The Soldotna football team opened the season with a 63-27 nonconference victory over Palmer on Friday at Justin Maile Field in Soldotna.
Both squads are in the Railbelt Conference, but the opener was nonconference because the teams meet again Sept. 13 in Palmer.
The Stars are coming off an 11-0 season in which the program won its 13th state title.
Soldotna lost its quarterback, plus two of three starting running backs, from that team, but SoHi head coach Galen Brantley Jr. didn’t get to 157-9 as a head coach by taking long to reload.
The Stars rushed 41 times for 418 yards against the Moose.
The returner in the backfield, senior Wyatt Faircloth, had rushing and receiving touchdowns.
“We were all nervous for today,” Faircloth said. “We didn’t really know what to expect from Palmer. We heard they got bigger than last time.
“We didn’t have any film to watch, but now we have Week 1 film and hopefully we can correct our mistakes.”
Junior Andon Wolverton rushed five times for 117 yards and two scores, senior Jaykob Kemp rushed 10 times for 145 yards and a score, and senior Lokeni Wong rushed for 45 yards and a score.
“They’re all kind of a threat to house the football at any time,” Brantley Jr. said of the four running backs. “As an (offensive coordinator), you can kind of sit there and pick away, and eventually one of them breaks a tackle and makes a play.
“It’s fun to watch.”
SoHi scored on its first six drives to take a 41-14 lead with 2:16 left in the first half. The longest scoring drive was five plays.
Junior Owen Buckbee had a solid game at quarterback, going 4 for 8 for 104 yards and a score, and also scoring a QB sneak. Junior Matthew Schilling also proved to be dangerous at split end and on returns, catching two balls for 65 yards.
“He’s exactly as advertised,” Brantley Jr. said of Schilling. “He’s a pretty special player, and he’s going to turn some heads.”
The coach said Schilling showed what he can do by making plays last season on the scout team. Schilling said he’s excited by the season to come.
“We’re still making mistakes on offense and defense,” he said. “We just need to clean some of that up, but overall I think we’re off to a good start.”
Sophomore Chase Hall had the final rushing touchdown for the Stars, getting the junior varsity offense into the end zone.
Faircloth, named the top player in Alaska by MaxPreps heading into the season, also plays middle linebacker. He said the defensive line is just one reason he’s excited by that side of the ball.
“I think we have the best defense in the state by far,” he said. “We have the best linebackers on all levels, inside and outside. We have the hardest hitting safety in the league.
“I love these guys.”
Brantley Jr. said Trevor Michael and Dax Walden had good games at defense.
The Moose flashed some talent by moving the ball at times.
With 1:37 left in the first quarter, Reed Craner finished an eight-play scoring drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.
With 2:34 left before the half, Craner caught a 44-yard bomb from quarterback Nolan Garner for a score.
Garner rushed four times for 43 yards and also was 10 of 22 for 73 yards through the air.
“We felt like it was more self-inflicted wounds by us, not playing fundamentally sound, versus Palmer just making plays on us,” Brantley Jr. said. “And they did make a few plays, without question.
“We’ve got some things to shore up, for sure.”
Palmer also scored twice in the second half as Soldotna started mixing in second-teamers. Aden Hershman caught a 35-yard pass from Corbin Gerkin, and KJ Henry broke off a 36-yard run.
The Stars open their conference slate Friday at Chugiak, which defeated Wasilla 24-7 on Friday.
Faircloth left little doubt what the goal is for this season.
“Me and the guys, we’re family,” he said. “I have them, and they have me. With that, we’ll go win another state championship.”
Friday
Stars 63, Moose 27
Soldotna 21 20 14 8 —63
Palmer 7 7 7 6 —27
1st Quarter
Sol — J. Kemp 5 run (L. Hillyer kick), 9:36.
Sol — Faircloth 1 run (L. Hillyer kick), 5:10.
Pal — Craner 3 run (Lance kick), 1:37.
Sol — Wolverton 42 run (Lance kick), 0:27.
2nd Quarter
Sol — Wolverton 44 run (L. Hillyer kick), 9:20.
Sol — Wong 12 run (L. Hillyer kick), 5:37.
Pal — Craner 44 pass from Garner (Lance kick), 2:34.
Sol — Faircloth 35 pass from Buckbee (kick failed), 2:16.
3rd Quarter
Sol — Wolverton 24 run (Hillyer kick), 11:15.
Sol — Buckbee 1 run (Hillyer kick), 7:37.
Pal — Hershman 35 pass from Gerkin (Lance kick), 1:57.
4th Quarter
Sol — Hall 2 run (Weed run), 9:44.
Pal — Henry 36 run (kick failed), 5:46.
Pal Sol
First downs 5 17
Rushing yards 25-130 41-418
Passing yards 108 104
Comp-att-int 11-23-0 4-8-0
Punts 6-35.5 0-0
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties 6-50 8-90
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Palmer: Garner 4-43, Henry 9-41, Gerkin 8-26, Craner 4-20. Soldotna: J. Kemp 10-145, Wolverton 5-117, Wong 4-45, Faircloth 6-36, Hall 6-22, Z. Kemp 2-21, Walden 3-15, Williams 2-8, Cooper 1-6, Buckbee 2-3.
Passing — Palmer: Garner 10-22-0—73, Gerkin 1-1-0—35. Soldotna: Buckbee 4-8-0—104.
Receiving — Palmer: Craner 3-55, Hershman 3-40, Hartman 1-9, Henry 2-3, Gerkin 1-1, Rolston 1-0. Soldotna: Schilling 2-65, Faircloth 2-39.
