High School Sports

Friday night football, other outdoor high school activities called off in Anchorage, Mat-Su

Friday night lights gave way to Friday wildfire smoke in Week 2 of Alaska high school football.

All outdoor activities scheduled for Friday in Anchorage and the Valley were called off by school district officials in both places, two days after the Kenai Peninsula school district canceled outdoor activities and banned travel on a smoky stretch of the Sterling Highway.

Three football games scheduled for Friday night in Anchorage and the Valley have been moved to Saturday, and a Saturday afternoon game between Wasilla and North Pole has been moved from the Valley to Fairbanks.

“If the smoke remains and the Districts deem no play tomorrow it will be disappointing but not the end of the world,” said Bartlett High activities principal Josh Green, the Anchorage School District’s go-to administrator for football and flag football. “We are very fortunate that no league games are being played this weekend.”

Off the schedule for Friday night are three games: Service at Bartlett, Dimond at Palmer and Eagle River at Houston.

Two of those games have been rescheduled for Saturday, Green said in an email.

Bartlett and Service will play at 5 p.m. at Bartlett High, and Dimond and Palmer will play at 7 p.m. in Palmer.

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“If for some reason Palmer is still in the smoke and Anchorage is clear both schools have a contingency plan and are ready to move the games to Dimond,” Green said in an email. Such a decision would be made by noon, he said.

The game between Eagle River and Houston, meanwhile, has been rescheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday in Houston. Depending on air quality Saturday morning, the game could be played at 2 p.m. at Colony High.

The game between South and Colony, set for 2 p.m. Saturday at South High, remains as scheduled. As for the Wasilla-North Pole game, it will be played at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Fairbanks, according to North Pole’s Facebook page.

Earlier this week, two Saturday’s football games involving Peninsula schools — Eielson at Kenai and Homer at Redington — were called off when the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District canceled all activities-related travel on the Sterling Highway between Sterling and Cooper Landing, where there’s heavy smoke from the long-burning Swan Lake fire.

Also canceled was the annual Tsalteshi Invitational cross-country meet in Soldotna. Chugiak High will provide an alternative race, the Mustang Smokin’ Stampede, Saturday at the Beach Lake Trails. Varsity races are scheduled to start at 11:20 a.m.

This story has been updated with additional information about the Eagle River-Houston game.

Beth Bragg

Beth Bragg wrote about sports and other topics for the ADN for more than 35 years, much of it as sports editor. She retired in October 2021. She's contributing coverage of Alaskans involved in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

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