Unstoppable Soldotna claims 5th straight state title with 49th straight win

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The Soldotna Stars celebrate their 5th straight medium schools Alaska State football championship after defeating The Palmer Moose 49-13 in Palmer, Alaska, on Saturday, October 15, 2016. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News)

PALMER — With a freshman quarterback at the reins, Soldotna scored 49 points in its 49th straight victory and earned its fifth consecutive state football championship in the process.

The unstoppable Stars bounced back from a shaky showing in the semifinals to trounce Palmer 49-13 Saturday in the medium-school title game at Machetanz Field in Palmer.

Freshman quarterback Jersey Truesdell ran coach Galen Brantley's offense like a pro and the Stars (9-0) were never in danger of relinquishing the lead after scoring first four minutes into the game.

The Moose (5-5) scored both of their touchdowns in the fourth quarter in garbage time.

After the game, Soldotna families and fans joined the team on the field. The players gathered around the championship trophy, holding out five fingers for the cameras to represent a championship streak that started before any of them were in high school.

It was the Stars' ninth state title overall, but it was the first for Truesdell. Truesdell made his first varsity start Saturday in place of quarterback Brandon Crowder, a junior who went down with a broken foot on Oct. 1 in the final game of the regular season.

He saw limited play in a 25-21 semifinal win over North Pole last week, but he ran the show Saturday, passing for 66 yards and a touchdown and orchestrating Soldotna's punishing running game.

"I was a little nervous, but the guys around me picked me up and I knew they had my back," Truesdell said. "I just had to follow in their footsteps."

[East devoured the clock, yardage and Service to reach the large-school state final]

[Eielson bagged a third consecutive state small-school state title]

[Chugiak capped a remarkable run by winning the Cook Inlet Conference flag football title]

Soldotna fullback Brenner Furlong rushed for 269 of the Stars' 400 total yards and recorded five touchdowns.

"Being a state champion is awesome, but our line is the most important part of our team," Furlong said. "They made every single hole for us and just made me and all our backs be able to run."

Soldotna's seven primary blockers — Bryce Martin, Alex Goodermote, Kyle Marcuson, Aseli Finau, Wendell Tuisaula, Jake Marcuson and Andy West — did the dirty work, allowing room for Furlong to scamper for four touchdowns of 25 or more yards. His longest was an 80-yarder in the second quarter that put the Stars up 21-0.

Furlong, a junior who earned Soldotna player-of-the-game honors, didn't just run the ball. He snagged an interception on defense and pulled in a 34-yard reception on back-to-back plays.

"Normally everyone says I don't have very good hands," Furlong said. "Then when I got that (interception) … it blew my mind. The play after that, I caught a pass too and I was like, 'All right, I can deal with this.' "

With most of the focus on Furlong, space opened up for Jace Urban, who finished with 46 yards and a touchdown. Urban scored a 9-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.

When Truesdell wasn't handing off to his backs, he showed poise in the pocket. His lone touchdown pass came on play action on a fourth-and-4 from the 7-yard line, when he hit West, a 6-foot-4 tight end.

The game marked Truesdell's first varsity start, but he is no stranger to the Soldotna playbook.

Truesdell has been playing for his father, Sarge — Soldotna's defensive backs coach and its former head coach in the mid-2000s — and Brantley most of his life. He spent most of the season as the JV quarterback.

"I've got a son that's grown up with him and I've coached him several times in Pop Warner," Brantley said. "His father was a college teammate of mine … He's a great athlete, he's had a lot of great people around him that have groomed him and he was ready for the moment."

Palmer running back Larry Cutsforth rushed for 77 rushing yards and both of his team's touchdowns, but most of his damage came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.

Palmer fought a heavy east-to-west wind in the first quarter and couldn't get the ball into Soldotna territory until the second quarter, when the Stars were already up by two touchdowns.

Jared Oviok (32 yards rushing), Clayton Southwick (31) and Nick DeBach (23) also contributed for Palmer.

Southwick added 18 passing yards, but could have had a lot more. Several deep passes bounced off the fingertips of his receivers.

Soldotna's undefeated season included wins over the two teams that will meet for the large-school state championship Friday — West and East.

Soldotna   14  21  14  0 — 49

Palmer      0   0   0   0 — 13

First Quarter

Soldotna — Furlong 27 run (Jones kick), 8:13.

Soldotna — West 7 pass from Truesdell (Jones kick), 0:55.

Second Quarter

Soldotna — Furlong 80 run (Jones kick), 4:39.

Soldotna — Urban 9 run (Jones kick), 3:06.

Soldotna — Furlong 25 kick (Jones kick), 0:29.

Third Quarter

Soldotna — Furlong 15 run (Jones kick), 6:50.

Soldotna — Furlong 52 run (Jones kick, 2:20.

Fourth Quarter

Palmer — Cutsforth 37 run (Cutsforth kick), 10:15.

Palmer — Cutsforth 50 run (kick failed), 0:06.