A kid from the top of the world helped put his college football team on top of the NAIA world on Saturday.
Sione Tuifua, a sophomore from Barrow, caught a touchdown pass to help the Morningside Mustangs win their second straight NAIA national championship with a 40-38 victory over Marian University.
Tuifua, who caught a six-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter of the shootout, is one of two Alaskans who play for Morningside. Bartlett High alum Otto Ducasse is a junior offensive lineman for the Iowa team, which finished the season 14-0.
Two other Alaskans saw their seasons end this weekend with playoff losses.
Derryk Snell, a redshirt freshman for Montana State, caught one pass in a 42-14 loss to North Dakota State in the semifinals of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in Fargo, North Dakota. North Dakota State will play for the FCS championship against James Madison.
In the Division III national championship game in Shenandoah, Texas, Colony’s Julian McPhail and his Wisconsin-Whitewater teammates lost 41-14 to North Central of Illinois. McPhail is a freshman defensive back for Whitewater, which ended the season 13-2.