Dimond football claims Cook Inlet Conference title with first win over East in a decade

The last time the Dimond High football program reigned supreme, not only were none of the players on this year’s juggernaut squad born, but head coach Brian Yim wasn’t even out of high school himself.

It’s been 23 years since the Lynx last hoisted a state championship trophy dating back to the 2001 season and back then, Yim was an underclassman at Bettye Davis East Anchorage.

Dimond took one step closer to returning to the top spot with a 35-12 road win over East on Saturday. The win was Dimond’s first against the Thunderbirds since 2014, and the Lynx claimed the Cook Inlet Conference title in the process. The victory also guaranteed home field in the playoffs for the Lynx.

It was an especially meaningful win for Yim.

“For me, it’s always fun coming back here,” Yim said. “I graduated from East, I won a state championship here and this is kind of my home. To be able to do it here is great and to do it in the fashion we did today was great.”

Senior Alex Borke vividly remembered what it was like to come out on the other end of these lopsided results.

“It feels great coming from my freshman year, when we won like, two games and got blown out on this field 52-0 on junior varsity, and to be here now as CIC champs is a great feeling,” he said. “We still got more to do and more to come, and we’re ready.”

Borke played a major role in the team’s success on both sides of the ball by recording the first turnover and points of the game. His first-quarter interception sparked a swift four-play drive that was capped when junior quarterback Cayden Pili floated a 9-yard pass to Borke in the back of the end zone, after the defensive back who was covering him bit on the run fake.

“He is always in the right place at the right time, and that comes from preparation, and that’s from football smarts,” Yim said.

As crucial as those two plays were to getting Dimond going, neither could top the incredible play Borke made to put the Lynx up 35-6 in the fourth quarter, when he corralled a tipped pass that looked like a potential interception and turned it into a 60-yard touchdown instead.

“The ball was a little overthrown, and I didn’t know if I should dive for it or not,” Borke said. “I just looked and I saw him tip the ball up, and then it just came right in front of me. I got it and just (went) straight to the end zone. It was perfect luck.”

Pili was sensational from start to finish once again and put together another four-touchdown performance, including two through the air to Borke and a pair with his legs from 1 yard out both times. He had a 20-yard scoring run negated by a penalty near the end of the first half and still finished with more than 230 yards of total offense.

“We’re asking a lot from him. He’s playing a little bit more defense and it gets a little scary sometimes, but we’re at that point of the year where the best players got to play, and he is one of the best players in the state,” Yim said. “Being able to get him going and locked in always takes a little bit of time, but he’s really starting to figure out the offense, which is great.”

Dimond’s defense pitched a shutout for the first three quarters and then some, not giving up any points until there was 9:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Lynx also forced four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions from East junior quarterback Caleb Cooke.

“Coach had a great game plan coming in,” Borke said. “It started with our great run (defense). It’s amazing just being able to sit back and have all of our (defensive) line just stop them right in on the line and then having our pass coverage just be able to drop back, read the QB and go pick it.”

In the trenches on defense, Dimond nose tackle Lamarr Heanu-Williams was a disruptive force all game long with how he blew up play after play in the backfield — including multiple drive-ending sacks and tackles for loss.

“Lamarr had another monster game today,” Yim said. “He’s just a nightmare to block. He’s too fast, too quick and he did the ROTC warrior games this morning too. I begged him not to do too much out there but I’m sure he overdid it out there and he played great.”

Elsewhere in Division I gridiron action, Bartlett bounced back from its first loss in more than a month by beating Juneau-Douglas 34-20 on Saturday. On Friday night, both road teams were victorious, and West pulled away from Service in the second half for a commanding win and South edged Colony 28-21 in Palmer.

At the lower levels, Soldotna still remains the only undefeated team in Division II with a nearly 40-point win over Eagle River, and Seward did the same in 9-man with a 36-point win over Monroe Catholic. Other impressive performances included Lathrop putting up a second straight 50-plus-point blowout and Kenai Central putting up the most points of any team in the state during a 63-0 shutout of Kodiak.

Week 6 Results

Friday

Soldotna 42, Eagle River 7

Redington 56, Homer 46

South 28, Colony 21

North Pole 26, Palmer 13

West 28, Service 7

Saturday

Dimond 35, East 12

Bartlett 34 Juneau 20

Nikiski 54, Valdez 14

Seward 48, Monroe Catholic 12

Kenai Central 63, Kodiak 0

Lathrop 58, Wasilla 14

Barrow 30, Houston 13

Chugiak 33, West Valley 18