Anchorage Daily News

In some states, high school football under Friday night lights is like religion.

In Anchorage, religion will keep the lights off this weekend.

Because of an Anchorage School District policy barring extracurricular events on certain holidays, Cook Inlet Conference football games will be played today and Thursday instead of the usual Friday-Saturday format. Friday at sundown marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashana, also known as the Jewish New Year.

The holiday, which lasts through sundown Sunday, is one of 12 "blackout" holidays of religious or cultural significance during which the school district does not allow extracurricular activities. The policy was enacted by a unanimous vote of the school board in 2007.

Though the policy has been hailed as a victory for cultural sensitivity by religious leaders, it's not sitting as well with CIC football coaches, whose players aren't accustomed to playing games in the middle of the week.

Chugiak head coach Duncan Shackelford's team plays Thursday against Service. Shackelford said football is a violent sport that requires plenty of rest for its players, and he's worried that having three days to prepare could be a health and safety issue.

"Football's a different animal," from other sports, he said. "Football's not a contact sport, it's an impact sport and it's a collision sport."

School District superintendent Carol Comeau said the district was sensitive to the rest issue for players in contact sports when the policy was debated.

"I understand the concern, but we feel for this one week it's really important to honor the policy," she said.

Shackelford, whose team lost to South on Saturday, said the Mustangs are preparing for Service as best it can given the short week of practice.

"You're going up against probably the best passing team in the state and we've got to get our defense ready in three days," he said.

Service coach Jason Caldarera worries that players coming off a short week could be more vulnerable to injury.

"That was the concern for all of us as Cook Inlet coaches," he said.

Caldarera said his team has been utilizing breaks and lunch periods during the school day to game-plan for the Mustangs, as well as getting in extra practice time after school. He said Monday's practice began earlier than usual and ran later.

"We're being proactive about it," he said.

Like Shackelford, Caldarera said he understands why the policy is in place, but wishes something could be done to give football players more time between games.

"It's their policy," he said. "Let's just hope nobody gets hurt."

Adding an extra wrinkle is the timing of the holiday. This week marks a pivotal point in the season for CIC teams, with four teams -- Service, Chugiak, South and Bartlett -- fighting for three playoff berths.

Bartlett coach John Jessen said he's using the short week of practice to preach to his players that they must overcome adversity in order to be successful.

"Life's tough and it's a good life lesson," he said.

Jessen said there's no point in complaining about the policy.

"There's only so much you can control as a head coach. We don't control what happens above us. You just have to adjust," he said. "That's what they pay us the big money for."

West, Kenai hold onto top spots

The Eagles held onto their No. 1 large-schools ranking in the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network's statewide media poll for the second consecutive week, joining Colony as the only teams to hold the top spot for two weeks in a row.

West beat Eagle River 35-9 on Saturday to buck a trend that had seen three other teams lose in their first week at the top. North Pole, Bartlett and Service all fell in the week following their coronations, but West proved impervious to the curse, getting 338 yards of total offense from quarterback Justin Kauffman to remain undefeated on the season.

The 6-0 Colony Knights remain No. 2 after cruising to a 44-19 Railbelt Conference win over Wasilla, while South moved up two spots with its 32-28 win over Chugiak. Bartlett's 24-14 win over Service earned the No. 4 Golden Bears a return to the rankings after a month-long absence, while North Pole also got back into the mix following a 26-14 Railbelt win over previously fourth-ranked Juneau.

In the small-schools poll, Kenai, Eielson and Soldotna held onto the top three spots, while Kodiak moved up one spot to No. 4 and Nikiski entered the poll at No. 5.

EAST VS SOUTH

RECORDS: East 1-4 CIC, 1-4 overall; South 4-1, 5-1

TIME: 7 p.m. today at Chugiak Stadium

LAST MEETING: South won 34-13 last season

PLAYERS TO WATCH: East running backs Jordan Daniels and Asanti McCrae combined for 226 yards on 15 carries in the T-birds' 34-21 win over Dimond last week. South has three running backs averaging at least 50 yards per game. Elliott Bauer (92.0 ypg), Matt Higgins (52.7) and David Sollars (50.8) headline a South attack that leads the CIC in both rushing and total offense.

THE SKINNY: East will need to re-create the magic it found last week against Dimond in order to have a shot against South, which can clinch its fifth consecutive playoff berth with a victory.

WEST at DIMOND

RECORDS: West 5-0, 6-0; Dimond 0-5, 0-6

TIME: 6 p.m. today

LAST MEETING: Dimond won 26-7 last season

PLAYERS TO WATCH: West's Sharp brothers -- senior Michael and junior Will -- have combined to catch 25 passes for 345 yards and six touchdowns. Lynx quarterback Ahmad Nasir (623 passing yards, 136 rushing) has accounted for nearly three-quarters of Dimond's offensive output this season.

THE SKINNY: It's worst versus first, as playoff-bound West looks to remain unbeaten while Dimond continues to search for its first win.

CHUGIAK VS SERVICE

RECORDS: Chugiak 3-2, 4-2; Service 3-2, 4-2

TIME: 7 p.m. Thursday at Anchorage Football Stadium

LAST MEETING: Service won 38-0 last season

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Running back Greg Ghramm leads the CIC in yards (661) and attempts (119) for the Mustangs, the conference's second-best rushing team. Service quarterback J.J. Christy is the CIC's top passer, but has thrown eight interceptions in back-to-back Service losses.

THE SKINNY: The biggest game of the week features a classic match-up of running and passing teams. The winner will be in good shape to make the playoffs, while the loser will likely need help next weekend to get in.

BARTLETT VS EAGLE RIVER

RECORDS: Bartlett 3-2, 4-2; Eagle River 1-4, 2-4

TIME: 7 p.m. Thursday at Chugiak Stadium

LAST MEETING: Bartlett won 68-13 last season

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Bartlett quarterback Willie Highlander is eighth in the CIC in passing yards but ranks second in the conference behind Chugiak's Chris Wood with a 54 percent completion rate and is tied for third with seven touchdown passes. Eagle River all-purpose back Brandon Metzel leads the team with 245 rushing yards and is second on the team with 10 receptions.

THE SKINNY: Bartlett can't afford to stumble against the upstart Wolves. The Golden Bears control their own playoff destiny, but need to watch out against an Eagle River team that has already won two games -- one more than in three previous seasons.

Find Matt Tunseth online at adn.com/contact/mtunseth or call 257-4335.

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