Tomorrow at Adair Kennedy Field, the biggest game of the season will be played for both Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain high schools.
The Crimson Bears are 5-2 overall and tied with the Falcons at 1-1 in the Southeast Conference. TMHS is 3-4 overall. Both teams have lost to SEC number one North Pole (4-3, 3-0 SEC) and beaten SEC rival Ketchikan (2-3, 0-3 SEC).
Whichever team the scoreboard favors when the final seconds have ticked off will be playoff bound and the vanquished will be left wondering what might have been.
“We have been practicing hard and preparing all week for it,” Thunder Mountain High School senior Mason Kullander said. “We still have a day left for it. We are going to be going into it confident and ready to work.”
The Falcons’ Kullander plays center and on the defensive line.
“There is a lot of conditioning involved, first of all,” Kullander said. “I just keep my head and do as I was taught and as I have been practicing, and just keep fighting for those guys that I am playing with. We have to stop their passing game. That is one big thing. We have to get to the (quarterback) and make him run around a little bit.”
JDHS will be without the services of two of their strongest players in the secondary, as sophomores Donavin McCurley and Michael Cesar will be traveling with an Anchorage-based all-star baseball team. The team will be getting wide receiver Devon Williams back on the field.
“I am looking forward to playing against (Thunder Mountain),” JDHS offensive lineman Patrick Naputi said. “This is the game we look forward to all season.”
The Falcons have been finding success with senior running back Q’on Bear-Clark as the main option going through opponents if no holes have been opened. Sophomore quarterback Garth Tupou will also throw the ball deep but to date senior running back Maake Maake and junior tight end Mahina Toutaiolepo churning up the midfield has been more reliable.
The Crimson Bears have slowly evolved into a pass-first offense with sophomore quarterback Bubba Stults having multiple options to throw the ball to. Seniors Guy Bean and Hunter Hickok both have sure hands while junior John Williams and sophomore Lance Fiagatusa are reliable for passes over the middle coming out of the backfield.
Both teams have shown they can kick the ball from distance if the game comes down to a field goal.
Defensively, both teams have senior maturity and, if healthy, could be the deciding factor.
TMHS’ Kullander, Chase Becker, Sam Bluett, Remington Burrell, Jase Lippert, Ma’ake Ma’ake, Andrew Ringle, Jonas Wahl, and Meki Sikione will look to do something no Falcons’ team had done — defeat JDHS.
Crimson Bears’ Hickok, Williams, Naputi, Mark Puliafico, Maile Maake, Taylor Sutak and Kana Galletes will want to continue the JDHS tradition of hard tackling across the field.
“We are working so hard at practice,” JDHS defensive lineman Kana Galletes said. “We are all pumped and ready for this game. Our line really needs to step up. They have a really good D-line and a pretty solid O-line. We just need to get at them and then our backers step up. We have good backers.”
JDHS has not lost a Glacier Bowl and has outscored TMHS 213-13 since they first played.
The Crimson Bears defeated the Falcons 68-0 in their first ever varsity meeting at Adair Kennedy in 2011. In 2012 JDHS won at TMHS 45-7. In 2013 JDHS defended Adair 57-0 and last season the Crimson Bears ran across Falcons Field for a 43-6 win.
Northern Lights Conference opponents Soldotna (7-0 OA, 3-0 NLC) and Kenai (5-1 OA, 3-0 NLC) play tonight in Kenai to determine the No.1 and No. 2 seeds that will oppose North Pole (SEC No. 1) and the winner of JDHS and TMHS (SEC NO.2).
The state medium school football playoffs begin Oct. 10 with the NLC No. 11 playing SEC No. 2; and SEC No. 1 vs. NCL No. 2.
