First and Fisher: 2022 High School Football Playoffs begin in Alaska

alaska high school football
gamestrat high school football sideline instant replay

The postseason is here!

The road to the first state championships in 2022 begin this weekend in Alaska. The Alaska School Activities Association played its first official state championship in 1990.

Prior to the 90’s, the Cook Inlet Conference held an invitational tournament that served as an unofficial state championship. Dimond won that first Anchorage Invitational in 1983 by beating Soldotna 21-0.

Related: HSFA Alaska Top 5

In the state’s biggest classification, Division I, Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain is the top seed. The Huskies enter the quarterfinal round of the playoffs as the No. 1 team in the High School Football America Alaska Top 5, powered by NFL Play Football.

Last year, the J-D/TM co-op lost to Bettye Davis East in the championship game. BDE enters the postseason as the No. 5 seed.

Below are the Division I quarterfinal matchups this week:

Division I Quarterfinals

#1 Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain (8-0) vs. #8 South Anchorage (0-8)

#4 West Anchorage (4-4) vs. #5 Bettye Davis East (3-5)

#3 Colony (6-2) vs. #6 Service (2-6)

#2 Bartlett (6-1) vs. #7 Dimond (2-6)

Follow ALL Alaska high school football playoff games LIVE

Juneau-Douglas owns three all-time Alaska high school football state championships

In Division II, Lathrop will be looking for its second straight title. The Malamutes won their first-ever last year, snapping Soldotna’s run of eight straight state championships. Lathrop, No. 2 in our statewide rankings, will open against Chugiak. Soldotna takes-on North Pole.

Division II Semifinals

#1 Soldotna (8-0) vs. #2 North Pole (6-3)

#1 Lathrop (8-0) vs. #2 Chugiak (4-4)

There will be a new Division III champ this year after defending champ Redington was 0-7 this season.

Division III Semifinals

#1 Houston (7-0) vs. #2 Barrow (4-2)

#1 Nikiski (3-2) vs. #2 Homer (6-2)

All-Time Alaska High School Football Championships

1990

East Anchorage 36 Soldotna 7

1991

Bartlett 27 Ben Eielson

1992

Ben Eielson 28 Soldotna 9

1993

Dimond 20 Ben Eielson 19

1994

Service 16 Chugiak 14

1995

Palmer 12 Chugiak 7

1996

Chugiak 24 Palmer 19

1997

Service 47 Chugiak 14

1998

Service 48 Dimond 20

1999

Service 49 Wasilla 0

2000

Large School – Dimond 28 Colony 21

Small School – Nikiski 20 Soldotna 14

2001

Large School – Dimond 16 Bartlett 0

Small School – Nikiski 35 Seward 13

2002

Large School – Bartlett 34 Chugiak 13

Small School – Kenai 7 Soldotna 0

2003

Large School – Juneau-Douglas 33 Lathrop 18

Small School – Kenai 46 Ben Eielson 0

2004

Large School – North Pole 44 West Anchorage 13

Small School – Kenai 20 Soldotna 14

2005

Large School – Juneau-Douglas 49 Palmer 29

Small School – Kenai 42 Ben Eielson 10

2006

Large School – South Anchorage 26 Colony 16

Small School – Soldotna 29 Kodiak 20

2007

Large School – Juneau-Douglas 23 Palmer 13

Small School – Soldotna 47 Kodiak 27

2008

Large School – Service 22 Juneau-Douglas 14

Small School – Soldotna 28 Kodiak 6

2009

Large School – Bartlett 21 Chugiak 3

Small School – Kenai 21 Soldotna 10

2010

Large School – West Anchorage 6 Service 0

Small School – Soldotna 77 Kenai 42

2011

Large School – Service 37 South Anchorage 23

Small School – Kenai 26 Homer 14

2012

Large School – South Anchorage 28 Service 19

Small School – Soldotna 62 Homer 20

2013

Large School – West Anchorage 28 Service 16

Medium School – Soldotna 56 Juneau-Douglas 49

Small School – Nikiski 36 Monroe 28

2014

Large School – South Anchorage 20 West Anchorage 6

Medium School – Soldotna 57 North Pole 28

Small School – Ben Eielson 55 Nikiski 51

2015

Large School – West Anchorage 41 Chugiak 0

Medium School – Soldotna 33 Kenai 18

Small School – Ben Eielson 49 Nikiski 14

2016

Large School – East Anchorage 13 West Anchorage 7

Medium School – Soldotna 49 Palmer 13

Small School – Ben Eielson 40 Houston 18

2017

Division I – Bartlett 40 West Anchorage 33

Division II – Soldotna 21 Palmer 0

Division III – Barrow 20 Homer 14

2018

Division I – East 35 West Anchorage 6

Division II – Soldotna 46 Eagle River 14

Division III – Ben Eielson 36 Barrow 0

2019

Division I – South 27 Service 13

Division II – Soldotna 69 Lathrop 23

Division III – Houston 41 Barrow 8

2020

No playoffs due to COVID-19

2021

Divison I – Bettye Davis East 30 Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain 17

Division II – Lathrop 39 Soldotna 28

Division III – Redington 46 Houston 12

Play Football

nfl play football

About the Author

Jeff Fisher
Jeff is an award-winning journalist and expert in the field of high school sports, underscored with his appearance on CNBC in 2010 to talk about the big business of high school football in America.Jeff turned to his passion for high school football into an entrepreneurial venture called High School Football America, a digital media company focused on producing original high school sports content for radio, television and the internet.Jeff is co-founder and editor-in-chief of High School Football America, a partner with NFL Play Football.