Friday night, Lathrop proved 2021’s Division II state title wasn’t a fluke. The Malemutes, ranked No. 4 in the Preseason High School Football America Alaska Top 5, powered by NFL Play Football, beat No. 2 West 49-33.
The Malemutes, who won the school’s first-ever football title last year, got out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back in the season opener for both teams.
Below is a look at how the first weekend of the 2022 high school football season went.
Friday Night
The team that Lathrop beat for the Division II title, Soldotna, started ’22 with a 60-6 pounding of North Pole.
The Stars, who had won eight straight state titles before last October’s loss to the Malemutes, were led by Gehret Medcoff, who had three rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Brayden Taylor ran for two touchdowns, plus added a touchdown pass.
SoHi Football Dominates North Pole 60-6 In Stars Road Opener
— KSRM Radio 92 (@ksrmam) August 13, 2022
The Stars rushed for eight scores, threw one touchdown pass and kicked a 37-yard field goal; while the defense recovered two, on-side… – https://t.co/Oe4KRFRNhf pic.twitter.com/plX6ZSoAgF
Related: Alaska Top 5
Soldotna is currently ranked No. 5 in our statewide rankings created with our proprietary algorithm.
The team at the top of the rankings, Bettye Davis East, opened with a 39-18 win over Service.
Reagan Graves ran the ball 12 times for 199 yards and three touchdowns in Kenai Central’s 32-7 win over Eielson.
Wasilla defeated defending Division III champ Redington 38-0.
Colony starts 1-0 after beating South Anchorage 43-6.
Saturday
No. 3 Juneau-Douglas/Thunder Mountain opened 2022 with a 37-0 shutout of Dimond. Running back Jamal Johnson scored two touchdowns, plus a 2-point conversion.
Barrow bounced-back from a 8-6 halftime deficit to beat Nikiski 12-8 on Saturday. After Nikiski turned the ball over on the Barrow 1-yard line, the Whalers drove 99-yards for the game-winning score with 1:05 left in the game.
In another non-league game, Division III Homer beat Division II Kodiak 42-30.
Houston shut-out Seward 45-0.
Chugiak is off to a 1-0 start after beating West Valley 16-8.
