“It was nothing short of incredible, especially given the fact that we had 13 guys,” said Peterson, who previously was an an assistant coach at Dimond in Anchorage and at Pullman High School in Washington.
Delta Junction, of the Greatland Conference, trailed 26-12 heading into the fourth quarter against Ketchikan, a member of the new Southeast Conference.
“We had 13 guys who decided they didn’t want to lose,” Peterson said.
One of those Huskies was quarterback Caleb McLaren, who delivered three touchdowns in three different ways.
The junior, while playing safety, provided Delta’s first score with a 40-yard interception return in the first quarter. He scored with a 1-yard sneak with 1 second left before halftime, and he threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Alex Broussard with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Delta got its last touchdown from senior running back Chad Fellman on a 25-yard dash with 1:59 left in the game.
The Huskies were driving with 1:15 left when the ball slipped out of McLaren’s hands on an option. The King Salmon recovered the fumble and ran out the clock on offense.
“He tucked it and it just squirted out of his hands,” Peterson said.
Delta opens Greatland Conference play by hosting the Nikiski Bulldogs at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Barrow prevails
The Barrow Whalers overcame a two-point deficit and windy conditions to down the South Anchorage junior varsity 14-8 in a nonconference season opener at Cathy Parker Field in Barrow.
Eddie Benson, who also is Barrow’s quarterback, returned a punt 45 yards for the game-winner with 2 minutes, 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Whalers junior had snagged the punt that the Wolverines punter delivered into a 30-mph wind.
“If it had gone over his head, we would have still been in good field position,” Barrow head coach Mark Voss said by cell phone. “It was just one of those things where we got the ball to bounce our way.”
Senior running back Eddie Burke gave Barrow a 6-0 lead with a four-yard run in the first quarter. South Anchorage jumped ahead 8-6 in the third quarter with an interception return and two-point conversion.
Barrow tied the game at 8 with 6 minutes left in the contest by blocking a punt that went out the end zone for a safety.
Voss also lauded the Whalers’ defense in the nonconference opener.
“The defense just really looked pretty good,” Voss said.
The only head coach in the program’s five-year history also commended the play of junior linebacker Trace Hudson and newcomer Nate Samuelu, a junior nose guard.
“He (Hudson) stepped up and played real tough ... every time you looked up, it was like he was in on a tackle,” Voss said. “Nate had a really strong game.”
Barrow visits Eielson at 6 Saturday night for a Greatland Conference opener.
In other action Saturday, the Houston Hawks topped the host Valdez Buccaneers 48-24 in a nonconference game and the defending small schools state champion Kenai Kardinals defeated the Skyview Panthers 36-0 in a Northern Lights Conference game in Kenai.
Also, the Homer Mariners opened with a 14-6 nonconference win over the host Nikiski Bulldogs, while the Chugiak Mustangs prevailed 31-21 against the host Palmer Moose. The visiting Thunder Mountain Falcons rolled to a 40-17 win over the Sitka Wolves in the inaugural Southeast Conference game and the Dimond Lynx pulled out an 18-12 overtime win over the Colony Knights in a nonconference tilt at the Anchorage Football Stadium.
The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears hosted the South Anchorage varsity in a late game Saturday.
Contact the News-Miner sports staff at 459-7581.
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