Eagle River football team sails into title game with late miracle touchdown pass

Trailing by two points with less than two minutes to play in their Division II football semifinal against Lathrop in Palmer on Saturday night, Eagle River's dream season was on the brink as the Wolves faced fourth-and-9 from their own 44-yard-line.

The Wolves needed a miracle at Machetanz Field. They got one.

Quarterback Ryan Adkins lofted a long pass in the direction of Quanard Cox, and the speedy wideout did the rest, catching the pass in stride and racing to the end zone for the biggest touchdown in school history.

"I always tell him just throw it up and I'll go get it," Cox said moments after his teammates stormed the field following the Wolves' 30-24 victory.

Pandemonium erupted after the game, with players either laughing, screaming, crying or staring at each other in stunned disbelief.

"Most of them are crying," said Cox, who scored all four Eagle River touchdowns. "I was earlier."

Jaden Littell threw three first-half touchdown passes for Lathrop (6-3), which led 21-8 at the half after the Wolves could manage only a 6-yard touchdown pass from Adkins to Cox.

But Cox was the difference in the second half, catching a 28-yard strike from Adkins and running in from 29 yards out to make it 24-22 heading into the fourth.

Lathrop had one final chance in the final minute, but the Wolves stopped Brendyn Maschmeier a yard short on fourth down with less than 20 seconds to play to end the threat.

The win moved the Wolves (7-2) into an 11:30 a.m. Saturday showdown against Soldotna (8-1), which is looking for its seventh straight Division II title. Eagle River had never played in a playoff game before this season, but the Wolves are now one game away from winning it all. But Cox said he and his teammates know they've got a tough task ahead.

"We've just got to practice hard all week," he said.

Soldotna 55, Palmer 21

Soldotna soared into the Division II state title game with a 55-21 win over Palmer Saturday at Machetanz Field in Palmer. The Stars (8-1) got five touchdown passes from Jersey Truesdell to reach the title game for the seventh straight year. The six-time defending champions trailed 7-0 early before rolling to a 41-7 halftime lead.

Soldotna will play Eagle River at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Palmer's Machetanz Field for the Division III title.

DIVISION I

East 49, Chugiak 21

Top-ranked East cruised into the Division I semifinals with a 49-21 win over Chugiak Saturday at East High. The Thunderbirds (8-1) led 28-7 at halftime and never looked back against the Mustangs, who finished 1-8.

East will host Colony in next weekend's semifinals. The Knights slammed South 47-0 in Palmer Friday night.

DIVISION III

Barrow 18, Houston 7

Barrow's hopes of winning a second straight Division III championship are alive and well after the Whalers traveled south to Houston and got an 18-7 win over the Hawks. Ben Heather scored two touchdowns for the Whalers, who defeated Homer in last year's title game.

Eielson 55, Ketchikan 0

Eielson reached its fourth state title game in five years with a dominant 55-0 win over Ketchikan on Saturday in Fairbanks. The Ravens won three straight Small Schools titles from 2014-16 before missing out on the playoffs last season.

Eielson will play Barrow at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Machetanz Field in Palmer for the Division III championship.