With a stellar second half, Soldotna makes it back-to-back DII football titles

PALMER — Soldotna head football coach Galen Brantley knew well the challenge his team would face against Lathrop in an attempt to earn back-to-back Alaska Division II state titles.

The Malemutes won a game between the two teams earlier in the month and had also dented the Soldotna dynasty with championships in 2021 and 2022.

But trailing by a point at halftime, Soldotna mounted a near-flawless second-half performance to top the Malemutes 49-28 on Saturday at Colony High to earn the school’s 14th state football title.

“I think with our kids too, just having a strike-back mentality (was important),” Brantley said. “We knew we were going to have some adversity. We knew they were going to make some plays and we just wanted to be able to answer. And I think our kids did that every time.”

Trailing 21-20 at the half, the Stars answered with a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to take a 26-21 lead.

Lathrop answered that score with one of its own, as wide receiver Luke Skinner hauled in his second touchdown of the game to make it 28-26 Malemutes with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter.

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From that point, it was all Stars.

“Our defense just stepped up and answered the bell,” Soldotna quarterback Owen Buckbee said. “It was really, our defense just came up with stops and our offense has just done what our offense has done all season, put the ball in the back of the end zone.”

Soldotna running back Lokeni Wong scored on a run up the middle in the final minute of the third quarter. Buckbee hit Trevor Michael for the two-point conversion and Soldotna was back in the lead 34-28.

On Lathrop’s next possession, the Stars were able to force a fumble on Lathrop running back Oschaun Easaw, who had terrorized Soldotna for much of the game with a string of battering runs.

“That’s the largest running back that I’ve coached against in 27 years but he’s very talented as well,” Brantley said. “And you know they used him well. They’ve got a great old line in front of them and good H backs. And it was not easy.”

Just over a minute later at the 6:22 mark, Wong found the end zone again and the two-point conversion gave Soldotna a commanding 42-28 lead.

“We just came together,” Wong said. “We knew it’d be worth it and we worked our butts off.”

The Stars added a final touchdown in the final three minutes to seal the victory. The championship was the fifth straight time Lathrop and Soldotna faced off for the title with the Stars now holding a 3-2 advantage.

“Certainly the experience of having been here before is important,” Brantley said. “But you know, they’ve been in every single state title game with us the last half a decade. So I don’t know if there’s an advantage there. I just think that the character of this group of kids really came out when their backs were against the wall.”

The win capped a historic season for Brantley.

Last month he earned his 160th career win, passing former Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen for the top spot in the state’s all-time wins category.

The championship was Soldotna’s 13th under Brantley’s leadership, including a run of eight straight from 2012-2019. Outside of the 13 titles earned under Brantley since 2008, the Stars also won the championship in 2006, topping Kodiak in the small schools final.

“This never gets old, and it gets harder and harder,” Brantley said. “You know, that’s a really well-coached football team with a lot of talent and we’re very lucky to have gotten out here with a win.”

Lathrop started the year slow, going 1-4 out of the gate. But the team ran off five straight wins heading into Saturday’s title game.

In the first half, the Malemutes moved the ball on the ground with Easaw, but also connected on a pair of passing touchdowns to take a 21-20 lead at the break.

“That Lathrop team, they’re a great team,” Buckbee said. “They’ve been a great team for years. Both of us are just two big dogs in a fight constantly every year, year after year.”

Lathrop finished 6-5 overall, while Soldotna was 10-1.