Yreka (California) defeated Kenai Central 41-12 on Friday in nonconference action at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai.
The game marked the return of John Marquez, now the head coach for Yreka, to Kenai. Marquez coached the Kardinals from 2011 to 2015, winning a medium-schools championship in 2011.
“I wanted to come back and see my friends and celebrate and all that good stuff,” Marquez said. “It was good to get back.”
Marquez said he likes the area so much he returns every summer. He said the only reason he left is because he said the retirement system for teachers in Alaska is not good enough.
The trip took $40,000 in fundraising to pull off. The 38 players arrived Wednesday and will leave Sunday. Marquez said even things like moose and otters have impressed the players.
“These kids are just amazed to be in Alaska,” Marquez said. “These kids don’t ever get out of our county. 80% of them, it’s their first time on an airplane.
“They’re so excited to get up here.”
The coach said a trip to the Homer Spit was a highlight. He also said James Dye, Jen Dye, Travis Burnett and Pepper Burnett put on a team dinner at the Kenai Elks.
“I just want to say thank you to the Kenai community,” Marquez said.
Yreka is a school of about 580 and was playing the first game of its season, while Kenai (1-2 overall) is at about 460 and is the defending Division III state champion under third-year head coach Jake Brand.
The Miners were able to amass 547 yards of total offense to the 154 of Kenai, but the game was kept close by Yreka mistakes. The Miners fumbled seven times and lost six of those, while also committing 16 penalties for 170 yards.
The eight 15-yards penalties were too much for Brand.
“I felt like the played pretty good until they were getting injured by blind-side hits, and hits in the back, and stuff after the play,” the coach said of his team.
Marquez was not happy with the penalties and fumbles.
“We teach to the whistle and we teach hard, but we don’t teach things to go down there and try to hurt somebody,” he said. “It’s a vicious sport, and you play hard.
“We’re going to correct those mistakes — the fumbles and the 15-yard penalties.”
Trevan Crane had three rushing touchdowns for the Miners, amassing 199 yards on 12 carries. Marquez said Crane is one of the best players the coach has had in the program, but said attitude problems resulted in Crane getting benched during the first half. He came back for a dominant second half.
In addition to a Crane run, the Miners were still able to find the end zone in the first half on a Laydon Luce run and pass from Gabe Gregg to Noah Mannix.
The Kardinals were missing four starters coming into the game, including at quarterback. Kenai was still able to engineer a scoring drive in the third quarter, with Garrett McCanna hitting Zane James on a 2-yard pass.
“We scored on their starting defense, so that’s a big bright spot,” Brand said.
Yreka answered with three straight scores — two runs by Crane and a pass from Jerome Walker to Brody Zediker.
Brand said recovering all those fumbles was another bright spot.
“Turnover margin is something we always preach about on defense, and they did it,” Brand said.
Keegan Roumell recovered two fumbles for Kenai, while Aasen Campanella, Bobby Hayes, Cole Langham and Delen Byrd also recovered fumbles. Ryan Warfield and Crane had interceptions for Yreka.
Kenai got another touchdown connection from McCanna to James as time expired.
Brand said he’s proud of his team for sticking together and fighting.
“My hat’s off to Kenai Central,” Marquez said. “Those guys brought it, they brought it every play.
“They were hard hitting. It’s why they’re the state champions. They’re probably going to go on and win state again, if they can stay healthy.”
The Kardinals host Chugiak, a Division II foe, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7.
Friday
Miners 41, Kardinals 12
Yreka 14 7 13 7 —41
Kenai 0 0 6 6 —12
1st Quarter
Yre — Crane 1 run (Croteau kick), 6:05.
Yre — Luce 15 run (Croteau kick), 0:28.
2nd Quarter
Yre — Mannix 44 pass from Gregg (Croteau kick), 0:32.
3rd Quarter
Ken — James 2 pass from McCanna (kick failed), 9:34.
Yre — Crane 48 run (run failed), 8:13.
Yre — Zediker 28 pass from Walker (Croteau kick), 0:19.
4th Quarter
Yre — Crane 2 run (Croteau kick), 10:22.
Ken — James 11 pass from McCanna, :00.
Yre Ken
First downs 13 9
Rushing yards 38-382 39-113
Passing yards 165 41
Comp-att-int 6-10-0 8-16-2
Return yards 168 66
Punts 8-33.4 0-0
Fumbles-lost 7-6 2-0
Penalties 16-170 6-39
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Yreka: Crane 12-199, Super 11-57, Gregg 2-28, Luce 9-85, Walker 4-13. Kenai: Byrd 22-53, Vann 2-10, McCanna 7-(-16), Hayes 5-56, Taylor 3-10.
Passing — Yreka: Gower 0-1-0—0, Walker 3-4-0—47, Gregg 3-6-0—118. Kenai: McCanna 8-16-2—41.
Receiving — Yreka: Zediker 3-96, Mannix 3-69. Kenai: Vann 2-6, Chadwick 1-(-3), Armstrong 2-18, James 3-20.
