverton out due to injury. Brantley Jr. said Richards did a good job filling in.
The rushing totals for Soldotna were Walden with 8 for 115, Trevin Moore with 6 for 70, Hall with 7 for 55, Buckbee with 2 for 14, Bock with 1 for 14, Wong with 2 for 13, Richards with 4 for 22, Innes with 1 for 10, Ethan Piscoya with 1 for 5 and McKade Moore with 1 for 0.
Myers had 2 catches for 44 yards, while Walden had 1 for 34, Keegan Myrick had 1 for 22 and Berg had 1 for 1.
Soldotna travels to play Lathrop at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26. The Malemutes are 4-1 in the league and 4-2 overall. The teams have played for the last five Division II state titles.
Lathrop lost 40-24 to Palmer on Friday.
“They get an opportunity to sleep in their own beds and we have to make the long trip,” Brantley Jr. said. “They’re kind of licking their wounds, trying to reorganize and get their season back together.
“We’re not going to sneak up on them, that’s for sure.”
Wasilla is at Eagle River at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Soldotna’s McKade Moore is tackled by Wasilla’s Adam Corneliussen on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna’s Logan Myers catches a pass while Wasilla’s Adam Corneliussen defends Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna’s Dax Walden (14) celebrates his interception with Mason Bock against Wasilla on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, at Justin Maile Field at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
