Service football uses dominant defense to surge past Dimond and advance to state semifinals

Every matchup in the opening round of the 2023 postseason for Division I Alaska high school football was a regular-season rematch. The Friday night bout between Service and Dimond played out a lot like the first one as a dominating defensive effort propelled the Cougars to a 30-6 victory over the Lynx.

“We came into this game knowing it was going to be a tough opponent because we beat them the first time and it’s hard to win two games in a season against the same team,” Service junior Caleb Wahlman said. “We balled out on defense and got the job done on offense for the most part. We kept the ball away from them and played some Service football.”

In the first meeting between the two Cook Inlet Conference foes, Service upset previously undefeated Dimond 28-14, spoiling homecoming for the Lynx and knocking them out of the top spot in the conference standings in the process.

[Service forces nine turnovers to knock off previously unbeaten Dimond]

The Cougars forced a whopping nine turnovers in that Week 5 matchup, including six interceptions, and in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs Friday, they used a similar formula to beat the Lynx for the second time in less than a month.

Service forced seven total turnovers — including four interceptions and three fumble recoveries — three of which were returned for touchdowns.

“We can build off this by staying positive and keeping our heads up,” Wahlman said.

Service held a 6-0 lead at halftime after a tightly contested first half that featured as many punts — six between both teams — as there were points scored. Senior quarterback Jonathon Tautua connected with Wahlman for a 32-yard strike with exactly three minutes left in the second quarter for the half’s only tally.

“We went into halftime knowing that our defense had been stepping up, and we came out and showed up,” Wahlman said.

On the first drive of the second half, Service drove the ball all the way down inside the red zone when Tautua was stopped short of the goal line and had the ball ripped from his grasp. But sophomore offensive lineman To’o Malaesilia was in the right place at the right time, picking up the loose ball and carrying it into the end zone.

“I just had to pick it up and score,” he said. “We do a drill where we put our pinkies together and just pick up the ball and run.”

While those were the last points scored by the Cougars’ offense in the second half, it was far from their last time scoring on the night.

Dimond put the ball on the ground on their first offensive possession of the third quarter, and in his first game back from injury, senior Kyan Caldarera scooped up the ball and returned it 53 yards to the house to put Service up by three scores.

On each of Dimond’s next two drives, Wahlman recorded an interception, the first of which he returned 30 yards for a touchdown.

“I started running, felt kind of fast, kept running, and when I saw the end zone, I knew it was going to be a touchdown,” he said.

Service had its shutout spoiled when Dimond capped off its best offensive drive of the game with a 1-yard touchdown connection from junior quarterback Carson Wingate to fellow junior Alex Borke in the back of the end zone early in the fourth quarter.

The Cougars fumbled on their next possession, and it seemed like the Lynx had a slim chance of potentially making a late comeback.

However, on fourth-and-four deep in Service territory, sophomore defensive back Cassidy Phillip extinguished that faint hope when he jumped a route in the shallow portion of the end zone and returned it 101 yards for a pick-six touchdown.

“It was a tipped ball and my teammate missed it, so I got it and just ran,” Phillip said. “I was worn out after it, but I was able to give my team the big lead that we needed.”

It was his first-ever varsity game after getting called up from junior varsity at the end of the regular season, and the incredible play will be a memory he’ll always cherish.

“It’s just an amazing thing to say that I did this on this day in my first varsity game,” Phillip said.

Playoff roundup

Friday

Bartlett 35, Colony 28

The biggest upset of the weekend thus far took place out in the Valley, where the Golden Bears knocked the defending Division I state champion Knights out of the playoffs. It marked the first game back from injury for reigning Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year Jack Nash, but it wasn’t enough for Colony to complete a late comeback after falling into an early double-digit hole.

West 49, Juneau 7

The top-seeded Eagles took care of business at the Nest on Hillcrest as they beat the Huskies for the second time by more than 30 points this season.

North Pole 46, West Valley 24

In Division II action up in Fairbanks, the Patriots went on the road and nearly doubled the score of the Wolfpack as they avenged a nearly 10-point defeat in the regular season.

Saturday

South 14, Bettye Davis East 12

In the second-biggest upset of the weekend, the seventh-seeded Wolverines edged out the banged up second-seed Thunderbirds on the road by coming up with a clutch late defensive stand on a two-point conversion attempt to prevent the tying score. It marked South’s first win over East since the 2015 season.

Soldotna 56, Chugiak 0

The top-seeded Stars stayed undefeated with another dominant showing in their second shutout of the season as they dispatched the Mustangs in first round of the Division II playoffs.

Barrow 22, Houston 18

The Whalers knocked off the top-seeded Hawks and avenged a decisive one-possession loss in the regular season with one of their own to move on to the next round of the Division III playoffs.

Eagle River 49, Palmer 34

The Wolves beat the Moose much comfortably in their second meeting of this season to advance to the semifinals.

Lathrop 64, Wasilla 0

The two-time defending Division II state champion Malemutes blew out the Warriors for the second time this season to get their title defense off on a dominant note.

Kenai Central 21, Homer 16

The Kardinals came from behind to beat the Mariners for the second time this season and knock the reigning Division III state champion out of the postseason.