{"id":77186,"date":"2021-10-22T15:50:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T23:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/empire-live-huskies-play-for-state-title\/"},"modified":"2021-10-23T11:19:28","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T19:19:28","slug":"empire-live-huskies-play-for-state-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/sports\/empire-live-huskies-play-for-state-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Empire Live: Huskies play hard, fall short of title"},"content":{"rendered":"

9:45 p.m.: Summary — <\/strong> Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School tops Juneau for the Division I state title.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Juneau fought hard, but fell to East Anchorage 30-17. The Huskies never quite found their rhythm on offense, but showed a strong goal-line defense and showed their big play potential. The Thunderbirds defended the Huskies exceptionally well while performing well through the air and on the ground.<\/p>\n

9:35 p.m.: <\/strong>Some trickery from East late —Johnson hands off to Delaney, who tosses it back to Johnson. With about 2 minutes left, East has the ball inside Juneau’s 35. Juneau has a potent offense, but it’s tough to see them clawing back from a 13-point deficit in 62 seconds.<\/p>\n

9:31 p.m.: <\/strong>East Anchorage found itself in a second-and-30 situation with under 4 minutes remaining, but a roughing the passer penalty on Juneau helped dig East out of it. Johnson took a hard shot from junior Sam Sika on the penalized play. With about 3 minutes left in the contest, Juneau trails 30-17, and East is driving.<\/p>\n

9:30 p.m.: <\/strong>The inevitable onside kick was fielded well by the East hands team. The Thunderbirds offense has the ball near the 50 with 5:02 left.<\/p>\n

9:25 p.m.: Huskies narrow the gap. It’s now 30-17, East Anchorage. <\/strong>Juneau’s running game has looked solid late in the game, and the Huskies advanced the ball to the 30 with 7:30 left in the game. With driving legs and shifty moves, Soto took a screen inside East’s 20. With some misdirection, it was tough to tell, but it looked like Soto threw a TD pass off a hand-off to Williams with 5:02 left in the game, Juneau will kick off. Update: After talking to coach Rich Sjoroos, it was connally who threw the touchdown pass. —updated at 100:57 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 23<\/em><\/p>\n

9:15 p.m.: <\/strong>East tried to grind out the clock with a series of runs, but Juneau stops the Thunderbirds and gets the ball back near the Huskies’ 40 with 8:53 left in the game. Chris Harris, a junior, snagged a first-down catch for the Huskies. Soto followed it up with a short rush. The Huskies won’t be going down quietly.<\/p>\n

9:10 p.m.: <\/strong>The Huskies ran out of momentum, and were unable to convert on fourth-and-long. With 11:43 left in the ballgame, East will take over about midfield. A lot of rushes seem likely in the home stretch of this contest.<\/p>\n

9:05 p.m.: Fourth quarter starts, 30-10, Thunderbirds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

East Anchorage’s kick went out of bounds, and Juneau opted to have the Thunderbirds kick again. After some trickery on the return, the Huskies started with the ball near their 40. A pass to Connally took the Huskies past midfield. The Huskies are mid-drive to start the fourth.<\/p>\n

9 p.m.:<\/strong> East scores again, leads 30-10. <\/strong>After an onside kick, East started with the ball at their 48 with just over 4 minutes to go in the third quarter. A deep over-the-middle pas could not find a receiver, Delaney took a hand off and threw it senior Deuce Zimmerman, a wide receiver, for a first down. Amosa Sou ran hard, and put East in prime scoring position. Johnson crossed the goal line for another score. For the first time this game, the Thunderbirds failed on a 2-point conversion attempt.<\/p>\n

8:55 p.m.: Adams drills a field goal, Juneau trails 24-10. <\/strong>Jarrell Williams was running hard on Juneau’s first drive of the second half. A deep shot to Connally fell incomplete, but a screen to Soto picked up a chunk of yardage for a first down. Juneau’s offense stalled out around the 30 with incomplete passes and short gains. Adams kicked a 40-plus-yard field goal with a bounce-assist from the crossbar. He’s 1-for-3 on field goal attempts in this game.<\/p>\n

8:47 p.m.: <\/strong>East’s lead grows to 24-7. <\/strong>Thunderbirds quarterback Kyler Johnson ran in a bootleg for a rushing touchdown of about 10 yards. East leads 22-7 with 7 minutes and 52 seconds left in the third quarter. East converts for 2. Juneau will start with the ball at its 38. East’s special teams have done a good job of limiting return yardage so far.<\/p>\n

8:40 p.m.:<\/strong> Adams started off the third quarter with a long kick. East was unable to get anything going, but a Juneau offside penalty turned a third-and-long into third-and-short. East was able to convert that into a first down. Johnson was able to find senior Damarion Delaney, a wide receiver, for a long gain. East has the ball near Juneau’s 10.<\/p>\n

Halftime: 16-7, East Anchorage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Huskies’ offense has shown flashes, but has not found the sustained success on the ground that’s been a prominent part of their wins this season. Bettye Davis East Anchorage’s power running game has looked consistently strong, while Juneau’s defense has put up stout resistance in key situations. A pair of missed field goals and East’s good fortune in recovering the ball on fumbled snaps also help to account for the score so far.<\/p>\n

Juneau received the ball to start the game, so East should be in line to receive to start the second half.<\/p>\n

A Facebook commenter provided a Huskies cheer squad update, too.<\/p>\n