A pair of undefeated juggernauts will clash Thursday for the right to wear the Railbelt Conference football crown.
No. 1 Chugiak and No. 2 Colony, the only 7-0 teams in Alaska's largest football division, have owned the top two spots in the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network's weekly Division poll since the third week of the season.
The winner will be the only Division I team to finish the regular season undefeated. It also will be the Railbelt's No. 1 seed in the playoffs and the favorite to win the state title.
For the Mustangs, it's also a chance to earn a second straight conference title in their second year in the Railbelt after leaving the Cook Inlet Conference.
"It's everybody's goal to win the conference championship … to get that chance is always a blessing and it doesn't come along every year," Chugiak coach Roger Spackman said. "You gotta be grateful for it and take advantage."
The matchup pits an explosive Chugiak offense against a stingy Colony defense. Led by running back Derryk Snell, who has twice scored six touchdowns in a game this season, the Mustangs average 50.2 points per game over their last five games. Colony has allowed six points per game in that span.
"We both beat Anchorage schools and we both kind of ran through our conference, so it should be a great showdown," Spackman said.
Soldotna, which owns the second longest winning streak in the nation at 56 games, is the only other undefeated team in Alaska.
This week’s playoff implications
East (6-1 overall, 4-0 CIC) already owns the CIC's No. 1 seed and Bartlett (4-3, 3-1) owns the No. 2 seed.
That leaves West and Service — both 2-2 in conference — to fight for the No. 3 seed in Friday's showdown at West. The loser will get the conference's fourth and final seed.
All CIC games kick off Friday afternoon to accommodate the Anchorage School District's no-activities policy on cultural days of significance. The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins Friday evening and ends Saturday evening, so no ASD events can be held during that time.
In the Railbelt, the conference's final two seeds rest on the outcome of Lathrop against West Valley.
A Lathrop win gives the Malemutes the No. 3 seed and Wasilla the No. 4 seed, but a West Valley win will create a three-way tie, to be determined by a series of tiebreakers.
Christiansen to be honored at Potato Bowl
Alaska's winningest football coach will be honored Friday prior to the 39th annual Potato Bowl game between Palmer and Wasilla.
Palmer coach Rod Christiansen earned his 151st win last weekend when the Moose topped Kenai Central to surpass the late Buck Nystrom in all-time wins.
Christiansen will be honored at 7 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. at Palmer.
Conference standings
Division I
Cook Inlet Conference
East 6-1 (4-0 CIC)
Bartlett 4-3 (3-1)
West 3-4 (2-2)
Service 3-4 (2-2)
South 2-5 (1-3)
Dimond 1-6 (0-4)
Railbelt Conference
Chugiak 7-0 (3-0 Railbelt)
Colony 7-0 (3-0)
Lathrop 2-5 (1-2)
Wasilla 2-5 (1-3)
West Valley 2-5 (0-3)
Division II
Northern Lights Conference
Soldotna 7-0 (3-0 Northern Lights)
Palmer 3-4 (3-1)
Kenai 3-4 (1-2)
Kodiak 3-4 (1-2)
Eagle River 2-5 (0-3)
Southeast Conference
Thunder Mountain 5-1 (2-0)
North Pole 5-2 (1-1)
Juneau 3-3 (1-1)
Ketchikan 0-7 (0-2)
Division III
Peninsula Conference
Homer 6-1 (3-0 Peninsula)
Nikiski 3-4 (2-1)
Redington 4-3 (2-2)
Seward 2-5 (1-2)
Voznesenka 1-5 (0-3)
Aurora Conference
Barrow 4-2 (3-0 Aurora)
Eielson 5-2 (2-1)
Houston 4-3 (2-2)
Monroe 4-3 (1-2)
Valdez 0-7 (0-2)
Week 8 schedule
Wednesday's game
6 p.m. — North Pole at Ketchikan
Thursday's game
7 p.m. — Colony at Chugiak
Friday's games
3 p.m. — East at South
4 p.m. — Dimond at Bartlett
4:30 p.m. — Service at West
5 p.m. — Eagle River at Kodiak
5 p.m. — Voznesenka at Homer
7 p.m. — Wasilla at Palmer
7 p.m. — Houston at Redington
Saturday's games
1 p.m. — Barrow at Valdez
1 p.m. — Eielson at Monroe Catholic
2 p.m. — Soldotna at Kenai
2 p.m. — Seward at Nikiski
5 p.m. — West Valley at Lathrop
6 p.m. — Thunder Mountain at Juneau
Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network rankings
Division I
1) Chugiak
2) Colony
3) East
4) Bartlett
5) tie, Service and West
Division II/Division III
1) Soldotna
2) Homer
3) Thunder Mountain
4) Barrow
5) Palmer
ASBN game of the week (93.7 FM)
4:30 p.m. Friday – Service at West