Chugiak Mustangs cap remarkable playoff run by winning CIC flag football title

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 10

Chugiak celebrates their win as time expires. Chugiak beat West, 12-7, to claim the Cook Inlet Conference flag football championship on Saturday, October 15, 2016. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)

Spurred by a freshman quarterback and a stiff defense, the Chugiak Mustangs capped an impressive playoff run with a title-game victory Saturday to claim the Cook Inlet Conference flag football championship.

Chasity Horn rushed for both touchdowns and racked up a combined 223 passing and rushing yards to lead Chugiak to a 12-7 victory over the West Eagles.

The win marked the Mustangs' third straight upset of a higher seed in the week-long CIC playoffs.

"I've told the girls all year long that I had not seen a team that they could not beat, that I believed in them so they had to believe in themselves," coach Marilyn Campnell said.

Chugiak finished the regular season with a 7-7 record and a ton of promise — four of its seven losses were decided by a touchdown or loss.

The fifth-seeded Mustangs rallied from a 12-0 halftime deficit to knock off fourth-seeded South 27-12 in the first round of the playoffs, surprised top-seeded Dimond 12-6 in the semifinals and then stonewalled second-seeded West in Saturday's finale.

Chugiak (10-7) ended a scoreless game at West High with Horn's five-yard run in the third quarter. Horn scored on a 9-yard run in the fourth quarter for a 12-0 lead and didn't surrender a touchdown until the final two minutes.

West made it 12-7 on Rebecca Syrup's 16-yard touchdown pass to Myah Brennan, but the Eagles (13-4) never got the ball back after that.

"Tears in my eyes," West coach Travis Cantrell said. "We ran out of time. We just didn't have enough timeouts left to stop the clock."

Syrup finished with 114 yards on six of 21 passing, with Brennan catching three passes for 85 yards.

Horn completed eight of 16 passes for 97 yards and carried the ball 18 times for 126 yards. She used her athleticism to make a spectacular play on defense, leaping high in the air to tip a long pass and make a one-handed catch for an interception that was negated by a penalty.

"We just couldn't stop her," Cantrell said. "If you can't contain her she'll hurt you, and we couldn't contain her."

Campnell said the young quarterback plays with both poise and unpredictability. Horn is bursting with personality, the coach said, and the trick is knowing how to manage that.

"Along with all that excellent athletic ability comes a playful personality," Campnell said. "You have to give her freedom to express herself, but at the same time you have to pull her back."

Chugiak's lineup also includes junior Carson Head and sophomore Eva Palmer, who bring considerable talents to both sides of the ball.

Palmer, a nose guard and wide receiver, had five pulls against West. "She just rattles those quarterbacks in the way she gets in there and pulls those flags," Campnell said.

Head punts, kicks and plays safety and wide receiver. All season long, the junior made big plays, including Saturday, when she made four pulls and caught passes worth 71 yards.

"She is a player to be reckoned with," Campnell said.

Chugiak's march to the championship — its first since 2008 — began with the come-from-behind win over South. Against both Dimond and West, Chugiak scored first and never surrendered the momentum.

"The last two games we scored first, and I think that's a huge momentum thing, a huge confidence thing," Campnell said.

Once the Mustangs grabbed the lead Saturday, their defense kept them there.

"This was probably the best defense I have seen, especially from Chugiak," Campnell said. "I give West credit, but our defense was just incredible."