Two weeks ago, the prospect of the East High football team seizing the No. 1 playoff seed in the Cook Inlet Conference seemed as improbable as rain-drenched Anchorage being rechristened The Sun City.
The T-birds had just lost a league battle to South, which entered winless, in what East coach Jeff Trotter's postgame lament sounded like Murphy's Law played out on artificial turf – anything that could go wrong for the T-birds, did.
Yet, after East's regular season-closing 40-33 victory at Dimond on Friday night, coupled with West's 61-50 defense-optional victory over Bartlett, the T-birds locked the CIC's top seed in next week's large-school state quarterfinals.
The two results also set the seeding order for the CIC's five playoff teams – East, followed by Chugiak, West, Bartlett and Dimond. And that means No. 5-ranked East will play host in the first round against the loser of Saturday's Railbelt Conference clash between West Valley and Lathrop in Fairbanks.
Chugiak will entertain Bartlett in a first-round game, Dimond will travel to Railbelt champion Colony in Palmer and West will travel north to play the winner of the West Valley-Lathrop game.
And if the CIC's regular season is any indication, nothing is a cinch for its teams in the postseason. East, Chugiak, West and Bartlett all finished 4-2 in the conference.
"There's been some crazy ups and downs in the league,'' said East junior quarterback Carson Washburn. "There are no bad teams. Every win is a good win.''
After that disheartening loss to South, the T-birds (6-2, 4-2 CIC) found their equilibrium a week ago with a 32-7 home win over Chugiak, then maintained their momentum Friday at rain-soaked Dimond Alumni Field.
"We took a week off, it seemed,'' Washburn said of the setback to South. "But we went back to what we do best, and now we're rolling. We bounced back like we knew we should.''
What the T-birds do best is pound the football, reveling in the running game. Friday, Johnny Afuvai rushed 25 times for 138 yards, Washburn chipped in 75 yards on 15 carries and East rushed for 284 yards.
Washburn rushed for four touchdowns, the first time he has collected such bounty since, well, "Uh, never,'' he said, deadpan.
Washburn's final touchdown proved the dagger. With East facing third-and-goal from the 13, the T-birds ran a quarterback counter, with Washburn gliding through the defense to give East a 40-27 lead.
"We put our trust in our line, and it paid off,'' Washburn said.
Washburn also threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Wagar in the third quarter, when the Lynx packed all 11 defenders in the box and practically dared the T-birds to pass the ball.
Dimond junior quarterback Kyle Henrickson threw four touchdown passes – two to Dylan Tufaga, who also ran for one score, and two to Kota Ainu'u. His 14-yard strike to Tufaga with 36.2 seconds left cut East's lead to 40-33, but East's Edric Emmsley recovered the ensuing onside kick, and the T-birds ran out the clock.
Dimond (5-3, 3-3), which trailed 26-7 inside the final minute of the first half, used Henrickson's 12-yard touchdown pass to Tufaga to close its gap to 26-13 just 7.9 seconds before halftime. The Lynx were much crisper and more potent on offense in the second half.
"It definitely brings a lot of momentum, even though we lost,'' Henrickson said. "We finished strong, and finishing strong is important.''
You don't have to tell the T-birds. After their conference stumble two weeks ago, they won consecutive games to end the regular season and earned the CIC's No. 1 playoff seed.
East's strong finish did not mark its lone comeback from tough times in the big picture. The T-birds won just one game in each of the two previous seasons, and each time against overmatched Eagle River, so they have come from nearly worst to first.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr
East 0 26 8 6 40
Dimond 7 6 8 12 33
First Quarter
Dimond – Tufaga 4 run (Moran kick), 3:09.
Second Quarter
East – Aufuvai 3 run (Wagar kick), 10:15.
East – Washburn 5 run (Wagar kick), 9:01.
East – Washburn 1 run (kick blocked), 7:10.
East – Washburn 7 run (Afuvai run), :40.
Dimond – Tufaga 12 pass from Henrickson (kick blocked), 7.9.
Third Quarter
East – Wager 15 pass from Washburn (Afuvai run), 6:26.
Dimond – Ainu'u 21 pass from Henrickson (Tufaga pass from Henrickson), :11.1
Fourth Quarter
Dimond -- Ainu'u 3 pass from Henrickson (pass failed), 8:31.
East – Washburn 13 run (run failed), 2:11.
Dimond – Tufaga 14 pass from Henrickson (pass failed), 36.2.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – East: Afuvai 25-138, Washburn 15-75, Malnoske 14-41, Vea 3-9, Logoleo 1-34, Team 1-(-13). Dimond: Tanuvasa 14-85, Zavala 4-10, Tufaga 1-4, Henrickson 3-2.
PASSING – East: Washburn 2-7-1--26. Dimond: Henrickson 17-28-1--188.
RECEIVING -- East: Wagar 1-15, Emmsley 1-11. Dimond: Ainu'u 5-74, Tanuvasa 5-22, Tufaga 4-45, Zavala 3-40.