Conor Feckley, back in action after missing a game with a knee injury, threw three touchdowns and ran for another to lead the West Eagles to a 48-20 victory over the North Pole Patriots in a large-schools quarterfinal football game Saturday night in North Pole.
Feckley completed 19 of 23 passes for 197 yards. He threw second-quarter touchdown passes of nine and 17 yards to Eric Vandervort and added a 15-yard strike to Leroy Elliot with 51 seconds left before halftime, giving West a 27-20 lead.
He also scored on a 10-yard run in the first quarter.
While West 6-3) got its quarterback back, the Patriots (7-2) lost theirs. Moo Rogers left with a concussion with 2:07 left in the first quarter.
Even so, North Pole trailed by just a touchdown at the half, 27-20.
West pulled away in the second half behind a 20-yard touchdown run by Lincoln Tullmasaelli in the second quarter and pair of 7-yard touchdown runs by Jacob Faualo, one in the third quarter and one in the fourth.
Austin McCoy, North Pole's backup quarterback, contributed two first-half touchdowns, one on an 11-yard run and other a 69-yard pass to Lance Wright.
West advances to a Saturday semifinal game against Service.
Soldotna back in championship game
The Soldotna Stars earned a spot in a state championship football game for the 13th time in school history Saturday by crushing Kodiak 62-7 in a semifinal game in Soldotna.
The Stars (8-1) will play Homer (7-2) for the medium-school championship Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Chugiak's Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium.
Homer romped past Thunder Mountain 44-26 in a Friday game in Juneau to advance to the title game for the second straight year. The Mariners lost to Kenai in last year's championship, a game that marked the first appearance in a title game for Homer.
Reid Schmelzenbach scored three first-half touchdown to help Soldotna to a 53-0 halftime lead. He ran 27 yards for one, caught a seven-yard pass from Noah Fowler for another and returned a fumble 13 yards for a third.
Fowler tossed three touchdown passes and Colton Young rushed for two. The defense contributed two touchdowns, one on the returned fumble by Schmelzenbach and the other on a 28-yard interception return by Fowler.
Kodiak (4-5) didn't score until the fourth quarter, when Kerry Powers bolted 22 yards for a touchdown.
Nikiski, Eielson advance
In small-school semifinal action Saturday, Nikiski and Eielson rolled to victories to advance to Saturday's
3:30 p.m. championship game in Chugiak.
Nikiski, the defending state champion, slapped Monroe 49-6, and Eielson buried Barrow 68-0.
Nikiski (7-2) is 3-0 in championship games, with their other titles coming in 2000 and 2001.
Eielson will be making its fifth appearance in a title game. The only time the Ravens won a championship was in 1992, when all of Alaska's schools played in a single division.
Eielson was led by Anthony Griffith, who rushed for 151 yards on seven carries and scored five touchdowns, including three in the first quarter.
Griffith scored on a 50-yard run, a five-yard run and a 60-yard interception return in the opening quarter and added a 27-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 20-yarder in the third.
Soldotna back in championship game
The Soldotna Stars earned a spot in a state championship football game for the 13th time in school history Saturday by crushing Kodiak 62-7 in a semifinal game in Soldotna.
The Stars (8-1) will play Homer (7-2) for the medium-school championship Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Chugiak's Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium.
Homer romped past Thunder Mountain 44-26 in a Friday game in Juneau to advance to the title game for the second straight year. The Mariners lost to Kenai in last year's championship, a game that marked the first appearance in a title game for Homer.
Reid Schmelzenbach scored three first-half touchdown to help Soldotna to a 53-0 halftime lead. He ran 27 yards for one, caught a seven-yard pass from Noah Fowler for another and returned a fumble 13 yards for a third.
Fowler tossed three touchdown passes and Colton Young rushed for two. The defense contributed two touchdowns, one on the returned fumble by Schmelzenbach and the other on a 28-yard interception return by Fowler.
Kodiak (4-5) didn't score until the fourth quarter, when Kerry Powers bolted 22 yards for a touchdown.
Nikiski, Eielson advance
In small-school semifinal action Saturday, Nikiski and Eielson rolled to victories to advance to Saturday's 3:30 p.m. championship game in Chugiak.
Nikiski, the defending state champion, slapped Monroe 49-6, and Eielson buried Barrow 68-0.
Nikiski (7-2) is 3-0 in championship games, with their other titles coming in 2000 and 2001.
Eielson will be making its fifth appearance in a title game. The only time the Ravens won a championship was in 1992, when all of Alaska's schools played in a single division.
Eielson was led by Anthony Griffith, who rushed for 151 yards on seven carries and scored five touchdowns, including three in the first quarter.
Griffith scored on a 50-yard run, a five-yard run and a 60-yard interception return in the opening quarter and added a 27-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and a 20-yarder in the third.
Anchorage Daily News