Anchorage Daily News

Bartlett High head football coach John Jessen knows preseason media polls aren't worth much once the pads are strapped on.

"I don't pay too much attention to it," he said.

While Jessen might not be keeping his eyes on the polls, pollsters have his squad squarely in their sights.

The Golden Bears, who lost in the first round of last season's playoffs to eventual large-schools champion Service, are ranked No. 2 in the first edition of the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network poll.

Railbelt Conference power North Pole, a state semifinalist last season which returns a senior-laden lineup, is the top-ranked team in the large schools division. Juneau-Douglas, runnerup last season, is ranked No. 3, South is No. 4 and the Colony Knights are No. 5. The poll is voted on by broadcasters and print media across Alaska.

Jessen said he's not even sure his squad should be ranked as the favorite in the Cook Inlet Conference.

"It's a surprise," he said of the team's lofty ranking. "We've been on a drought (where) we haven't beaten South or East, so we should be ranked behind those guys."

Like Jessen, North Pole head coach Richard Henert said he thinks his team is getting more credit than it deserves.

Henert said North Pole lost 22 seniors from last year's squad, and he's somewhat baffled by the high ranking.

"I wouldn't agree with it, but how do you put out a preseason poll?" he said.

Henert speculated that media voters may be giving the Patriots credit for the team's strong showing last season.

"Maybe it's out of respect for how hard the team played last season," he said.

Among small schools, three-time defending champion Soldotna starts the season with the No. 1 ranking.

Riding a 29-game winning streak, the Stars will be looking to etch their names in the Alaska high school record books Saturday when it plays West at Anchorage Football Stadium. With its win in last year's title game, Soldotna tied East High for the longest winning streak in state history. The Thunderbirds won 29 in a row from 1985-87.

While the Stars have been the dominant program in the small-schools division over the past three years, head coach Galen Brantley said things will be much more difficult for his team this time around.

"We're not the team we've been in the past few years," he said Tuesday.

Brantley said the Stars lost a lot of players from last season and is no longer the team to beat this year. That distinction, he said, belongs to No. 2 Eielson.

"I think clear-cut they're the most talented team in the state," he said.

Rounding out the small-schools poll is Kenai Central at No. 3, Kodiak at No. 4 and Barrow at No. 5. Also receiving votes were Valdez and Homer.

Kenai Peninsula teams -- Nikiski, Kenai and SoHi -- have won every small-schools title since the division was formed in 2000, but Brantley said he thinks this year's race could be more wide-open than most.

"There's definitely a lot more horses in the race."

Matt Tunseth can be reached at mtunseth@adn.com or call 257-4335.

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