Never underestimate the power of the Darkside.
After a season of getting snubbed in the media polls and called out online, South's football team settled things once and for all with a 35-14 win over Bartlett at Anchorage Football Stadium to complete a perfect Cook Inlet Conference season and win the conference crown.
"Teams thought the whole year they could call these guys out," said South coach John Lewis. "We didn't listen to it."
Senior Justice Augafa scored all five South touchdowns and finished with a game-high 270 yards on 20 carries. He played quarterback for most of the game, filling in for a banged-up Colin Thompson, and also had a pick-six on defense that sealed the victory.
"He's amazing," said South linebacker Matt Keogh, who often has to face Augafa in practice. Keogh's advice for playing against the 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster?
"Tape your ankles," he said.
Lewis said Augafa proved he's the best player in the state with his virtuoso effort Thursday.
"Love him," Lewis said. "Gatorade Player of the Year right there."
Although undefeated against Alaska competition, South (7-0 CIC, 7-1 overall) didn't take over the top spot in the ASBN poll until Bartlett lost last week to West. But there was still plenty on the line heading into Thursday's contest, which could have seen Bartlett claim the CIC's top spot.
South quickly turned the highly anticipated showdown between Alaska's No. 1- and No. 4-ranked large-school squads into a one-team show. Or, more accurately, a one-man show.
Augafa rushed for touchdowns on runs of 45, 67 and 1 yards to lift the Wolverines to a 21-0 halftime lead.
After each touchdown, the South band played "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" from the Star Wars movies -- an homage to the team's unofficial "Darkside" moniker.
"He's impossible to stop, damn near," said Bartlett co-coach John Jessen of South's star.
Augafa's first two scoring runs were spectacular. On the first, the senior took the direct snap in the wildcat formation, broke a tackle and turned on the jets to make it 7-0 after less than two minutes of play. On the second, he danced from one side of the field to the other, leaving bewildered Bartlett defenders grasping for air as he dodged and darted his way down the field.
His 1-yard plunge just before halftime was Augafa's only ho-hum touchdown of the night, and it came one play after he electrified the South faithful with a 4-yard run on third down that ended with an acrobatic flip just short of the goal line.
South dominated the first half, outgaining Bartlett 236-137 behind 155 yards from Augafa.
But the Golden Bears weren't going to go without a fight, and Bartlett marched down the field on its opening drive of the third quarter, going 70 yards on 14 plays capped by an 11-yard scoring pass from Tala Sappa to Dana Atafua.
Bartlett forced a South punt on the Wolverines' ensuing drive, and Jordan Pace punctuated a nine-play, 83-yard drive with a 23-yard scamper that cut the South lead to 21-14 entering the fourth quarter.
Just like he did in the first half, Augafa took over late. His 40-yard touchdown run with 7:50 left to play gave South some breathing room, and his interception return with just over a minute left sealed the deal.
Bartlett (5-2 CIC, 6-2 overall) outgained South 374-342, but the Golden Bears needed 79 plays to accumulate those yards compared to just 40 for South.
"Hey, we were the first team to move the ball on them," said Jessen, who remained upbeat after the loss.
Bartlett running back Ethan Falaniko was his usual bruising self, rushing for a team-high 181 yards on 33 carries. Bartlett piled up 23 first downs, but South's defense forced two turnovers and notched eight tackles for a loss.
Keogh said going undefeated in CIC play and earning a conference title is something South's 23 seniors will always remember.
"It's just a good record to keep," Keogh said. "It feels amazing."
South will enter next week's large schools playoffs as the No. 1 seed from the CIC and will face the third seed from the Railbelt Conference. Bartlett will finish either second or third in the conference depending on the outcome of Friday's games.
Jessen said he's happy with the way his team responded in the second half against South and feels the Golden Bears gained momentum with their strong showing against the state's No. 1 ranked team.
"We wanted to go into the playoffs with momentum, and I think we did that," he said. "It's a whole new season."
As for the leader of Alaska's dominant football empire, Augafa said he felt "fine" about the win, but noted the Wolverines still have a long way to go before their mission is complete.
"We've just got to go put in more work," he said.
Correction: The original print version of this story misstated Bartlett's ranking in the most recent statewide football poll. The Golden Bears entered the game ranked fourth, behind South, No. 2 Lathrop and No. 3 West.
Contact Matt Tunseth at 257-4335 or mtunseth@alaskadispatc.com
Bartlett 0 0 14 0 — 14
South 7 14 0 14 — 35
First Quarter
South — Augafa 45 run (Seglem kick), 10:04
Second Quarter
South — Augafa 67 run (Seglem kick), 8:13
South —Augafa 1 run (Seglem kick), 1:47
Third Quarter
Bartlett — Atafua 11 pass from Sappa (Carey kick), 7:24
Bartlett — Pace 23 run (Carey kick), 1:45
Fourth Quarter
South— Augafa 40 run (Seglum kick), 7:50
South — Augafa 66 interception return (Seglum kick), 1:10
Bartlett South
First downs 23 15
Rushes-yards 64-340 37-342
Passing yards 34 10
Passes 5-15-2 1-3-0
Punts 3-27.3 4.41.8
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 2-10 5-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Bartlett: Falaniko 33-181, Lobendahn 13-68, Pace 9-60, Sappa 5-18, Atafua 4-13. South: Augafa 20-270, Sdettle 9-61, Jarrell 1-6, Hanks 1-(-1).
PASSING — Bartlett: Sappa 5-15-2--34. South: Thompson 1-1-0--10, Augafa 0-2-0--0.
RECEIVING — Bartlett: Pace 3-11, Falaniko 1-12, Atafua 1-11. South: Devoe 1-10.