Sports

Service's Jones-to-Allen connection: 15 catches, 4 TDs and a 44-21 win

When last we left Service wide receiver Trevon Allen, his shoulders were slumped, his mood somber, his voice a whisper.

This was a week ago, when he could not grasp a jump ball in the back of the end zone with time expired, and the prospect of extending Bartlett to overtime vanished.

Saturday afternoon, Allen traded the agony of that loss for the ecstasy of torturing Chugiak's secondary for 15 catches that he turned into 222 yards and four touchdowns in Service's 44-21 Cook Inlet Conference demolition of visiting Chugiak.

Not surprisingly, Allen's mood was light afterward, and his smile came easily. Winning does that, especially for a senior playing his last homecoming game.

"I was just trying to make those big plays,'' Allen said. "We needed this win after a tough loss to Bartlett. I owed it to my teammates to do better.''

Service senior quarterback Zyrelle Jones took a scalpel to the Mustangs, completing 28 of 34 passes for 335 yards and five touchdowns. He hooked up with Allen for three first-half touchdowns that covered 8, 45 and 37 yards, respectively – the other first-half touchdown pass went to a leaping Emetrius McLeod and covered 33 yards – and connected with Allen on a 36-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Jones, who completed 12 of his first 13 passes, avoided Chugiak's rare pressure by scrambling for gains and rushing for a team-high 62 yards. He credited his line for keeping him safe.

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"They gave me enough time,'' Jones said. "They're the reason I'm getting off the passes.''

Chugiak coach Roger Spackman, who lamented his team's lack of passion, said Service's line prevented the Mustangs from taking Jones out of his comfort zone.

"They did a great job protecting him,'' Spackman said.

And that allowed Service to seize a game Jones called a "must-win'' after a last week's 31-24 CIC loss to Bartlett and a 23-20 CIC loss to West two weeks ago. Service (3-2, 2-2 CIC) put itself in stronger position in its quest for one of the conference's five berths in the state playoffs – Bartlett and South, both 4-0, in conference, have already clinched berths.

"We want to get to the second season,'' Allen said.

Chugiak (2-3, 1-3 CIC) is locked in a three-way tie with Dimond and East for fifth place, trailing unbeaten Bartlett and South (both 4-0 in the CIC), West (3-1) and Service.

While Service coach Kevin Kern is still drilling Jones to make quicker reads and deliver the ball to receivers faster, he was happy to see the passing attack prosper.

"We felt like we could air it out the last couple weeks,'' Kern said. "We just had to work on making the right reads and concentrating.''

Allen entered the game with 11 catches in four games. He left it as the CIC's leading receiver, with 26 catches for 386 yards and six touchdowns.

The Cougars took the opening kickoff and marched 76 yards in 12 plays, with Jones hitting Allen for the 8-yarder and a 7-0 lead. Chugiak answered on its second possession, when quarterback Ben Stewart, who rushed three times for 43 yards on a 56-yard drive, scored on a 12-yard option run for a 7-7 tie.

On Service's second snap of the ensuing possession, Jones rifled a pass to Allen, who lined up on the left and ran a slant pattern. Allen leaped to latch his left hand onto the ball, kept his balance when he came back down, split the coverage and was gone for a 45-yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead. Service boosted that advantage to 28-7 by halftime and used Dominik Norman's 56-yard fumble return in the third quarter to balloon the margin to 35-7.

Stewart in the fourth quarter hit Nathan Regina for a 45-yard catch and run, and also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Derryk Snell.

Service's Hunter Fanning (two sacks) tackled Stewart in the end zone for a fourth-quarter safety and Jones added the 36-yard touchdown pass to Allen.

"Me and Zyrelle just saw the gaps,'' Allen said. "On one of the touchdowns, he came to me and said, 'Do and stop-and-go,' and it worked.

"We're trying to build the connection.''

The Mustangs did little to disturb that relationship.

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

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Chugiak 7 0 0 14 21

Service 14 14 0 16 44

First Quarter

Service — Allen 8 pass ffrom Jones (Beelman kick), 7:29.

Chugiak — Stewart 12 run (Tulare kick), 2:17.

Service — Allen 45 pass from Jones (Beelman kick), 1:49.

Second Quarter

Service — Allen 37 pass from Jones (Beelman), 6:25.

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Service — McLeod 33 pass from Jones (Beelman kick), 4.4.

Fourth Quarter

Service — Norman 56 fumble return (Beelman kick), 10:54.

Chugiak — Regina 55 pass from Stewart (Tulare kick), 10:19.

Service — Safety, Fanning tackled Stewart in end zone, 4:58

Service — Allen 36 pass from Jones (Beelman kick), 4:21.

Chugiak — Snell 9 pass from Stewart (Tulare kick), 1:06.

Chugiak Service

First downs 16 18

Rushes-yards 52-196 36-134

Passing yards 96 335

Passes 5-17-1 28-34-1

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Punts 3-29.7 1-30.0

Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-1

Penalties-yards 7-40 11-82

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Chugiak: Stewart 19-68, Lee 16-53, Lekites 9-50, Regina 4-20, Noah 1-7, Quigley 3-(-2). Service: Jones 20-62, Norman 10-41, No. 44 1-14, No. 28 3-10, Morrell-Bucy 1-4, McLeod 1-3.

PASSING — Chugiak: Stewart 5-17-1—96. Service: Jones 28-34-1—335.

RECEIVING — Chugiak: Snell 2-22, Regina 1-55, Quigley 1-9, Lekites 1-10. Service: Allen 15-222, Norman 5-28, McLeod 3-50, Fromm 3-6, No. 44 1-10, No. 36 1-9.

Doyle Woody

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

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