Sports

Golden Bears ride Falaniko's 5 TDs to 56-28 football win over East

Each football season, Bartlett and East clash for possession of "The Eastside Boot,'' a trophy that honors the memory of former East all-state defensive end Aanooalii "Auno'' Filoialli, who died in a 2002 car accident.

The traveling trophy is topped by one of Filoialli's cleats, and footwear seemed fitting Saturday afternoon when Bartlett ran all over East, and then away from the visiting T-birds, to seize a 56-28 Cook Inlet Conference victory.

No. 5-ranked Bartlett rushed for 520 yards on 56 carries and battered No. 4-ranked East for four third-quarter touchdowns in a span of less than seven minutes. All four scores came from running back Ethan Falaniko, who rushed 27 times for 211 yards and five touchdowns.

Still, Falaniko was far from the only Golden Bear to go straight-up track meet on the T-birds. Jordan Pace scored once and covered 178 yards on 15 carries.

Falaniko and Pace are thunder and lightning of sorts. Falaniko gains much of his yardage with fierce work between the tackles. Pace uses his speed both inside and out, and his ability to zip past containment on the outside can torment a defense if it fixates on Falaniko.

Falaniko's younger brother, Solo, turned seven carries into 77 yards, and also returned a fumble 29 yards for a touchdown. And Markus Sagatu rushed five times for 54 yards and a touchdown.

The first half was a study in offensive contrasts. East engineered long drives and ate up the clock. Bartlett answered with quick-strike scores. East possessed the ball for 18 minutes, 29 seconds to Bartlett's 5:31 in the first half, yet Bartlett hit the break with a 15-14 lead.

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East (2-1, 0-1 CIC) opened the game with an 11-play drive capped by quarterback Carson Washburn's 9-yard touchdown run. Bartlett (2-1, 1-1 CIC) in the second quarter tied the game on a one-play drive – Pace raced 64 yards.

East regained the lead, 14-7 with just 1:12 left before half, courtesy of Nate Hague's 5-yard touchdown run to close a six-play drive. Bartlett responded with a four-play drive that required just 46 seconds. Sagatu, whose 28-yard carry proved a pivotal play on the possession, scored on a 5-yard run.

The T-birds again regained the lead on their first possession of the second half, just two plays after Ralph Toleafoa recovered a Bartlett fumble. Johnny Afuvai scored on a 38-yard run, his longest carry on a day he carried East's offense with 142 yards rushing on 22 carries.

After that, though, it was nearly all-Ethan all the time. Falaniko scored his third-quarter touchdowns on three short runs, and also added a 59-yarder just to mix it up.

Afuvai's 10-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter cut Bartlett's lead to 42-28.

But Bartlett late in the quarter went double-Falaniko – Ethan scored on a 1-yard run and Solo two plays into East's subsequent possession picked up a fumble and cruised 29 yards to the end zone.

Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr

East 7 7 8 6 28

Bartlett 0 15 27 14 56

First Quarter

East – Washburn 9 run (Wagar kick), 7:05.

Second Quarter

Bartlett – Pace 64 run (Carey kick), 4:49.

East – Hague 5 run (Wagar kick), 1:12.

Bartlett – Sagatu 5 run (Pace run), 26.3.

Third Quarter

East – Afuvai 38 run (Washburn run), 10:03.

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Bartlett – E. Falaniko 2 run (run failed), 7:01.

Bartlett – E. Falaniko 3 run (pace run), 5:09.

Bartlett – E. Falaniko 59 run (Carey kick), 2:43.

Bartlett – E. Falaniko 4 run (run vailed), 45.6.

Fourth Quarter

East – Afuvai 10 run (kick blocked), 10:10.

Bartlett – E. Falaniko 1 run (Carey kick), 3:56.

Bartlett – S. Falaniko 29 fumble return (Carey kick), 3:15.

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHINGEast: Afuvai 22-142, Logoleo 4-41, Washburn 7-39, Smith 3-15, Atanoa 3-7, Hague 1-5, Williams 1-2, Todd 1-(-3). Bartlett: E. Falaniko 27-211, Pace 15-178, S. Falaniko 7-77, Sagatu 5-54, Egoak 2-0.

PASSINGEast: Washburn 10-18-0--74. Bartlett: Egoak 1-2-0--18.

RECEIVINGEast: Suiaunoa 3-21, No. 81 3-19, Franklin-Santacrose 2-22, Openiano 1-8, Hague 1-4. Bartlett: Colley 1-18.

Doyle Woody

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

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