The season-ending loss snapped Soldotna's 19-game winning streak, which dated back to the 2009 season. And it means the Stars (8-1) won't get to defend their state championship next Saturday.
Instead, two other Kenai Peninsula schools will battle for the inaugural title in the new medium-school division. Kenai (5-4) will take on Homer (8-1), which set a school record for most wins in a season by thumping Thunder Mountain 46-6 Friday night in Juneau. The title game begins at 7:30 p.m. at Chugiak High's Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium.
Kenai and Soldotna both scored on their first possession -- quarterback A.J. Hull scampered three yards for the Kardinals and Jared Duncan blazed 50 yards for the Stars -- and then, with the scored tied 6-6, the defenses took over.
Kenai, which never trailed, used a strong defensive effort that limited Soldotna to one touchdown in each half and twice forced turnovers that led to touchdowns.
The first of those was set up by an interception by Hull, whose play put Kenai on its own 44-yard line. Levi Hansen carried the ball four times for about 50 yards in the ensuing drive, with 26 yards coming on a touchdown run. Hull ran for a two-point conversion to give Kenai a 14-6 halftime lead.
The teams traded fumbles at the start of the second half. After Zane Miller recovered for the Stars, Soldotna cashed in immediately with Noah Fowler's 51-yard bomb to Garrett Bosick, who made a leaping grab of the high pass. But Fowler's PAT pass was incomplete, leaving Kenai in the lead, 14-12.
The Kardinals scored twice in the fourth quarter to cement the win.
The first of those touchdowns, a one-yard burst by Joe Sandahl, came after Kenai's Brad Smithwick recovered a fumble at the Soldotna 27-yard line.
The second came after Soldotna turned the ball over on downs with less than three minutes left; a big run by Hansen put the Kards at the 5-yard line and three plays later Hull bolted four yards for a touchdown with 54 seconds remaining.
Soldotna got big games from Fowler (7 of 13 passing for 145 yards) and Duncan (14 carries for 122 yards). For Kenai, Hansen piled up 107 yards on nine carries and Hull added 92 on 19 carries.
Kenai 6 8 0 14 -- 28
Soldotna 6 0 6 0 -- 12
First quarter
Kenai -- Hull 3 run (kick failed), 7:10
Soldotna -- Duncan 50 run (kick blocked)
Second quarter
Kenai -- Hanson 26 run (Hull run), 1:34
Third quarter
Soldotna -- Bosick 51 pass from Fowler (pass failed), 6:56
Fourth quarter
Kenai -- Sandahl 1 run (Wagner kick). 6:22
Kenai -- Hull 4 run (Wagner kick), :54
Nikiski 55, Eielson 31
Colton Anderson passed for two touchdowns and Josh Brown and Stephen Hartley each ran for two, powering Nikiski to a 55-31 semifinal win over Eielson in the medium-school state football playoffs in Nikiski.
The Bulldogs scored three straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the victory and clinch a spot in next Saturday's small-school championship game at Chugiak's Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium. Nikiski (8-1) will face Barrow (8-1) for the title.
It was Nikiski's second straight win over Eielson, which fell to the Bulldogs 51-12 one week ago.
Anderson completed six of 12 passes for 135 yards, while Brown and Kaden Spurgeon each went over the 100-yard mark in rushing. Brown ran for 178 yards on 16 carries and Spurgeon had 114 yards on 13 carries.
Javonte Kincaid sparked the Eielson offense with 170 yards on 10 of 20 passing. His favorite target was Scott Delauder, who caught eight passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
The Ravens struck first with a one-yard scoring run by Kincaid. Nikiski answered with a one-yard run by Brown and led 8-7 after one quarter thanks to Anderson's PAT scoring pass to Corey Green.
Anderson threw both of his touchdowns in a span of two minutes, 8 seconds in the second quarter. He hit Sayyid Parrish with a 58-yard scoring strike and found Walter Moore for a 29-yard score. Eielson returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to trim Nikiski's lead to 23-13 at the half.
Nikiski needed just 40 seconds to expand its lead after halftime, scoring when Brown broke loose for 79-yard run. The Bulldogs scored again about three minutes later on a 41-yard run by Spurgeon to put Eielson in a 35-13 hole.
Eielson 7 6 12 6 -- 31
Nikiski 8 15 12 20 -- 55
First quarter
Eielson -- Kincaid 1 run (Friske kick) 8:09
Nikiski -- Brown 1 run (Green pass from Anderson) 4:40
Second quarter
Nikiski -- Parrish 58 pass from Anderson (Feller kick) 4:36
Nikiski -- Moore 29 pass from Anderson (Hartley run) 2:28
Eielson -- Kincaid 80 kickoff return (run failed) 2:17
Third quarter
Nikiski -- Brown 79 run (kick failed) 11:20
Nikiski -- Spurgeon 41 run (pass failed) 8:04
Eielson -- Delauder 21 pass from Kincaid (kick blocked) 3:51
Eielson -- Delauder 1 run (run failed) :29
Fourth quarter
Nikiski -- Hartley 8 run (Spurgeon run) 10:41
Nikiski -- Hartley 15 run (pass failed) 6:06
Nikiski -- Riddall 32 run (kick failed) 1:58
Eielson --Phillips 68 kickoff return (pass failed) 1:45
Barrow 28, Monroe 14
Trace Hudson rushed for 198 and scored two touchdowns Saturday in Barrow's 28-14 home-field victory over Monroe, a win that puts the Whalers in next week's small-school championship game against Nikiski.
Hudson carried the ball 23 times, once for a touchdown. He scored his other TD on an interception return.
The Whalers (7-1) held Monroe to 40 yards offense in the first half, an effort that helped Barrow avenge its only loss of the season, a 14-8 loss to Monroe a month ago. The Rams ended the season with a 5-4 record.
Saturday's championship game will mark the first time Barrow will play for a state football title since it started the program in 2006.
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