No stopping them

"They both played with a lot of heart tonight," said Golden Bears coach John Jessen.

Chenault ran for 207 yards and three touchdowns, while Hale added 185 yards and two touchdowns. Chenault also caught a touchdown pass, Bartlett's only completion of the game.

Hale was electric in the third quarter, racking up 145 yards and two touchdowns on several spectacular runs that included touchdowns of 64 and 55 yards to help the Golden Bears break the game open.

Both teams came out determined to establish the run, and both succeeded. Chenault ran for 113 yards in the first half, while Eric Antesberger was a step better, racking up 122 yards in the first half for the Patriots. North Pole outgained Bartlett 228-151 in the half thanks to a 215-142 edge on the ground.

Chenault set up Bartlett's opening touchdown by taking the kickoff back to the North Pole 41. Two plays later, Chenault busted up the middle for a 27-yard touchdown that put the Golden Bears on top 7-0.

North Pole marched right back, going 76 yards on 11 plays -- all running -- to set up a 1-yard plunge by Jones.

The Patriots then took the lead on a 9-yard Antesberger run midway through the second quarter.

Bartlett pulled back in front 14-12 at the half thanks to a spectacular catch by Chenault, who leaped in the back of the end zone to snare Willie Highlander's pass just inside the back goal line.

North Pole tried to mount a comeback in the closing seconds of the half, but Bartlett lineman Troy Masalasalo got his big mitts on a screen pass by Jones and held on for the pick.

Hale was shut down in the opening half, and credited his teammates with keeping him focused entering the third quarter.

"They just told me to keep my head up and keep running hard," Hale said.

Hale's two big runs in the third put Bartlett up 26-12 before the Patriots cut into the lead on a 4-yard run by Jones, who finished with 113 yards rushing despite being limited following an ankle injury on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Jessen said the game wasn't nearly as lopsided as the score indicated, and the stats bore out his contention. The Patriots managed to rack up 355 yards rushing, including 132 from Antesberger. But they struggled in the second half with Jones favoring his left leg.

"I thought that (injury) was the turning point of the game," Jessen said.

Bartlett put things away on the first play of the fourth quarter. With the Golden Bears up two touchdowns and facing a pivotal third-and-nine situation, Chenault took the handoff and looked to be bottled up along the sideline. But he had a whisper of space and took full advantage, cutting inside and knifing through the Patriots defense for a 55-yard score that made it 34-19.

Chenault credited the play of the Bartlett offensive line for opening up holes in the massive North Pole defensive front.

"That's the best the line has played all year," he said.

Chenault added a 22-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to provide the final margin of victory.

The victory moves Bartlett into the state title game, where they'll face the winner of today's Palmer/Chugiak semifinal. The Golden Bears have not been to the state championship since winning it all in 2002, when Bartlett beat Chugiak 34-13.

Hale said whoever the Golden Bears face will have its work cut out stopping two of the state's premier running games.

"I won't say we're the best team, but we're definitely going to compete," he said.

---

Find Matt Tunseth online at adn.com/contact/mtunseth or call 257-4335.

Alaska School Activities Association/First National Bank Alaska

State Football Championships

Bartlett 40, North Pole 19

North Pole 6 6 7 0 -- 19

Bartlett 7 7 12 14 -- 40

First Quarter

Bartlett -- Cyrus Chenault 27 run (Tufuga kick), 11:24

North Pole -- Lee Jones 1 run (try failed), 5:30.

Second Quarter

North Pole --Eric Antesberger 9 run (kick blocked) 7:45

Bartlett -- Cyrus Chenault 9 pass from Willie Highlander (Tufuga kick), 2:57.

Third Quarter

Bartlett --Jamal Hale 64 run (kick blocked) 8:08

Bartlett -- Jamal Hale 55 run (try failed) 4:30

North Pole -- Lee Jones 4 run (Hingst kick) 0:51.

Fourth Quarter

Bartlett -- Chenault 55 run (Anthony pass from Highlander) 11:45

Bartlett -- Chenault 22 run (kick failed) 4:14.

North Pole Bartlett

First downs 18 15

Rushes-yards 49-355 40-396

Passing yards 27 9

Return yards 0 48

Passes 3-9-2 1-5-1

Punts 4-33.7 1-30

Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1

Penalties-yards 5-45 6-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- North Pole: Antesberger 14-132, Jones 20-113, Anderson 7-51, Innes 4-44, Isaacson 3-9, Sutherland 1-6. Bartlett: Chenault 19-207, Hale 15-185, Anthony 2-4, Lisenby 1-3, Enoch 2-(-1), Dyett 1-(-2).

PASSING -- North Pole: Jones 3-9-2-27. Bartlett: Highlander 1-5-1-9.

RECEIVING -- North Pole: Antesberger 1-13, Hollett 1-8, Anderson 1-6. Bartlett: Chenault 1-9.