Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- At Palmer High, they don't do subtle when it comes to offense.

No elaborate sleight of hand.

No gimmicks.

No multiple formations, nor guys constantly in motion, nor no-huddle offense -- not that there's anything wrong with those entertaining offensive styles.

Instead, the Moose are firmly grounded in their identity, which is, well, the ground game.

They run left. They run right. They run straight ahead. Then they run some more.

And if that sounds a little predictable -- tough. Remaining an old-school football team has become the old reliable for No. 5-ranked Palmer, which will surely climb in the rankings come Monday.

Rushing the football has been good enough to secure the Moose a state championship, make them a frequent playoff contender and earn coach Rod Christiansen more than 100 career victories.

Friday night furnished evidence of Palmer's football DNA that will be tough to top.

In the course of a 34-19 Railbelt Conference humbling of No. 3-ranked Juneau 34-19 at Fred Machetanz Field, Palmer rushed the ball 46 times. When it came to the passing game, the Moose took a pass -- they did not attempt an aerial.

Running the football yielded the Moose 278 yards, four touchdowns, ample time of possession and physical control of the game. At an average of six yards a pop, what's not to like?

"We like to think we can scheme some stuff up to move the football,'' said Brad Hanson, Palmer's longtime offensive coordinator. "We're gaining yards on most plays, getting in second-and-4 situations, putting ourselves in positive situations.''

Hanson's crew even twice pulled off a play for touchdowns that, for the Moose, was tantamount to sneaky. OK, sure, the play was a simple fullback trap to the weak side. But on consecutive Palmer snaps from scrimmage in the opening minute of the fourth quarter -- one before a Juneau turnover, the other after -- that trap play freed Coleman Ahrens for touchdown runs of 32 yards and 37 yards, respectively, up the right side.

Ahrens ran behind the work of center Kevin Priestley, guards Daniel Contini and Evan Parsons, tackles David Zoerb and Raymond Chapman, and tight end Jeffrey Mitchell. And just in case you were thinking Palmer's wide receivers are merely decoys, wideout Henry Thorne provided Ahrens with seal blocks that put the finishing touches on his scoring scampers.

Those two touchdowns took a game that was tied 13-13 and transformed it into a 27-13 Palmer advantage.

That was no small feat against a Juneau team that was ranked No. 1 earlier this season and has won 43 games and two state titles in the last five-plus seasons.

Until those Palmer traps boxed Juneau into a situation where it was forced to try for home-run plays, this football game looked as if it had been played in a mirror. Namely, everything Palmer did, Juneau did, too.

Palmer's Johnny Daly ran back the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, and teammate Zach Zegzdryn kicked a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter. Juneau matched that with a scintillating 87-yard run by quarterback Alex Fagerstrom and a 30-yard field goal by Joe Slagle.

Slagle gave Juneau a 13-10 lead with a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter. Zegzdryn answered with a 35-yarder later in the quarter to forge a 13-13 tie.

(And, yes, for longtime followers of Alaska high school football, which isn't known for its kicking excellence, that was a combined four field goals in less than three quarters. You would have only been more incredulous if the players wore leather helmets).

In any event, that kicking craziness soon gave way to Palmer's old reliable.

"Our offensive linemen always prides themselves on beating the guy across from them,'' said Palmer's Priestley, the center. "We definitely started to wear them down.''

And so the Moose ran the football some more. Ahrens turned 12 carries into 109 yards, Brennan Bohman bagged 105 yards on 21 carries and quarterback Dustin Silva scored on a late two-yard run that sealed victory.

"It's fun to get out there at summer camp and throw the ball around,'' Christiansen said. "(But) we're trying to do the best we can to help our squad.''

And that means rushing, rushing and more rushing.

It may not be sexy or subtle, but for the Moose it proved satisfying yet again.

This column is the opinion of Daily News reporter Doyle Woody. Find his blog online at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.

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