Before the installation of artificial turf and the subsequent renaming to honor one of Alaska's coaching icons, Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium's old grass field took muddy beatings on rainy days like Saturday.
Players, coaches, officials and anyone else near the playing surface contended with big sloppy messes before, during and after football games.
Suffice to say, top-ranked West went home from its 28-14 win over determined Eagle River with wet yet filth-free uniforms.
But the Eagles know their actions these last few days have been anything but clean.
West overcame 18 penalties for 149 yards to remain unbeaten overall and in the Cook Inlet Conference (5-0, 4-0). And after the game, Eagles coach Tim Davis confirmed the suspensions of as many as five starters because of what he called academic and off-the-field disciplinary issues the day before West headed to Chugiak to be Eagle River's homecoming-game opponent.
He declined to name the suspended players or describe what they did.
"They're starters, and they made poor decisions," Davis said. "One of the things we pride ourselves on here is teaching kids about life decisions and doing the right things.
"Some of these guys will be out quite a while."
West super sophomore quarterback Conor Feckley guided the Eagles to a pair of quick-strike scores in the first quarter before turning over the remaining scoring responsibilities to junior running back Terry Holtman.
Feckley rainbowed a 45-yard scoring strike to Will Sharp and then dove into the end zone on a 1-yard run to give West a 14-7 lead with 2 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Holtman (13 carries, 137 rushing yards) broke a 14-14 tie with an 18-yard scoring run in the second quarter. He capped his day with a retro, right-out-of-the-Earl-Campbell-playbook 66-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. Holtman broke a fair share of tackles and ran through a defender or two on his way to the end zone.
"That was one of the best runs I've ever seen," said Davis, the second-year coach who improved to 13-0 in two seasons worth of regular-season games.
But when West wasn't piecing together scoring plays, it was thwarting its own efforts with bad penalties. Yellow flags negated three special-teams scores.
Davis said it was hard to know how much the absence of the suspended players messed with the Eagles.
"We're not making any excuses for ourselves," he said. "The guys know if someone is in front of you not to block in the back or grab jerseys."
"The penalties, we did them and we know better than that."
Early on, Eagle River executed a perfect game plan to counter West's offensive weaponry.
The Wolves (1-4, 0-4) controlled the ball throughout the first half. Quarterback Kelechi Madubukos 7-yard run in the opening quarter finished a 12-play, 78-yard drive that ate up 4:36 of clock time. Madubuko threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Steven Carlos in the second quarter, ending a 13-play, 79-yard drive that took almost four minutes.
"I'm fairly happy," Carlos said. "We had a lot of opportunities to tie it up, but it was just one or two blocks here or there. But I'm happy with the way we came out against the No. 1 team in the state."
"Coming into the week, our coaches were telling us (West) was going to walk right by us. We decided to come out and try to punch them in the mouth."
West eventually wore down Eagle River with superlative play-making ability from the likes of J'Vonte Buster -- on offense, defense and special teams -- and senior lineman Lyndon Tulimasaelii.
Buster finished with 205 all-purpose yards, including a 66-yard interception return in the game's final moments. He proved tough to cover on offense (four catches, 96 receiving yards) and defended Eagle River receivers extremely well in one-on-one coverage.
West 14 7 7 0 - 28
Eagle River 7 7 0 0 - 14
First Quarter
Eagle River - K. Madubuko 7 run (Mora kick), 5:06.
West - Sharp 45 pass from Feckley(Troxel kick), 4:42.
West - Feckley 1 run (Troxel kick), 2:41.
Second Quarter
Eagle River - Carlos 12 pass from K. Madubuko (Mora kick), 10:20.
West - Holtman 18 run (Troxel kick), 4:48.
Third Quarter
West - Holtman 66 run (Troxel kick), 5:52.
West Eagle River
First downs 12 8
Rushes-yards 26-176 38-52
Passing yards 150 98
Return yards 184 101
Passes 7-18-2 9-22-1
Punts 3-18.6 4-41.3
Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 18-149 7-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING - West: Holtman 13-137, Feckley 8-20, Craig 5-19. Eagle River: Carlos 15-26, K. Madubuko 12-19, J. Madubuko 3-7, Bell 7-2, Ramey 1-(-2).
PASSING - West: Feckley 7-18-2--150. Eagle River: K. Madubuko 9-22-1--98, Carlos 0-0-0--0.
RECEIVING - West: Buster 4-96, Sharp 2-52, Holtman 1-2. Eagle River: Ramey 3-21, Carlos 3-20, Bell 2-15, Dunn 1-42.
By MATT NEVALA
Daily News correspondent