High School Sports

Snell you later: Chugiak cruises behind Snell’s 6 TDs

You have to go back to Derryk Snell's Pop Warner football days to find a better game than the Chugiak senior enjoyed Saturday afternoon against Lathrop.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder rumbled for 300 yards of total offense and six touchdowns in the Mustangs' 61-13 victory over Lathrop at Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium.

"My brother and my coaches were saying, 'I want five (touchdowns),' " Snell said. "Then I got six. In Pop Warner I think I got seven one time."

After Chugiak fumbled on its first two drives, Snell went around the right side and scored a 74-yard touchdown run on the first play of its next drive.

The Mustangs added four more touchdowns in the second quarter and dominated on both sides of the ball.

Chugiak (4-0, 2-0 Railbelt Conference) finished with 488 yards of offense and snagged seven takeaways on defense, including a 40-yard fumble return by Ty Carlos that helped the Mustangs to a 21-0 second-quarter lead.

The win was the Mustangs' second straight 60-plus point performance — they beat West Valley 60-12 last weekend — and they won with their backup quarterback playing most of the game.

ADVERTISEMENT

Starting quarterback Hunter Harr dinged his shoulder on a sack in the first half, but not before throwing a jump ball to Snell, who snatched the ball over a Lathrop defender and spun into the end zone for his second touchdown.

After Harr went to the sideline, fellow senior Aaron Tomosoulo took the reigns and looked comfortable directing the attack.

Tomosoulo completed 6 of 7 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns.

"I finally got to show what I can do, so it was a great feeling," Tomosoulo said.

Tomosoulo's favorite target was Snell, who caught both his touchdown passes and nearly caught a third, but was just out of bounds.

"I felt like I was back to the freshman and sophomore year, just catching passes," said Snell, who caught four passes for 132 yards. "They moved me from a real wide receiver spot to the slot and then running back."

Snell is up to 12 touchdowns this season. He started the season with a three-touchdown performance in a 20-7 win over defending state champion East.

Lathrop (0-4, 0-1) was marred by turnovers and injuries throughout the game. Several Malamutes went down with injuries, including defensive back/wide receiver Zach Campbell and running back Trey Wonser (43 yards).

"We lost several starters through the course of the game and some of them could be long term," Lathrop coach Luke Balash said. "That absolutely affected us and our ability to compete, but that's no excuse.

"We love those guys and we hope they get back on the field with us."

Next week, Lathrop will continue to hunt for its first win against North Pole (4-0) and Chugiak will travel Outside to take on Green Canyon (1-2) of North Logan, Utah.

Haar said he hopes to be back under center for the Mustangs, but if he's not ready, Tomosoulo said he'll be ready play.

"I can't control who plays and who doesn't," Tomosoulo. "All I can control is my effort and what I do and make sure I give 100 percent every day."

Lathrop 0 7 0 6 — 13

Chugiak 7 28 26 0 — 61

First Quarter

Chugiak – Snell 74 run (Peck kick), 4:40.

ADVERTISEMENT

Second Quarter

Chugiak – Snell 23 pass from H. Harr (Peck kick), 11:43.

Chugiak – Carlos 40 fumble return (Sitz kick), 11:38.

Chugiak – Snell 39 pass from Tomosoulo (Peck kick), 7:56.

Chugiak – Snell 71 pass from Tomosoulo (Sitz kick), 4:36.

Lathrop – Hernandez 25 run (Kosa kick), 2:06.

Third Quarter

Chugiak – Snell 25 run (Peck kick failed), 10:35.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chugiak – Snell 3 run (Sitz kick blocked), 8:37.

Chugiak – Sisson 7 run (Dearborn kick), 5:23.

Chugiak – Wedel 27 run (Dearborn kick), 4:03.

Fourth Quarter

Lathrop – Kosa 62 pass from Littell (Littell pass failed), 7:22.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHINGLathrop: Wonser 9-43, Hernandez 9-27, Story 4-5, Little 2-3, Henderson 3-1, Anders 1-(-9), Kosa 1-(-6), team 2-(-15). Chugiak: Snell 9-168, Maad 4-31, Wedel 1-27, A. Harr 5-26, Sisson 4-24, Oshesky 1-23, Huffer 4-9, Tomosoulo 2-8, Harr 3-(-1), team 1-(-8).

PASSINGLathrop: Littell 1-2-0–62, Hernandez 3-10-3–30. Chugiak: Tomosoulo 6-7-0–156, Harr 2-2-0–25.

RECEIVINGLathrop: Kosa 2-74, Bockert 1-17, Anders 1-1. Chugiak: Wedel 1-22, Maad 3-27, Snell 4-132.

Stephan Wiebe

Stephan Wiebe writes about all things Alaska sports.

ADVERTISEMENT