For the second time in three visits to Anchorage in the last month, the Juneau Huskies flew back to the capital city with an impressive victory taking up room on the plane.
This time, the Huskies all but guaranteed the road to a Cook Inlet Conference championship and top seeding in the postseason goes through Juneau.
The Huskies sidestepped a wealth of potential pitfalls with one momentum-shifting play after another Saturday afternoon, scoring 20 second-quarter points and a 27-14 win over a Bartlett team that had won three straight games.
Juneau improved to 5-1 overall and in league play with only next weekend’s home clash with South standing in the way of CIC glory.
“We’ve created this formula, stuck with it and it works for us,” said Juneau senior Gaby Soto, who rushed for 62 second-half yards and scored on a 10-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter. “We’ve been through a lot, so a league title would mean so much to everyone in the program, in our schools and to our city.”
Juneau didn’t play at all last season because of the pandemic, and this season COVID-19 mitigations require the Huskies to play all of their games on Saturday afternoon in order to avoid overnight trips for everyone. The game at Bartlett started at 2 p.m., and the Huskies were scheduled to fly back to Juneau at 7:30 p.m.
Juneau’s biggest moment of the season came Sept. 4 when it knocked off East at home. The Thunderbirds (5-1, 4-1) have two CIC games remaining, and to win the CIC they must win both of them and hope for South victory over the Huskies, who have the edge in a head-to-head tiebreaker.
Bartlett managed to put the league leaders against the ropes a number of times.
Golden Bears junior Niko Alailefaleula scored the tilt’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter. The Huskies answered with a 53-yard pitch-and-catch score from quarterback Noah Chambers to Wallace Adams and then fashioned the first of two gutsy goal-line stands.
The first stoppage of Bartlett deep in Huskies’ territory led to Chambers’ 96-yard touchdown pass to James Connally. Chambers’ closed out the period by connecting with Chris Harris on a 13-yard pass play down the right sideline for a touchdown and a 20-7 halftime lead.
The show turned particularly enticing when Bartlett junior Marty Burton opened the second half with an onside kick. She squibbed the ball off Chambers, and the Golden Bears recovered at their own 49-yard line. The home team marched down the field, only to see Alailefaleula gang-tackled in the backfield on fourth down.
The Huskies kept Bartlett at bay with big plays throughout the second half. Harris recorded a 23-yard reception, Connally had a 32-yarder and junior Payton Grant broke open for a 39-yard catch from Chambers.
Adams, a senior, also ended a Bartlett possession with a red-zone interception in the fourth quarter.
“It shows the kind of heart we have,” said Soto. “No matter what, we’re going to keep coming.”
Bartlett junior Joseph Afe caught a 34-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback M.J. Utuga early in the fourth quarter, but the Golden Bears (3-3, 1-3) couldn’t recover from all of letdowns Juneau forced on them.
“Juneau pulled a few nice curveballs on us, a spread (offense) and some other things,” said assistant coach Tui Alailefaleula, a legendary Bartlett alum and Niko’s father. “But we tried to game plan around those instances. We found ways to stay engaged and focused.
“We’ll work on our preparation and have some good weeks of practice going forward. But shout-out to Juneau, a really good ball club.”
Bartlett takes on East in Week 7 in a game that’s always an emotional gathering. The neighboring teams will vie for the East-Side Boot for the 20th time in honor of East High all-state defensive lineman Aanooali “Auno” Filoialli, who died in a 2002 car accident.
On top of the trophy is one of Filoialli’s cleats in bronze.
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.