Chugiak rolls Colony to win 2nd straight Railbelt football championship

In front of a packed house at Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium, the Chugiak Mustangs left no doubt about who's the best Division I football team heading into the state playoffs.

Chugiak dominated in all facets of the game in a 44-25 win over Colony on Thursday in a battle of unbeatens that decided the Railbelt Conference championship. It's the second straight title for the Mustangs in their second year in the conference.

"We handled our business," said Chugiak wide receiver Ramal Maad. "Just to be able to see an 8-0 (record) … I'm glad to have helped bring it."

The Mustangs' potent offense scored 14 more points than Colony had allowed in its previous five games combined.

The Knights (7-1 overall, 3-1 Railbelt) went into the contest allowing 8.1 points per game on the season. But they were unable to slow down a Derryk Snell-led Mustangs attack that racked up more than 450 yards of offense.

Snell continued his incredible scoring season with four touchdowns to bring his season total to 32.

Snell and quarterback Hunter Harr connected on a 45-yard touchdown on Chugiak's first offensive play of the game.

It was a sign of things to come. The senior running back/wide receiver caught eight passes for 171 yards and rushed for 67 yards.

Harr finished the game with 147 yards passing and 52 yards rushing — one fewer than his brother, Austin, with 53.

Also powering the Mustangs (8-0, 4-0) was Maad, a senior wide receiver who rushed, caught and passed.

Maad rushed for a pair of touchdowns, but his biggest play came on a trick-play pass. Harr flipped the ball to Maad, who stepped back and heaved it to a streaking Snell for a 41-yard gain late in the third quarter.

"That's something we've been working on for a team like this," Maad said. "As soon as coach called it, I told Derryk, 'I'm going to hit you, be ready.' "

The play set up Chugiak deep in Colony territory. Three plays later, Snell found the end zone from four yards out and the Mustangs went up 41-17 on the extra point.

The Mustangs delivered another blow on the ensuing kickoff when Terry Park sprinted downfield and pounced on the football at the 32-yard line before a Colony player could touch it.

The play gave possession back to Chugiak and the Mustangs too advantage by running more time off the clock and scoring their final points on a Thomas Sitz 27-yard field goal that made it 44-17 in the fourth quarter.

With their offense struggling, the Knights found other ways to score. Senior Oliver Wyche returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score in the first quarter, junior defensive back Julian McPhail reeled off a 48-yard pick-six and junior kicker Noah Krozel nailed a 35-yard field goal to make the halftime score 27-17, Chugiak.

But the Mustangs continued to keep the Colony offense in check in the second half and the Knights couldn't recover.

With the regular season complete, Chugiak will be the Railbelt's top seed and Colony will be the No. 2 seed heading into next month's state playoffs.

Chugiak will face the loser of Friday's game between Service and West, which are fighting for the Cook Inlet Conference's third seed. Colony will play the winner.

Chugiak started the season with a win over the CIC's No. 1 seed, East, the reigning state champs. T-birds, who haven't loss since, round out the season Friday at South.

Colony 7 10 0 8 — 25 

Chugiak 13 14 14 3 — 44

First Quarter

Chugiak – Snell 45 pass from Harr (Peck kick), 10:19.

Chugiak – Maad 3 run (kick failed), 2:16.

Colony – Wyche 90 interception return, (Krozel kick), 2:16.

Second Quarter

Chugiak – Snell 35 run (Sitz kick), 11:45.

Chugiak – Snell 6 pass from Harr (Sitz kick), 7:51.

Colony – McPhail 48 interception return (Krozel kick), 5:42.

Colony – Krozel 35 field goal, 0:23.2.

Third Quarter

Chugiak – Maad 19 run (Sitz kick), 4:00.

Chugiak – Snell 4 run (Sitz kick), 0:37.9.

Fourth Quarter

Chugiak – Sitz 27 field goal.

Colony – Christy 8 run (Kizer run), 5:44.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Colony: Christy 8-48, Jimenez 10-36, Kizer 5-14, Hessinger 6-12, team 3-5, Leavitt 1-4, PcPhail 1-1. Chugiak: Snell 15-67, A. Harr 12-53, H. Harr 7-52, Maad 5-47, Huffer 4-37, Chapple 1-11, Wedel 2-4, Tomasoulo 2-2, team 2-(-8).

PASSING – Colony: Kizer 0-6-0–0. Chugiak: Harr 10-16-1–147, Maad 1-1-0–41.

RECEIVING – Colony: None. Chugiak: Snell 8-171, Carlos 1-12, Maad 1-8, A. Harr 1-(-3).