High School Sports

West bounces back with big football win over Dimond

Going into Saturday's game against Dimond, coach Tim Davis' message to his team was clear: win or the Eagles would be a long shot to make the state football playoffs.

His team responded in a big way.

The Eagles rolled past the Lynx 42-7 on Dimond's Homecoming day, scoring touchdowns on the ground, through the air and on defense.

"Coach said if we didn't win we wouldn't make it to the playoffs, so it was a deal-breaker," said sophomore safety Dhar Montalbo, who took his first career interception 97 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.

"(The win) is a big game-changer for us. I think this is going to boost us in the upcoming three weeks."

West (2-3 overall, 1-1 Cook Inlet Conference) has played a daunting schedule this season, with losses to Division II's top-ranked Soldotna, which owns one of the nation's longest winning streaks at 54 games, and Division I's top-ranked Colony and third-ranked Bartlett.

Against Dimond (1-4, 0-2), everything was clicking for the Eagles.

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"I think we just had the mindset that … those tough games only made us stronger," said West quarterback Qyntyn Pilcher.

West opened the game with back-to-back touchdown passes by Pilcher.

The dual-threat senior bought time with his legs on a broken play and found senior A.J. Su'esu'e for a 20-yard touchdown three minutes into the game. He connected with sophomore Zai Mendoza on a 30-yarder that capped a 85-yard drive later in the quarter.

Dimond had the ball for less than two minutes before West went up 14-0 in the first quarter.

"The last couple games we've been very inconsistent with our passing game, so hopefully this will boost our consistency," said Pilcher, who passed for 176 yards and rushed for 41 yards and one score. "I think it gives everybody momentum."

Pilcher's passing was complemented by a ground game led by senior Savon Bell and his 136 yards and two TDs.

West also scored twice on defense. In addition to Montalbo's interception return, C.J. Candido and Javin Iloilo stopped Dimond's Kekoa Tufaga in the end zone for a safety that made it 22-0 West in the second quarter.

The West defense finished with five takeaways — four interceptions and one fumble recovery.

At times, the Dimond offense showed flashes of consistency. After the safety, the Lynx took advantage of a West fumble at midfield. Seven plays later, quarterback Ryan Beach threw his first career TD pass to running back Kekoa Tufaga, who barreled through defenders at the goal line for a 9-yard score.

Tufaga (72 yards total offense), Beach (59 passing yards) and Paris Motuga (97 yards total offense) paced the Lynx, who will try for their first conference win next week against Service (2-3, 1-1).

West will try to keep rolling next week against South (1-3, 0-2).

"Getting this first (conference) game is really good," Pilcher said. "The rest of the season is conference games for us, so getting this win was really big to get some momentum going down the line."

West        14 15 13 0 — 42

Dimond    0  7   0  0 — 7

First Quarter

West — Su'esu'e 20 pass from Pilcher (Harjehausen kick), 8:49.

West — Mendoza 30 pass from Pilcher (Harjehausen kick), 4:05.

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Second Quarter

West — Bell 10 run (Harjehausen kick blocked), 11:13

West — Team Safety, 8:48.

Dimond — Tufaga 9 pass from Beach (Arend kick), 6:53.

West — Pilcher 23 run (Harjehausen kick), 4:03.

Third Quarter

West — Montalbo 97 interception return (Harjehausen kick), 4:32.

West — Bell 34 run (Harjehausen kick failed), 4:11.

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — West: Bell 11-136, Pilcher 14-41, Mendoza 8-17, Martinez 3-8, Ieti 1-2. Dimond: Tufaga 17-54, Motuga 9-37, Rescober 2-27, Beach 2-14, Tapafua 1-8, Arend 2-2, team 1-(-2).

PASSING — West: Pilcher 12-21-0–176, Mendoza 0-1-0–0. Dimond: Beach 7-17-2–59, Motuga 5-19-2–50.

RECEIVING — West: Su'esu'e 6-79, Harjehausen 3-37, Mendoza 1-30, Gladney 1-20, Bell 1-10. Dimond: Arend 2-33, Horning 3-27, Tufaga 2-18, Fisher 1-14, Motuga 3-10, Kress 2-8.

Stephan Wiebe

Stephan Wiebe writes about all things Alaska sports.

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