A swarming secondary propelled Lathrop to a 48-34 football victory over Service in wild Saturday afternoon football game at Service.
Points were scored on offense, defense and special teams, but it was five interceptions by Lathrop — three for touchdowns — that made the biggest difference.
Some Lathrop players yelled, "This is a no fly zone" at points during the game as a constant reminder of Lathrop's ball-hawking cornerbacks and safeties.
"We just wanted to come down and play a good football game," Lathrop coach Luke Balash said. "We felt like we didn't give West much of a game (in a loss) last week … Our DBs were 180 degrees better today with those pick-6s."
Going into the game, Lathrop wide receiver/defense back Zach Kosa had never scored a touchdown. He scored three Saturday, including an interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter that put the Malemutes (2-1) up by two scores.
Service (2-1) never got closer than two scores for the rest of the game.
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"This is my first year playing varsity and this is the first game I scored a touchdown in," Kosa said.
The versatile Kosa also handled kicking duties for Lathrop and didn't miss an extra point.
He finished with eight catches for 87 yards and was quarterback Joshua Hernandez's favorite target. Hernandez finished with 244 passing yards.
It was Hernandez to Kosa that put the first points on the scoreboard after a steady first drive to open the game 7-0.
Lathrop started its second drive in good position at their own 49-yard line and Hernandez found RJ Henry for a 40-yard touchdown to go up 14-0.
Service recovered from its slow start with two touchdowns to tie the game at 14-14 — one on a 12-yard run by quarterback Xavier Harris in the first quarter and one on a 4-yard run by running back Dominik Norman in the second quarter. Norman finished with 132 rushing yards.
In a rapid-fire second quarter Service and Lathrop combined for three touchdowns in a one-minute span, and Lathrop led 21-20.
A pick-6 by Lathrop's Ashonte Williams put Lathrop up 28-20 right before halftime. Then came Kosa's pick-6 in the third quarter that all but put the game out of reach for Service.
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The Cougars were led by quarterback Harris, who finished with 152 passing yards, 104 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns and an 80-yard kick return touchdown, but he threw three interceptions.
Backup quarterback Jason Villanueva-Kaeo also tossed two interceptions.
Williams and Henry finished corralled two interceptions apiece for Lathrop.
The Malemute win marked the second time this weekend a Fairbanks team left Anchorage with a victory over a Cook Inlet Conference team. West Valley beat South for the first time in school history on Friday, 42-21.
"It feels like it's been a while since something like that happened," Balash said. "We're really happy for them. They're our cross-town rival, but we still love to see them be successful."
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Lathrop plays an Anchorage team for the third straight week next weekend with a Saturday home game against Chugiak.
Service hosts South on Friday for its first conference game.
Lathrop 14 14 14 6 — 48
Service 7 13 6 8 — 34
First Quarter
Lathrop — Kosa 8 pass from Hernandez (Kosa kick), 7:23.
Lathrop — Henry 40 pass from Hernandez (Kosa kick), 3:11.
Service — Harris 12 run (Harris kick), 1:21.
Second Quarter
Service — Norman 4 run (Harris kick), 7:57.
Lathrop — Kosa 23 pass from Hernandez, (Kosa kick), 7:23.
Service — Harris 80 kick return, (pass failed), 7:06.
Lathrop — Williams 80 interception return, (Wagar kick), 0:32.
Third Quarter
Lathrop — Kosa 65 interception return, (Kosa kick), 10:08.
Lathrop — Henry 40 interception return, (Kosa kick), 6:16.
Service — Harris 5 run, (pass failed), 3:03.
Fourth Quarter
Lathrop — Farris 3 run, (pass failed), 7:36.
Service — Harris 18 run, (Norman run), 0:01.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Lathrop: Washington 13-31, Farris 4-22, Hernandez 8-2, Henry 1-(-1), Anders 1-(-2). Service: Norman 20-132, Harris 13-104, Wade 4-11, Fanning 2-11, team 1-(-11).
PASSING — Lathrop: 14-24-0–244, Kosa 0-1-0–0. Service: Harris 9-17-3–152, Villanueva-Kaeo 2-5-2–6.
RECEIVING — Lathrop: Kosa 8-87, Henry 2-73, Wagar 2-49, Martin 1-24, Williams 1-14. Service: Fromm 2-60, Jackson 2-27, Hogan 2-22, Lema 2-19, Norman 2-4, Williams 2-27.