Meet the 4 QBs playing in the Alaska state football semifinals

Even in Alaska high school football, where most teams run far more than they pass, it's the quarterbacks who orchestrate the offenses. They make sure the players are in position, read the defense at the line of scrimmage and carry out the plays.

Here's a look at the four signal callers starting in the large-school state semifinals this weekend.

Bartlett's Aaron Egoak: Small stature, big heart

Standing at 5-foot-5 and weighing 150 pounds, Bartlett senior Aaron Egoak has had doubters ever since he decided he wanted to play quarterback.

During his freshman year, coaches asked players who wanted to play quarterback, and Egoak raised his hand. One coach told him to put his hand down.

"When you're short, you just have a lot of doubters," Egoak said. "It's always gonna be like that … You just gotta prove people wrong."

Bartlett co-coach John Jessen told him to keep his hand up, and four years later Egoak is finishing his second season as the signal caller for the 8-1 Golden Bears, who play West on Friday.

"He's a hard worker and he's worked his way through our program for four years," Jessen said. "He's persistent, became the starter and never relinquished it."

Egoak is dwarfed by his massive offensive linemen — the biggest stands 6-4 and weighs more than 300 pounds — but that hasn't stopped him from throwing the ball when called upon.

He said the linemen do a good job opening windows for him. Sometimes, plays allow him to roll out of the pocket, giving him a better view of the field.

"I'm not gonna lie, it is tough to see over those big linemen, especially those 6-foot, 6-3 guys," Egoak said. "So it's pretty tough, but you gotta do what you gotta do, especially being 5-5."

Bartlett uses a run-heavy offense, where two or three different backs can get the ball on any given play. The success with the run opens up the pass for Egoak.

"That's why I like this offense," Eogak said. "You get to where you bring the defense in and then where you can just throw it over the top."

Egoak said he looks up to Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, who is 5-11. Wilson silenced doubters with an NFL Super Bowl victory in 2014.

"Everybody wants a 6-foot quarterback, but it doesn't have to be that way," Egoak said. "If you can make plays just as much as a 6-foot player then you'll be all right."

East's Sam Logoleo: Forced into new role

The last time Sam Logoleo played quarterback for an extended period, he was in the fifth grade.

The East senior served as quarterback Carson Washburn's backup for four years, from C team all the way through varsity. When Washburn went down with a season-ending collarbone injury three weeks ago, Logoleo took over.

"It's a lot of pressure," Logoleo said. "… it blew my mind that I had to play quarterback, because I wasn't ready for it."

Heading into Saturday's game against Service, Logoleo has started two games at quarterback, getting wins in both.

Washburn serves as his coach on the sidelines.

"I try to give him some of the basics, mechanics stuff, help him out with the throwing," Washburn said. "Mainly it's just the little details involved with the plays or a little piece of advice about dealing with our linemen, stuff like that."

For most of the season, Logoleo's main focus was defense, where he earned all-Cook Inlet Conference honors at defensive back.

On offense, he spent time at wide receiver and running back, taking only a handful of snaps at quarterback.

The majority of his focus in recent practices is learning how to play his new position.

"I played defense my whole life, so I know what's going on," Logoleo said. "Quarterback, not so much."

Despite injuries to the offense — running back Johnny Afuvai has also missed games late in the season with injury — the T-birds have relied on solid defense to get wins, which has eased the offensive burden on Logoleo.

Logoleo remains a mainstay on an East defense that allowed a CIC-low 11.4 points per game this season. The next best is West at 19.1 points.

Service's Xavier Harris: Explosive and versatile

The only football Xavier Harris watches regularly is game film of his next opponent.

At a glance, the Service quarterback's combination of running and passing abilities presents a similar style to college football's Heisman Trophy hopefuls Lamar Jackson of Louisville and Deshaun Watson of Clemson — but Harris wouldn't know.

"I don't watch sports on TV," Harris said. "I'm just normally outside playing or doing something. (It's) more productive than sitting on a couch."

After missing a game with a concussion, the speedy junior passed for 196 yards and ran for 124 in a win over Chugiak in the state quarterfinals. Spin moves in the middle of the field, double moves between defenders and long touchdown passes to the corner of the end zone were among the weapons in his arsenal last Friday.

"I think Xavier brings a level of athleticism, an explosiveness that isn't in a lot of athletes," Service coach Jason Caldarera said. "He's kind of that new-age quarterback that you see in college football. Those guys that can zone-read and pass."

Harris' abilities earned him first-team all-Cook Inlet Conference honors, but the junior hasn't had a perfect season. In back-to-back games against Lathrop and South early in the season, Harris threw a combined six interceptions.

When he struggles — or when coaches want to use his versatility at another position — the Cougars turn to sophomore quarterback Jason Villanueva-Kaeo.

Villanueva-Kaeo isn't as much of a runner as Harris, but he adds depth and versatility to the offense.

"He's got amazing passing ability and my running ability is (better), so that opens up the field for our coaches," Harris said.

Villanueva-Kaeo threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns and Harris had four catches for 44 yards and a touchdown against East in a regular-season loss. The Cougars face the Thunderbirds at 4 p.m. Saturday.

West's Qyntyn Pilcher: Making his own way

When junior Qyntyn Pilcher took over at quarterback for West this season, it was his first year wearing an Eagles jersey.

He transferred from Dimond — where his older brother Vondell Pilcher led the Lynx to the state semifinals last season — to defending state-champion West, where he took over for all-conference quarterback Sean Duffy.

Duffy left big shoes to fill, but Pilcher said he's trying to make his own path this season.

"I kind of try to make my own footsteps, be that different kind of quarterback," Pilcher said. "I trained with Sean over the summer … so me and Sean are really good. He showed me some of the tricks that he uses on the field. I took a lot of information from him."

Pilcher said playing for years behind his brother also helped him step into his first starting spot on a varsity team. He mostly played JV last season at Dimond.

"Playing behind my brother was inspirational, because I look up to my brother a lot," Pilcher said. "I like the way he played. I try to mimic some of the stuff he does, because he was a pretty explosive player."

Having a couple of dynamic wide receivers helps too. Among Pilcher's targets this season are wide receiver Turek Taylor, the CIC offensive player of the year, and fellow all-conference first-team receiver A.J. Su'esu'e.

"They definitely make my job easier," Pilcher said. "I just do my best to make my receivers look good."

Pilcher and the Eagles play Bartlett in a rematch in Friday's large-school state semifinal. The Golden Bears beat West 28-10 on Sept. 3.

Pilcher said he played one of his worst games of the season in that game, completing 10 of 28 passes for 70 yards with an interception.

"I think the most growth I've seen is being able to read defenses a little bit better," Pilcher said. "I think that is gonna help me a lot in this game, because Bartlett did a really good job of scheming for us last time."

ASAA/ First National Bowl State football

Large school
Semifinals
Friday
7 p.m. — West vs. Bartlett, FM 97.3
Saturday
4 p.m. — Service vs. East, FM 97.3

Medium school
Championship
Saturday
12:30 p.m. — Palmer vs. Soldonta, GCI (cable Ch. 1)

Small school
Championship
Saturday
4 p.m. — Houston vs. Eielson, GCI (cable Ch. 1)