Often that means their overall record isn't spotless -- but sometimes they come through with a win over a bigger school, like they did Saturday when they ripped West Valley 47-20.
The victory comes after close losses to a pair of large-school teams -- 20-13 to Service and 36-32 to Palmer -- and puts Kenai over the .500 mark at 3-2. The Kards are ranked fourth in the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network's small-school poll.
"We came pretty close with the first two, and one of the things we talked about this week was we wanted to get one (win) over a big school," assistant coach Jim Beeson said. "The bottom line is it's gonna help us when we get into conference, playing close games and playing big teams."
A.J. Hull once again put on an offensive show for the Kardinals. The quarterback passed for one touchdown, rushed for another and returned a kickoff 92 yards for a third. He finished with 59 yards on 17 carries and passed for another 84 yards. Kai Risung chipped in 113 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries to help the Kards gain 317 yards total offense to West Valley's 210.
West Valley (3-2) was the first to score, taking a 6-0 lead on a 42-yard touchdown pass, but Hull returned the ensuing kickoff for his first touchdown and the rout was one.
West Valley 6 0 0 14 -- 20
Kenai 7 13 13 14 -- 47
First quarter
WV -- W. Vealy 42 pass from Plass (kick failed), 9:39
Ken -- Hull 92 kickoff return (Hayes kick), 9:24
Second quarter
Ken -- Hull 1 run (Hayes kick), 11:53
Ken -- Glidden 1 run (kick failed), 4:27
Third quarter
Ken -- Risung 5 run (Hayes kick), 7:21
Ken -- Hayes 45 pass from Hull (kick failed), 1:00
Fourth quarter
Ken -- Carlson 17 run (Hayes kick), 8:35
WV -- Graham 7 run (A Vealy pass Plass), 8:05
Ken -- Hanson 2 run (Hayes kick), 3:07.
WV -- Graham 2 run (run failed), :51.
Houston 53, Delta 6
It's been a long time since the Houston Hawks topped the 50-point mark in a football game, but coach Norm Bouchard wasn't exactly bragging about his team's high-scoring 53-6 victory Saturday over Delta.
"It was a good way to come off of a couple losses," he said, "but I really don't like being over 50. I've been on the other side of that before."
Houston, which plays in the Northern Lights Conference, enjoyed big games from Tyler Barron -- 162 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries -- and Brandon Dukes -- 110 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries -- to improve to 3-2. Delta, which plays in the Greatland Conference, dropped to 1-4.
Houston led 40-6 at the half and had pulled its starters by the time it scored the fourth-quarter touchdown that put them over the 50-point mark.
"Our last touchdown was entirely our second team," Bouchard said. "It was just a dive play -- I'm not gonna tell them to fall down. We teach them to go hard no matter what."
Nikiski 51, Monroe 12
Nikiski remained unbeaten in the Greatland Conference, beating Monroe 51-12 on Saturday.
The Nikiski offensive line had a nice game, springing running back Kaden Spurgeon for three touchdowns and 141 yards on 18 carries, and Stephen Krogseng for 85 yards and one touchdown on seven carries.
Nikiski racked up 413 yards of total offense, including 91 return yards.
Nikiski 27 10 7 7 -- 51
Monroe 7 0 0 6 -- 12
First quarter
Nikiski -- Krogseng 51 run (Taylor kick), 11:02.
Nikiski -- Spurgeon 2 run (kick failed), 9:09.
Monroe -- Weeks 1 run (kick failed), 6:34.
Nikiski -- Spurgeon 1 run (Anderson pass to Spurgeon) 4:25.
Nikiski -- Green 10 pass from Anderson (kick failed), 2:09.
Second quarter
Nikiski -- Taylor 34 field goal, 10:25.
Nikiski -- Green 23 pass from Anderson (Taylor kick), 6:46.
Third quarter
Nikiski -- Spurgeon 11 run (Taylor kick), 8:48.
Fourth quarter
Nikiski -- Stangel 9 run (Taylor kick), 10:24.
Monroe -- Bynum 32 pass from Pace (kick failed), 7:26.
Homer 28, Kodiak 6
Homer's Tayler Downes rushed for 175 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries to lead the Mariners to a 28-6 Northern Lights Conference win over Kodiak on Saturday.
The Homer defense played well, getting three interceptions from cornerback Robin Glasser and two from linebacker Ryan Cotney's two picks. The defense also scored on a safety and totaled five sacks.
Homer 6 6 6 10 28
Kodiak 0 6 0 0 6
First quarter
Homer -- Downes 15 run (run failed), :33.
Second quarter
Kodiak -- Sweeney 10 fumble return (kick blocked), 11:05.
Homer -- Downes 1 run (pass fail), :21.
Third quarter
Homer -- Downes 51 run (pass fail), 1:58.
Fourth quarter
Homer -- Resetarits 9 pass from Cotney (Cotney pass to Resetarits), 7:34.
Homer -- Safety, 3:55.
Eielson 55, Valdez 0
Quarterback Pat Brown threw two touchdown passes and ran for over 150 yards and another touchdown to lead Eielson to 55-0 win over host Valdez on Saturday.
Tyler Ellsworth also turned a big game, contributing two rushing touchdowns and returning a fumble recovery for a score.
The win improves Eielson to 4-0 in the Greatland Conference, assuring it a spot in the playoffs.
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