Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- Zach Zegzdryn is quite the kicker. But on a brilliant late-summer evening, with his Palmer Moose facing the defending state champion Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears on Friday at Machetanz Field, Zegzdryn was praying the game wouldn't come down to him.

Zegzdryn needn't have worried, because Coleman Ahrens answered his prayers.

All Ahrens did was run for back-to-back touchdowns -- on the same type of play, no less -- 23 seconds apart in the fourth quarter as No. 5 Palmer downed No. 3 Juneau 34-19 in a key Railbelt Conference matchup.

"I was hoping he would score, because I did not want to be put in that position," said Zegzdryn, who missed a game-winning field goal in overtime last weekend against West Valley, a game Palmer went on to win in double overtime. "I messed up pretty bad last week."

Not this week. Zegzdryn calmly drilled field goals of 38 and 35 yards, with his second field goal tying the game 13-13 with 1:44 to go in the third quarter.

The game was a rematch of last season's large-school state championship, and it lived up to the hype.

Ahrens rushed for 109 yards and Brennan Bohman carried for 105 as Palmer exploded for 24 unanswered points in the second half to beat Juneau.

It was just the second victory for Palmer against Juneau in history. Palmer, which lost to the Crimson Bears in the 2005 state championship, scored its first win against the Crimson Bears only two seasons ago.

Longtime coach Rod Christiansen called it one of his biggest wins. He said Zegzdryn, a soccer player and a junior, played a key part. He said having a kicker like "Ziggy," as teammates call him, is a luxury. Zegzdryn has hit from 53 yards in practice, and is 4 for 5 this season and perfect on point-after attempts. He also booted three touchbacks Friday.

"That's something I've never had to think about before -- like, we're on the 20 (yard line), we can kick a field goal," Christiansen said.

Juneau kicker Joe Slagle was equally as good, hitting two field goals from 30 and 25 yards. His first field goal, from 30 yards, tied the game 10-10 with five seconds left in the half.

Juneau quarterback Alex Fagerstrom was electric, weaving his way for an 87-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and completing 10 of 19 passes for 194 yards. Fagerstrom, normally a receiver, took over as quarterback for Dakotah Smith, who lined up at receiver.

Palmer's Johnny Daly took the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, firing up the Moose faithful.

But it was Ahrens, a 5-foot-9, 178-pound junior running back, who had the biggest impact.

Ahrens bolted 33 yards off the right side on his first touchdown, putting Palmer up 20-13 early in the fourth quarter. That score was set up by Lincoln Maka's fumble, the first turnover of the game.

Maka fumbled again on Juneau's ensuing possession. Guess who recovered? Ahrens, who's also a linebacker.

On the very next play, Ahrens ran 37 yards -- on the exact same play, a trap that fooled the Juneau defense.

"We just wanted it," Ahrens said. "We knew we had to come out and show something, and that's what we did."

Find Ron Wilmot online at adn.com/contact/rwilmot or call 1-907-352-6712.

Juneau7 3 3 6 -- 19

Palmer10 0 3 21 -- 34

First Quarter

Palmer -- Daly 86 kickoff return (Zegzdryn kick), 11:52.

Palmer -- Zegzdryn 38 FG, 3:52.

Juneau-- Fagerstrom 87 run (Slagle kick), 2:37.

Second Quarter

Juneau-- Slagle 30 FG, :05.

Third Quarter

Juneau-- Slagle 25 FG, 7:47.

Palmer -- Zegzdryn 35 FG, 1:44.

Fourth Quarter

Palmer -- Ahrens 32 run (Zegzdryn kick), 11:52.

Palmer -- Ahrens 37 run (Zegzdryn kick), 11:29.

Palmer -- Silva 2 run (Zegzdryn kick), 5:27.

Juneau -- Wilson 2 run (no kick), :00.

JUNEAUPALMER

First downs1513

Rushes-yards33-19846-278

Passing yards1940

Return yards96148

Passes11-20-10-0-0

Punts2-38.53-30

Fumbles-lost3-11-1

Penalties-yards12-1154-20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Juneau: Fagerstrom 15-165, Ma'ake 8-33, Perkins 1-3, Maka 7-1, Smith 2-(-4). Palmer: Ahrens 12-109, Bohman 21-105, Scoresby 2-28, Swetzof 1-37, Silva 5-3, McCall 1-0, Daly 4-(-4).

PASSING -- Juneau: Fagerstrom 10-19-1--194, Smith 1-1-0--9. Palmer: Silva 0-0-0--0.

RECEIVING -- Juneau: Fenumia'i 4-73, Nauwer 3-55, Smith 2-43, Tompkins 2-36. Palmer: None.

PREP FOOTBALL SCORES AND SCHEDULE

Friday's Results

Eagle River 45, Skyview 7

Bartlett 20, Chugiak 7

Bishop Gorman (Nev.) 24, Service 0

Palmer 34, Juneau 19

North Pole 61, Eielson 12

Today's Games

Ketchikan at Houston, 1 p.m.

Lathrop at Dimond, 2 p.m.

Delta Junction at Seward, 2 p.m.

Nikiski at Monroe Catholic, 2 p.m.

Valdez at Barrow, 2 p.m.

Soldotna at Homer, 3 p.m.

Kodiak at Kenai, 3 p.m.

Wasilla at West Valley, 7 p.m.

East at Colony, 7 p.m.

South vs. West, 7 p.m., AFS

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