With a timeout called late in the opening half, the Quad City DJ’s “C’mon ’N Ride It (The Train)” tested the stability of the Tom Huffer Sr. Stadium sound system. The bass-heavy banger debuted in 1996 — two years after the last time Soldotna and Chugiak faced each other on the football field.
In 1994, Chugiak handed Soldotna a lopsided loss in the single-classification state playoff quarterfinals. The teams met Friday for the first time since then, and the Stars avenged themselves and their predecessors from back in the day quite nicely.
Soldotna sophomore Garhet Medcoff ran up and down Blahous Field to the tune of 184 rushing yards and three touchdowns while the defense stymied Chugiak from the start.
Coming off a rare loss last week, the Stars cruised to a 35-0 victory in the Northern Lights Conference matchup.
Soldotna’s 22-game winning streak ended last week at Lathrop, and it wasn’t that long ago the school enjoyed a 59-game victorious run. Safe to say, these guys aren’t used to losing.
“We came into this one angry and ready to mess some stuff up,” said Medcoff, who scored on runs of 19, 66 and 18 yards. “I know the seniors were especially sad because they were part of winning teams that won championships.”
Soldotna and Chugiak play in the same Division II league in the latest revamping of high school football by the Alaska School Activities Association. The Stars and Mustangs are joined in the Northern Lights Conference by Eagle River, Palmer and Wasilla. Two of those squads will qualify for the postseason as will two squads from the four-team Railbelt Conference — Kodiak, Lathrop, North Pole and West Valley.
“I think (the new DII) is awesome, one of the best things to happen to Alaska high school football,” said Soldotna coach Galen Brantley Jr. “We’re now in a phenomenal league with a bunch of schools with 700-900 students. We’re all very similar, in types of towns and school enrollment.
“It’s going to be very competitive for years to come. Hopefully, they can just leave it alone for a little while instead of someone getting their feelings hurt at the end of the year and trying to force change.”
Soldotna’s famed if not flashy veer option scheme took a little while to get untracked Friday. Medcoff scored his first touchdown in the first quarter and his second with only 34 seconds remaining in the half. Chugiak’s defense played well in spots, despite Soldotna finishing with 331 total offensive yards.
A freshman seeing his first varsity action turned in one of the top performances for the Stars’ defense. Linebacker Wyatt Faircloth approached Brantley during the offseason and wanted to know how he could get on the field.
“I told Wyatt we usually bring some freshmen up near the end of a season,” Brantley said.
Early injuries and Faircloth’s emerging talent changed those plans dramatically, Brantley said. Faircloth recorded three tackles for losses and was part of a defense that held the Mustangs to 180 total offensive yards — and 40 of those came on a pass play in the final seconds.
“You know after a long day, how you may sit down and eat ice cream? It turns out to be the best day ever, OK?” said Faircloth, a wrestler in only his second year of organized football. “That’s how great the communication and the brotherhood was out there tonight.
“It was a little scary at first, but so awesome.”
Junior Brayden Taylor scored on a 41-yard run and senior Dylan Dahlgren caught a 10-yard touchdown pass for Soldotna. Chugiak senior Justin Tagle finished with 56 rushing yards and sophomore Jacob Stoltenberg had 55 receiving yards.
The Stars improved to 1-1, and the Mustangs dropped to 1-2 after winning last week at Homer, a Division III school.
“We didn’t use (Soldotna) coming off a loss as any kind of additional motivator,” Chugiak coach Ryan Landers said. “We always talk about learning, growing and getting better every day.
“We have a lot to learn and are learning. But we did some really good things tonight.”
Next week, Soldotna welcomes DI Service to the Peninsula for a non-league affair. The Mustangs also go non-conference but will stay at the DII level when West Valley comes to town.
Matt Nevala’s radio show, “The Sports Guys,” on KHAR AM 590 and FM 96.7 (@cbssports590) is currently on hiatus. Find him on social media at @MNevala9.