Sports

Leaping Luaofo, fierce Falaniko boost Bartlett to 31-24 win over Service

The high school football program that didn't bag a victory for more than two seasons does nothing but win these days.

Yet top-ranked Bartlett's 31-24 Cook Inlet Conference thriller over visiting Service on Saturday afternoon -- the Golden Bears seized their seventh straight win dating back to last season, when they snapped their 17-game skid -- was not secured until a small player came up large with time elapsed.

Cornerback Kasiah Luaofo, a Bartlett junior generously listed at 5-foot-7, leaped to bat the football in the back left corner of the end zone and keep it from the grasp of 6-foot-1 Service wideout Trevon Allen.

Luaofo's teammates mobbed him against the base of a chain-link fence -- the barrier closely surrounds Bartlett's new artificial-turf field -- to celebrate improving to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the CIC.

Thus ended a game in which Service raced to a 10-0 lead, Bartlett roared back to seize a 25-10 cushion, Bartlett running back Ethan Falaniko shouldered a work-load so heavy for his run-dependent team he clearly does not belong to a union and the Cougars triggered their comeback by throwing for nearly 300 yards.

The game appeared over when Bartlett's Christian Lega sacked Service quarterback Zyrelle Jones, the senior who was Bartlett's quarterback the last two seasons before he transferred to the Hillside. Time expired with Bartlett leading 31-24, but Lega was whistled for a horse-collar tackle. A game cannot end on a defensive penalty and that infraction gave Service an untimed down from the Bartlett 14-yard line.

Service's Darren Tatum, who alternated with Jones at quarterback throughout the game, floated a pass to Allen deep in the end zone. Luaofo said he saw Allen signal to Tatum just before the snap and assumed the ball was headed Allen's way.

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"I saw him pat his helmet and I thought, 'Man, it's all coming down to me,''' Luaofo said.

Luaofo, who had to make up a yard or two to defend the pass, leaped high to get his hands on the ball along with Allen, and both players fell to the turf as the ball headed there too. Luaofo said he reached out and batted the ball away again as he fell to the surface. Not bad for a 5-7 corner who gave up six inches to Allen.

"Yeah,'' deadpanned Bartlett co-coach John Jessen, "but he plays like he's 5-8.''

Allen, who caught three passes for 67 yards, said he tried his hardest to snatch the pass, which potentially, coupled with an extra-point kick, could have prompted overtime.

"I was just trying to make a play,'' he said.

At 3-0 in conference, Bartlett matches South's unbeaten mark, and the Golden Bears and Wolverines are the only two undefeated teams in the eight-team conference. They don't meet until the final weekend of the regular season.

Service, coming off a tough 23-20 home loss to West a week ago, slipped to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the CIC. Though the Cougars generated 291 yards passing and 371 yards total offense, they were undone by untimely penalties, fumbles and poor snaps.

An encroachment penalty against the Cougars, with Bartlett facing fourth-and-4 at the Service 17 in the first quarter, gave the Golden Bears a first down at the 12. Jordan Pace rushed for a touchdown on the next play to cut Service's lead to 10-7.

Service's fumbles -- it lost just one, but committed five -- and some inaccurate snaps kept the Cougars, who are dealing with injury issues on the offensive line, from establishing rhythm.

"It's the mental errors right now that are hurting us,'' said Service coach Kevin Kern. "We have to clean up a few things -- we have a tough schedule coming up -- but we're a good football team. Like I told them, we have some kids who have shown a lot of heart, and some guys who need to do a gut-check.''

Bartlett finally unlimbered its running game, which accounted for 271 yards, in the second quarter, when it trailed 10-0. The deficit stemmed from Service's Dominik Norman, who took a short pass from a scrambling Jones on the second play of the game and bolted 84 yards to the end zone, and a 22-yard field goal from Service's Steve Beelman.

Bartlett's Jordan Pace scored on a 12-yard run in the second quarter. A short Service punt gave Bartlett the ball at midfield on its next possession, when quarterback Tala Sappa's 1-yard sneak earned Bartlett a 14-10 lead less than one minute before halftime.

Falaniko forced a Tatum fumble on Service's next snap from scrimmage, Archie Lemana recovered, and Falaniko scored on a 7-yard sweep three plays later for a 22-10 Bartlett lead. Lorenzo Froehle's 20-yard field goal in the third quarter boosted Bartlett's lead to 25-10.

With explosive running back Vincent Lobendahn sitting out a second straight game for discipline reasons, the Golden Bears have made Falaniko a workhorse. He rushed 32 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns, one week after carrying 33 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns against Chugiak.

"It's like those old-time USC teams,'' Jessen said. "We just keep giving him the ball.''

Falaniko, who also plays linebacker and rarely leaves the field, said his accomplishments are shared.

"The line did a good job,'' he said. "I thank them. It's a team thing. It's not just me.''

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Falaniko's 17-yard touchdown run furnished Bartlett a 31-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Service answered with Norman's 11-yard run midway through the quarter to cut the deficit to 31-24 and inside the last two minutes marched inside the Bartlett 20 before Luaofo's play kept the Golden Bears perfect.

CIC teams play seven league games, so with Bartlett at 3-0 and winless Eagle River on its schedule in two weeks, the Golden Bears have all but locked up one of the conference's four bids to the state playoffs.

Service, meanwhile, will be looking to get over the hump after two close, difficult losses.

"We've got to learn how to finish, and push through,'' Allen said. "We get there, but just can't finish. We have to dig deeper next time.''

Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@adn.com and check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog

Service 7 3 7 7 – 24

Bartlett 0 22 3 6 -- 31

First Quarter

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Service — Norman 84 pass from Jones (Beelman kick), 11:10.

Second Quarter

Service — Beelman FG 22, 11:15.

Bartlett — Pace 12 run (Carey kick), 7:37.

Bartlett — Sappa 1 run (Carey kick), 56.7.

Bartlett — Falaniko 7 run (Torres run), 12.2.

Third Quarter

Bartlett — Froehle FG 20, 9:06.

Service — Tatum 2 run (Beelman kick), :20.

Fourth Quarter

Bartlett— Falaniko 17 run (Carey kick), 9:15.

Service — Norman 11 run (Beelman kick), 6:24.

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Service: Tatum 10-48, Norman 5-31, Jones 15-10, Mamikunian 1-(-1), No. 47 1-(-8). Bartlett: Falaniko 32-182, Atafua 6-41, Pace 11-41, Love 1-8, Sappa 7-(-1).

PASSING — Service: Jones 14-20-0—226, Tatum 5-9-0—65. Bartlett: Sappa 2-3-0—49.

RECEIVING — Service: Norman 4-108, Tatum 4-40, Blakenship 3-70, Allen 3-67, McLeod 2-6, No. 47 1-4, Fromm 1-2, Jones 1-(-5). Bartlett: Mailo 2-49.

Doyle Woody

Doyle Woody covered hockey and other sports for the Anchorage Daily News for 34 years.

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