Alaska Division II high school football powerhouses prepare to embark on new season with the same high expectations

Last year, the top two Division II teams in Alaska high school football didn’t face off until the final game of the season with the state championship on the line.

Lathrop defeated Soldotna to claim the First National Bank trophy for the second year in a row. Less than 12 months later, the two teams won’t have to wait to see each other again as they are scheduled to face off on Friday night in Fairbanks.

While the Stars are coming back with last year’s roster mostly intact, the two-time defending champion Malemutes will have to rely on some of their younger talent, key returners and players in new positions in their quest for a third straight title.

“We still have our two quarterbacks back,” Lathrop head coach Luke Balash said. “They’ll be pulling double duty. When Jenner Webb is not at quarterback he’s going to be a running back, and when Solomon Wade is not at quarterback, he’s going to be a wide receiver.”

Despite being two-time reigning state champions, Lathrop isn’t dwelling on the accolades of previous teams and don’t necessarily feel the pressure associated with it because they have so many new players.

“This year is a new adventure,” Balash said. “We have 70-something kids on the roster and more than half of them are new to us. This is really a new group.”

Soldotna only had five seniors last year, and head coach Galen Brantley feels like they’re “returning a pretty solid group that’s battle-tested with a lot of returners from that same title game a year ago.” They’re bringing back nine of 11 starters on offense and a similar number on the defensive side of the ball.

“We returned all four kids from our backfield from a year ago, and we feel like that’s certainly a strength for us,” he said. “We have four returning starters in our front seven on offense as well. A year ago we started three sophomores on our defensive line, so I feel like we’re in a really good place here as far as returning and depth.”

After a decade of dominating Division II football, during which they won eight straight state championships starting in 2010, this year’s group of Stars are highly motivated to unseat the Malemutes and reassert themselves as the top dogs at their level of competition.

“It’s certainly better to be the hunter than the hunted,” Brantley said. “Between COVID and then losing the last two state championships to Lathrop, the seniors that we have (this year) have never won a state title.”

His players understand the history and standard of the program, and he believes that they’re “pretty motivated to leave their own mark here.”

“Last year we had six sophomores starting in the state title game and we definitely took some lumps along the way,” Brantley said. “We feel like we’re a little more mature group, and they’re ready to hopefully step up and vie for another state title.”

Balash said his team is nervously excited to face Soldotna for their season opener with so many new faces and people in new roles.

“We always enjoy playing high-level opponents,” he said. “We relish that competition. I tell people all the time that I would rather play the best teams in state, risk losing, and have a team that’s 5-3 and tough as nails for the playoffs than one that is 8-0 and soft going into the playoffs. It’s harder to keep kids focused and improving when you’re winning all your games by a bunch.”

Potential sleeping giants to look out for

While the two programs have been the cream of the Division II crop by far and away the past two years since Lathrop moved down from Division I, both coaches foresee more parity at their level this year compared to recent seasons.

“Up in Fairbanks, coach David Devaughn does a great job at West Valley,” Brantley said. “I think that coach (Matthew) Jaronik out in Wasilla has made a lot of strides out there in the Valley, and then Eagle River with coach Brad (Myers) has slowly and steadily improved their program.”

Balash also views Wasilla, Eagle River and West Valley as formidable opponents and listed some other potential contenders as well.

“I always have faith in those North Pole kids,” he said. “They made the playoffs last year and gave Soldotna some trouble so I’m always hoping for them to keep getting better. ... Chugiak is returning a bunch of starters too. I think there is going to be more parity in general in the (Northern Lights-Railbelt) conference this year.”

Even though Brantley firmly believes that there are other programs that are capable of making a mark, Lathrop will still be viewed as the top dog until proven otherwise.

“They’re the one that everyone is going to be eying and going to be hunting for,” he said.

Mother Nature could pose biggest challenge to start the season

Lathrop won’t have to travel nearly as much as they did last year when they hit the road three times to face Anchorage schools, which meant six-hour drives down from Fairbanks. They have five home games this season because they were willing to take a bye week and are grateful to have more opportunities to play at home.

“Those are challenging trips with the stress of travel, the overnights, finding food for everybody and all those kinds of things,” Balash said. “It’s nice to have a schedule with less stressful travel, but now we have wildfire smoke.”

Air quality conditions are still poor up in Fairbanks to the point that the Malemutes are forbidden by the school district to take the field for practice this week. The team won’t be allowed back on until just before their 7 p.m. kickoff with the Stars on Friday night.

“Right now we’re at an air quality that’s safe to play games in, and it’s forecasted to stay that way, so as of now it will be here,” Balash said. “A few lightning strikes and a wind change can change all of that.”

In the event that the game cannot be played on their home turf, they already have a contingency plan in place that includes renting buses to take them down to Chugiak High, where they’ll play Soldotna on a neutral site.