The 21-14 home win moves Homer into second place in the conference, behind undefeated Soldotna, which picked up a 34-7 Northern Lights win over visiting Skyview on Saturday.
Homer's win was one that nearly got away in the final minutes of regulation, when Kenai's A.J. Hull returned an interception for what appeared to be back-breaking touchdown near the end of the fourth quarter. The play was called back on a penalty, keeping the score tied at 14-14 and setting up a dramatic first overtime period.
High school overtime rules allow both teams four downs from the 10-yard line, and Homer's offense took the field first. Kenai shut down the Mariners by intercepting a pass in the end zone.
Three plays took the Kards (4-3, 3-1 Northern Lights) to the 6-yard line, where they attempted a 23-yard field goal. But the ball bounced off the front of the crossbar, forcing a second overtime.
Homer (6-1, 3-1 Northern Lights) didn't waste any time, taking a six-point lead on the first play, a 10-yard run by Dyllan Day. The Mariners cemented the victory by intercepting a Hull pass on Kenai's second play.
Barrow 8, Valdez 6
An upset was brewing Saturday in Valdez, where the Buccaneers led Barrow by four points with 10 seconds remaining, but Barrow escaped defeat with a 40-yard hook-and-lateral play to win the Greatland Conference confrontation 8-6.
Barrow (5-1, 4-1 Greatland), which had only managed to score two points on a safety before its game-winning heroics, will remain in second place behind Nikiski. Valdez (1-6, 1-5 Greatland) had been outscored by its opponents this season 185-58 coming into the game against the Whalers.
In other Greatland action Saturday, Eielson creamed Delta Junction 48-0 to remain in third place. Monroe of the Greatland Conference visited Kodiak of the played a nonconference game against Kodiak of the Northern Lights, where the Rams were blasted 37-0.
Thunder Mountain 30, Ketchikan 12
Thunder Mountain's Camden Thomas scored two touchdowns Saturday to lead the Falcons to their third straight win, a 30-12 Southeast Conference victory over host Ketchikan.
Thunder Mountain led 14-6 at the half thanks to Eric Reyna's 46-yard scoring run and Thomas's 12-yarder. Between the scores, Luke Purschwitz scored the first of his two touchdowns for Ketchikan.
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