For Soldotna Stars, winning streak and state titles are all in the details

SOLDOTNA – Posted on the ceiling above Jace Urban's bed is a diagram of a West High pass play. It's the last thing he glimpses at night before he cuts the light and embraces sleep, and it's the first thing he sees in the morning.

Urban is a senior defensive back for the Soldotna Stars, the four-time defending state medium-school football champions and owners of a state-record 39-game winning streak.

Defending state large-school champion West and its explosive passing game is blowing into town for Friday night's season opener, and Urban intends to be prepared. He has posted West pass plays throughout his family's home – in his bedroom, in the kitchen, on the bathroom mirror.

"Everywhere,'' Urban said. "I want to be mentally ready for that game.''

Linebackers in a Stars practice drill this week barked "Pass! Pass! Pass!'' as they retreated into pass coverage on the artificial turf at the school's Justin Maile Field, and "Run! Run! Run!'' as they bolted forward toward the line of scrimmage.

Meanwhile, as head coach Galen Brantley, Jr., who doubles as the offensive coordinator, called out plays in another drill, offensive linemen performed the first step they make on the called play. Brantley encouraged tiny adjustments – the angle of a player's foot or the relation of a player's elbow to his hip.

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"It's the little details, guys,'' Brantley said.

They're big on the seemingly small things at Soldotna, which is a principal reason the Stars have become a big thing – seven state titles in the nine seasons under Brantley and a 39-game winning streak that, according to CBS MaxPreps, is tied for the fifth-longest streak in the nation.

Countdown to new season

Haphazardly posted high on the walls in the football team's locker room are various proclamations from the Alaska Legislature honoring Soldotna's state championship teams.

One proclamation, recognizing the 2006 small-school champs – state football since has expanded from two to three classifications based on enrollment —  is randomly shoe-horned in a corner, stationed between rows of lockers, its location nearly hidden from view as if slapped there as an afterthought.

More eye-catching is a horizontal, digital clock, perched atop lockers, that counts down the time until Friday night's season opener against West. On this day, as the Stars prepare to head out to practice following a classroom session, the clock reads 3 days, 2 hours, 30 minutes, 44.3 seconds – details, details, details. Propped in front of the clock is a sledgehammer colored orange and black, West's colors.

The countdown clock initially was posted in the weight room as a carrot of sorts, and a reminder time was running out to prepare for the big night.

"I can tell you when that countdown clock went up – 163 days to go,'' offered Brenner Furlong, a junior running back and linebacker.

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Work, work, work

The Stars hit the weights four days a week during the offseason, often starting at 6 a.m., and often laboring in close quarters because so many players reported for work.

"Kids expect it of each other,'' Brantley said. "It wasn't uncommon this summer to have 60 kids out there. It's team-building, and it builds camaraderie.''

That work ethic has developed into the culture of the program, upperclassmen setting an example for younger players. The offseason weight-lifting was often followed by sprint work up a hill adjacent to the football field.

"It starts when you're a freshman,'' said Kyle Marcuson, a senior all-state lineman. "You look at the older guys and see how hard they work. You do the same.''

When Marcuson was a sophomore on the varsity team, he often practiced on the scout team, which mimics plays used by an upcoming opponent. He recalls older teammates encouraging his best effort, even if he was simply manning a tackling dummy.

"You need everybody to win,'' Marcuson said. "You've just got to do your best every play. You keep doing it over and over, and over again. As soon as you stop doing that, you'll stop being great.''

Beyond attention to detail and an earnest work ethic – Brantley implores his players to compete in at least two other school sports to foster conditioning and athleticism — the Stars' staff and players emphasize treating one another as family.

Brantley and his staff favor encouragement, constructive criticism and teaching. In the course of two practices this week, Brantley and his staff rarely raised their voices. They were demanding, but never demeaning.

Older players tutor and encourage younger players – "because we're trying to be good role models for the next generation,'' Furlong said.

Words like "accountability'' and "trust'' reign. One of Brantley's mottos: "Do the right thing'' — in the classroom, in the community, on the football field.

A practice blocking drill this week split the varsity into two groups.

"Losing team does 10 pushups,'' Brantley said, swiveling his head to address both sides. "You got all those guys on your back. Don't let them down.''

Later, when a false start penalty occurred during a point-after kick, a consequence followed.

"Everyone give me five,'' Brantley said. "That's what it feels like when we move five yards back.''

Building a family

One of the conditioning standards the Stars must meet every season involves running and team-building.

The team must average a certain time over a certain distance, and they will run the test two or three times a week until the goal is reached. One afternoon this week, the distance was 400 meters and the goal was an average time of 65 seconds. Furlong banged out a 55-second lap to lead the way and then immediately circled back to cheer on slower teammates.

"We have to have the whole team,'' Furlong explained after practice. "We'll never do anything successfully if we're not a family.''

That notion wasn't lost on senior Aseli Finau, a defensive end, tight end and offensive tackle. He spent his first two seasons of high school football at West High in Anchorage before his family moved to the Peninsula and he joined the Stars.

At Soldotna, he quickly realized the program mirrored the one run by West coach Tim Davis, who has guided the Eagles to three large-school state titles in the last six seasons.

"At West, it's all about discipline, and when the coach talks, you listen,'' Finau said. "It's about family, and hard work, and staying together, because family is all you have.

"When I came here, it was like nothing changed. I missed my boys, but I have boys here. I'm so lucky, so happy. The scenery may have changed, but nothing else did.''

The Streak

The last time the Stars lost a football game was their 2012 season opener. They fell 27-7 to a Palmer team that ended that season with a large-school state semifinal loss to eventual state champion South.

Since, it's been nothing but W's and four straight state titles. No current Soldotna player has ever lost a game. Urban, 18, thinks his last loss came in Pop Warner football, so long ago he can only ballpark his age then at 12 or 13.

Yet while the Stars don't know defeat, they understand duty. There's nothing noticeable in the locker room that hints of The Streak. Brantley grins and shrugs – he's proud of The Streak, sure, but he's more concerned with the process, and winning state titles, than The Streak.

"It's been a way of life,'' said Brantley, a 1993 Soldotna graduate and former Star who teaches history and weightlifting. "The pressure of the streak – it's never been as big a deal as it is to people on the outside.''

In two days of practices this week, no coach referenced The Streak to players. They talked about the challenge of playing West. They talked details. They talked practice habits. But they never cited The Streak.

Still, the players feel the weight of The Streak.

"We feel the responsibility, the burden handed down,'' Furlong said. "We have a streak. When I graduate, hopefully we still have that streak.''

Marcuson likewise hopes to escape his senior year unscathed.

"It puts a little pressure on you because you want to be great, like every other team before you,'' he said.

39 the hard way

It's not as if Soldotna has taken an easy path to 39 straight. The Stars opened last season like they will this one — by entertaining the defending state large-school champ, a school, like West, with at least double Soldotna's enrollment of roughly 700.

Last year, Soldotna beat South High of Anchorage, 21-17, on the way to a 10-0 season. Marcuson called that victory his highlight of the season.

Both Brantley and West coach Tim Davis believe that whatever Friday night's outcome, both the Stars and Eagles will benefit by playing tough competition in a nonconference game rather than scheduling a certain victory.

"Good teams tell truth to you,'' Davis said. "It's a win-win deal.''

The Soldotna-West game was essentially scheduled in one call. Brantley phoned Davis.

"Hey, you wanna break our streak?''

"Yeah.''

"Gotta come to our place.''

"OK.''

The Stars are thrilled to start the season against the large-school champs. Anticipation fueled them in the offseason.

"Our coach wants us to be challenged, for us to be pushed to the limit, testing our strength,'' Urban said.

Yet, just as Soldotna's coaches didn't bring up The Streak to players, Stars players this week didn't bring it up unless prompted. They didn't pump their own tires.

Furlong, who called playing West "a big responsibility,'' said his older brother, Brooks, who quarterbacked Soldotna to the 2013 state title, has kept him in check.

" 'Don't think you're too good, don't say you're too good,' '' Furlong said of his brother's advice. " 'Just work, work, work.' ''

Marcuson said he keeps humble by remembering his brother Tyler's senior season in 2011. The Stars beat rival Kenai Central in their last regular-season game, but lost to Kenai in the state semifinals. Kenai went on to win the state title.

"It keeps you from never taking advantage of being on top,'' Marcuson said.

Dominating with deception

The only thing nearly as certain as a Soldotna victory in any given game – besides the Stars' current 39-game run, they have enjoyed winning streaks of 29 games and 19 games – is that the offense will be halted by an inadvertent whistle.

This occurs because Soldotna's variation of the running-heavy wing-T offense – "Pound The Rock'' is a Stars motto — is based on deception. A running back carries out a fake handoff so convincingly that he is tackled by an opponent. An official buys the fake too and blows his whistle. Meanwhile, the actual ball carrier is often off to the races, though to no avail, since the play has been whistled dead.

That's frustrating, certainly, but also flattering.

"It's almost a compliment,'' Brantley said.

The offense often employs three running backs, lined up horizontally and close together, behind the quarterback.

"There are four kids back there and anyone can run it,'' Brantley said. "It's such an unselfish style.''

Running backs are schooled to sell their fakes hard and continue them well beyond the line of scrimmage to best trigger misdirection. Offensive linemen must employ precise, nimble footwork to carry out blocks, often while on the move.

"The only reason you have success is because of the other 10 guys,'' Furlong said. "You get a (defensive player or two) going for the guy without the ball and we're playing nine- or 10-on-11 football.''

Davis, the West coach, marveled at the precision of Soldotna's offense, which he said requires a defense to be resolutely disciplined in its assignments.

"They absolutely sell it,'' Davis said. "For the casual viewer, or even (an opposing) coach with eyes in the backfield, you'll get fooled more times than not.''

Soldotna routinely rushes for 400 or 500 yards or more in a game, and routinely piles up 50 or more points. In four of their last five state championship wins, the Stars have scored at least 56 points. Three years ago, in three playoff games, they delivered 69 points, 63 points and 56 points. In 2010's run to the title, they went for 55, 61 and 77.

The defense has been no slouch either. The record 39-game winning streak has featured nine shutouts.

Whatever Friday's outcome – The Streak gets pushed to 40 or gets busted – the Stars, a family built on hard work and attention to details, still harbor another ambition.

"The state championship,'' Marcuson said, "is what stays in the books.''