For Soldotna football team, hard work and a hard schedule go hand-in-hand

At Soldotna High, they don't punch down.

Winners of a state-record 49 straight football games and owners of five consecutive medium-school state championships, the Stars' three victories over large-school teams last season included two against powers from the Cook Inlet Conference.

They edged eventual large-school state champ East, 22-21, with a marathon fourth-quarter drive capped by a go-for-broke two-point conversion in the final minute. They knocked off West, the 2015 large-school champ and eventual 2016 runner-up, 49-30 in the season opener.

Soldotna's nonconference docket this season is again ambitious, and stacked. The Stars open Friday night at West, then play Dimond and South of the CIC before heading to Oregon to play Crater High, a 5A team in a state where the largest schools by enrollment play in 6A.

"We absolutely love big games, testing our kids against their potential, and these games allow us to do that,'' said Soldotna coach Galen Brantley Jr.

The Stars have gone 97-5 and won eight state titles in Brantley's 10 seasons, and they covet a difficult nonconference schedule.

"We like to prove ourselves,'' said senior quarterback Brandon Crowder, an all-state pick last season.

Senior running back Brenner Furlong, last year's medium-school Offensive Player of the Year, said a tough schedule demands the detail-oriented Stars to consistently be at their best. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"If we were playing (small-school) Nikiski and Seward, we wouldn't be prepared every single day to be the best team we can be,'' Furlong said.

Soldotna hasn't lost a varsity game since its current seniors were just beginning the seventh grade. The Stars' last loss was to Palmer in their 2012 season-opening game.

Brantley credits his program's success, and its ability to stiff-arm complacency, to upperclassmen who mentor young players, a coaching staff that focuses on teaching, players who regularly show up for offseason weightlifting and a supportive administration.

"We have all the right ingredients,'' he said.

[Soldotna claims 5th straight state football title]

Furlong recalls that when he was a freshman and a sophomore, Soldotna star Drew Gibbs took him under wing. At the time, Furlong wasn't pegged as a future star.

He said he was inspired by Gibbs' consistent work ethic, humility and devotion to team. Gibbs eventually went on to college football despite a serious knee injury to start his senior year.

"I thought, 'I might be able to do this,' '' Furlong said. " 'I might be able to be good.' ''

These days, leadership responsibilities fall to guys like Furlong, Crowder and senior linebacker Wendell Tuisaula, last season's medium-school Defensive Player of the Year.

"Us three, and some other seniors and even some younger guys who are leaders, know we have to play well, and lead well, for us to win games,'' Crowder said.

[At Soldotna, winning is all in the details]

Crowder said part of Soldotna's success stems from the culture Brantley and his staff have instilled. Selflessness, accountability and teamwork are mandatory — "We're not 11 individuals; we're one team,'' Furlong said — and the Stars simply focus on their next game.

In the days leading up to last season's opening game, Brantley and his players often talked about their respect for West High. Yet neither the coach nor his players ever brought up, unprompted, the team's winning streak or the notion of a fifth straight state title.

"I'm not sure why, but we don't talk about it much,'' Crowder said. "One person doesn't talk about it, so another person doesn't talk about it. It's just, 'Hey, let's get this win,' and so we go out and do it.''

And so Soldotna, the team in the 49^th state with the 49-game winning streak, the team that scored 49 points last season in its season-opening win against West and another 49 in its state-championship win over Palmer, heads back to West on Friday seeking a 50^th straight win.

Barring terrible weather, expect a big crowd at the on-campus venue the Eagles call The Nest.

"People either want to see us slaying the giant or they're tired of hearing about us and want to see us slaughtered,'' Brantley cracked.

The Stars wouldn't have it any other way. As they see it, a hard schedule is part of their hard work.

"We're not going to be the most loved people there, and I love it,'' Furlong said.