For the fifth season in a row, Soldotna and Lathrop battled for the Alaska Division II high school football state championship. And, for the second year in a row, the Stars left the field with the championship hardware.
Saturday, Sodotna beat the Malemutes 49-28 at Colony High School in Palmer. The win avenged Lathrop’s 35-28 win over the Stars on October 5.
Lathrop, who won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022, owned a 28-26 lead with 4:24 to go in the third quarter. Lokeni Wong’s 8-yard touchdown run with :35 seconds to play in the third gave the Stars their game-winning score as they scored 23 unanswered points.
Wyatt Faircloth ran for three touchdowns on 18 carries. He rushed for 136 yards.
Soldotna now owns 14 overall state championships. Head coach Galen Brantley, Jr. is now 13-3 in state championship games with an overall record of 34-4.
