The Colony Knights foiled the curse that's come with the No. 1 ranking in Alaska football this season.
Colony walloped Lathrop 46-0 Friday night in Palmer to become the first team to win a game the same week it ascended to the top spot in the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network's large-school rankings.
Matt Jaronik and Kenyon DePriest connected twice for long scoring pass plays to stake Colony to a 32-0 halftime lead.
Jaronik threw for three touchdowns in the first half, including a spectacular completion to DePriest on third and 38 early in the second quarter. The 44-yard play took Colony into the end zone and gave the Knights a 13-0 lead.
Jaronik, a senior in his first season at quarterback, finished with 106 passing yards, 41 rushing yards and caught a pass for six yards. He also returned a punt into the end zone, but a penalty negated the touchdown.
"He without a doubt is the best athlete on our team," Colony coach Jamie Mayo said. "They all know that."
The victory should keep Colony atop the polls for another week. If they hold onto their ranking, the Knights would be the first team this season to keep the No. 1 ranking more than a week. Preseason pick North Pole lost its season opener and Bartlett, the next No. 1, lost during the second week of the season.
Colony improved to 3-0 overall, 2-0 in the Railbelt Conference. Lathrop dropped to 0-3 and 0-2.
In other action Friday, the Kenai Kardinals showed why they're the top-ranked team among small schools with a 41-0 shutout of Nikiski, one of three shutouts Friday. Besides Colony's rout, Homer blanked Skyview 21-0.
Wasilla and East barely managed to avoid getting shut out -- North Pole spanked Wasilla 61-6 and Bartlett stopped East 41-6.
Elsewhere, Juneau suffered its first loss of the season, losing 46-13 in Utah, and West outdueled Chugiak 37-21 in a game of unbeaten teams.
N. Pole 61, Wasilla 6
Lee Jones picked apart Wasilla's secondary, firing five touchdown passes in the first half to lead North Pole to a 61-6 Railbelt Conference victory over the visiting Warriors.
Three of Jones' first-half scoring strikes came on bombs -- 58 yards, 56 yards, 54 yards. Two of them landed in the arms of Phillip Hingst, who also hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first half.
Wasilla briefly made a game of it when Isaiah Edwards returned a kickoff 66 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter, cutting North Pole's lead to 12-6.
North Pole moved to 2-1 in the Railbelt and 2-1 overall, while Wasilla slipped to 0-2 in the conference and 0-3 overall.
Kenai 41, Nikiski 0
Sophomore quarterback A.J. Hull threw for four touchdowns and ran for a fifth to power top-ranked Kenai's 41-0 shutout of host Nikiski.
Hull twice connected with Silas Rodriguez and twice with Kai Risung for touchdowns. Kenai also scored twice on the ground, with Billy Kiefer rushing for the only touchdown Hull didn't figure in.
With the nonconference win, Kenai upped its overall record to 3-0. Nikiski dropped to 1-2.
Homer 21, Skyview 0
Anthony Resetarits burst 32 yards untouched for a touchdown with 88 seconds left, putting the finishing touches on Homer's 21-0 Northern Lights Conference victory Friday over Skyview.
The game was scoreless through three quarters before the Mariners scored from two yards out with just under 10 minutes to go. Less than two minutes later, Homer returned an interception 35 yards for a 14-0 lead.
It was the second straight shutout victory for the Mariners, who evened their conference record to 1-1 while improving to 2-1 overall. Skyview fell to 0-1 in the league and 1-2 overall.
Bartlett 41, East 6
Jamal Hale rushed for 183 and two touchdowns on 21 carries as Bartlett got the boot from East.
Getting the boot is a good thing when Bartlett and East play, because the winner takes home the East Side Boot. The trophy is named after former East High player Aanooalii "Auno" Filoialii, who was killed in a 2003 car crash.
Bartlett claimed the trophy the first year but the T-birds owned it for six straight years -- a streak that ended Friday at Chugiak Stadium.
Jordan Blount O'Connor broke loose for a 74-yard touchdown on a punt return to highlight a big first half for the Golden Bears, who led 29-0 at the break.
Bartlett, which was coming off a two-point loss to South, improved to 1-1 in the Cook Inlet Conference and 2-1 overall.
East dropped to 0-3 in the conference and 0-3 overall.
Utah 46, Juneau 13
Juneau-Douglas will return from its visit to the Lower 48 with the kind of souvenir the Crimson Bears would rather do without -- a loss.
Juneau lost for the first time this season, falling 46-13 to the Pine View Panthers of St. George, Utah. It was the season opener for the Panthers, a perennial contender in Utah's 4A classification.
Pine View raced to a 28-0 halftime lead and Juneau never recovered. The Crimson Bears fell to 2-1.
West 37, Chugiak 21
In a battle between a pair of undefeated Cook Inlet Conference teams tied for the No. 5 ranking in the state, West outlasted Chugiak in a back-and-forth game at Dimond Alumni Field.
This was one for the defenses, which scored one touchdown for Chugiak and three for West.
In fact, it was a pair of fourth-quarter defensive scores -- a 74-yard fumble return by David Solomona and a 38-yard interception return by Siaosi Sila -- that sealed the victory for the Eagles.
West upped its record to 3-0 in the Cook Inlet Conference and 3-0 overall, while Chugiak slipped to 2-1 in the league and overall.
Chugiak scored first, but West caught up quickly to lead 19-7 at the half.
After Chugiak roared back with two touchdowns in the third quarter for a 21-19 lead, West took the lead for good on a 33-yard field goal by Thomas Troxel with just under eight minutes left in the game.
In the first half, Colby Mitchell got things going for Chugiak with a 55-yard interception return, the only score of the first quarter.
West owned the second quarter, scoring twice on runs by quarterback Justin Kauffman and getting a 71-yard interception return from Jay Taylor.
Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4335.
Photos: High school football: week 3
By BETH BRAGG
bbragg@adn.com