Soldotna linebacker Wendell Tuisala celebrates a first-half safety with teammate Levi Hensley Friday night. (MATT HICKMAN/Frontiersman)

Soldotna linebacker Wendell Tuisala celebrates a first-half safety with teammate Levi Hensley Friday night. (MATT HICKMAN/Frontiersman)

Soldotna football rolls past Wasilla

  • By MATT HICKMAN
  • Saturday, August 27, 2016 11:38pm
  • Sports

WASILLA — Brandon Crowder threw for three first-half touchdowns, and the Soldotna Stars rolled to their 42nd consecutive win Friday night at Wasilla, 44-0.

“Soldotna is a great team and there’s a reason they’ve won 42 in a row,” Wasilla head coach Will Stout said. “They’re well coached, disciplined and they execute. We’re trying to get to a higher level, so we improve week by week. But they have some great players who gave us fits.”

Against a Warriors squad determined not to punt against perhaps the state’s most feared team, the Stars needed just four seconds of possession to score their first touchdown on an 11-yard pass from Crowder to Andy West.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

On its second trip, Wasilla managed a first down, but turned it over on downs, and the Stars found themselves in the end zone two plays and 16 seconds later on another connection between Crowder and West, this one going for 22 yards to make it 14-0 with 5:25 to go.

The Stars’ third score came on its longest drive to that point, spanning 1:52 and ending on a 7-yard touchdown run by Jace Urban.

A third straight Warrior turnover on downs set Soldotna up at the Wasilla 19, and Jeremiah Lefeo took it in from the 1 to make it 28-0 with just over a minute gone by in the second quarter.

“Soldotna is going to score wherever they’re at on the field, so we might as well give our offense a chance,” Stout said of the decision to punt just once on the night, that time resulting in a safety.

Down four scores, Wasilla began to find some success in the passing game with quarterback Hunter Hongslo rolling out of the pocket to find receivers, the biggest play a 32-yard catch-and-run by Aeron Millron to the Soldotna 4 with a minute to go.

Three plays later, the half expired as Millron was dropped for a loss of 2 on fourth-and-goal, making it 37-0 at the half.

The Stars went up 44-0 on a 23-yard run by Urban two minutes into the second, and after a turnover on downs deep in Warrior territory, the Stars emptied their bench the remainder of the game.

On the first play against the No. 2 Soldotna defense, Millron tore off what appeared to be a 94-yard touchdown run called back by a penalty at midfield.

Wasilla’s best scoring threat after that came with 9:07 to play in the game when Millron was stopped on a fourth-down run at the Stars’ 1.

Millron finished with 87 rushing yards on 22 attempts.

The Warriors play at West Valley next week in Fairbanks.

“We played ‘til the end and didn’t quit, didn’t give up,” Stout said. “We had a lot of mental mistakes as the game went on, so we’ve got to clean that up and get ready for league games.”

Wasilla’s first league game is Sept. 9 at Colony.

 

Soldotna 44, Wasilla 0

Friday, Wasilla High School

 

First quarter

Soldotna — West 11 pass from Crowder. (Jones kick) 9:50

Soldotna — West 22 pass from Crowder. (Jones kick) 5:25

Soldotna — Urban 7 run. (Jones kick)

 

Second quarter

Soldotna — Lefao 1 run. (Jones kick) 10:41

Soldotna — Tuisaula tackle for safety 5:55

Soldotna — Trammell 5 pass from Crowder (Jones kick) 5:11

 

Third quarter

Soldotna — Urban 23 run. (Jones kick) 10:08

 

Fourth quarter

No scoring.

 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Soldotna: Furlong 4-111, Urban 3-69, Quelland 10-56, Sproull 3-35, VanHout 1-17, Schrader 3-12, Crowder 1-14, Lefao 3 (-1), Trammell 1 (-1), Checketts 2-4, Updike 2 (-3). Wasilla: Milliron 22-87,  Hongslo 6-4, Cork 5-33, McDermott 5-3, Walkemeyer 1-3, Alexander 1-1.

 

PASSING — Soldotna: Crowder 4-4-0—62. Wasilla: Hongslo 4-5-1—76

RECIVING — Soldotna: West 2-33, Trammell 1-12, Furlong 1-17. Wasilla: Milliron 2-57, Walkemeyer 1-8, Cork 1-11,

More in Sports

tease
Racing Under the Lights completes circle track season at Twin City Raceway

The Kenai Peninsula Racing Lions - Circle Track Division concluded its season… Continue reading

Nikiski celebrates a win against Soldotna on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at Soldotna High School in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski volleyball gets revenge on Soldotna

The visiting Nikiski volleyball team defeated Soldotna 29-27, 25-23, 21-25 and 27-25… Continue reading

tease
Homer football knocks off Houston, moves to 5-0

The Homer football team celebrated homecoming and senior night by topping Houston… Continue reading

tease
Saturday volleyball: Kenai, Seward claim conference wins

The visiting Kenai Central volleyball team defeated Grace Christian 19-25, 25-14, 25-10… Continue reading

tease
Saturday: Steel shut out Brown Bears

The visiting Kenai River Brown Bears split a season-opening North American Hockey… Continue reading

tease
Monroe Catholic football tops Nikiski

The host Monroe Catholic football team defeated Nikiski 36-12 on Saturday in… Continue reading

tease
Soldotna football holds off West Valley

The visiting Soldotna football team held on for a 28-21 victory over… Continue reading

tease
Friday volleyball: Nikiski, Kenai, SoHi, Seward notch conference wins

The visiting Nikiski volleyball team defeated Homer 25-20, 25-6, 14-25 and 25-14… Continue reading

tease
Friday: Brown Bears open season by topping Steel

The visiting Kenai River Brown Bears defeated the Chippewa (Wisconsin) Steel 7-5… Continue reading

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in