Wasilla rolls to victory over Lathrop
Published Sunday, September 7, 2008
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Stumble It!WASILLA — Some may call it a quarterback controversy. The Wasilla Warriors are calling it a luxury.
Making his second straight start in place of All-Railbelt Conference signal caller Adrese LaVern, junior backup quarterback Cody Pfeifer threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Warriors to a 65-0 rout of Lathrop Saturday at Veterans Memorial Field.
Asked if Pfeifer had cemented his role behind center on the first team, Wasilla head coach Jim Shetter insisted Pfeifer is filling the role until LaVern is healthy.
“He has been there because Adrese is banged up a bit,” Shetter said.
But that doesn’t mean Shetter isn’t impressed with the work of his second-team signal caller.
“Cody’s doing a great job,” Shetter said. “It’s good to know we have two quarterbacks who can play.”
And even Pfeifer understands there’s no controversy on the Wasilla sidelines.
“He’ll be back,” Pfeifer said of LaVern.
But the Wasilla junior hasn’t hesitated to make the most of his situation.
“I’m taking well advantage of my opportunities right now,” Pfeifer said.
Pfeifer, who has now appeared in four of Wasilla’s first five games, was an efficient 11-for-16 during the win, and connected with five different receivers — including LaVern, who saw time at wideout.
Tim Orr caught both Pfeifer touchdowns for the Warriors. The senior grabbed a 26-yard touchdown pass to give the Warriors the 37-0 lead late in the second quarter, and hauled in a 24-yard scoring catch to give WHS a 44-0 lead early in the third.
Wasilla senior Chris Crane led the Warriors on the ground with 146 yards and three touchdowns. Senior fullback Jake Worden rumbled in for a pair of scores, and seniors Casey Katchinska and Chris Gross also notched rushing touchdowns.
The Warriors took advantage of Lathrop’s numerous mistakes on offense and special teams.
Wasilla senior defensive lineman Chris Lafe recovered a Lathrop fumble on the Malemutes’ fourth play from scrimmage, and two plays later Crane notched his first of three scores.
In the third quarter, Wasilla recovered two fumbles on special teams that set up two Warrior scores during a two-minute span.
Early in the third, Wasilla junior Anthony Lapiz recovered a fumble on a WHS punt, and three plays later, Orr caught his second touchdown of the day.
On the ensuing kickoff, Wasilla junior Jacob Marshall recovered another Lathrop fumble and Katchinska scored five plays later to give WHS a 51-0 lead.
Wasilla also used a 50-yard Tillerman Kroon punt to pin Lathrop on its own 1-yard line late in the first quarter. On Lathrop’s first offensive play of the drive, Katchinska and junior defensive lineman Chance Brinker smothered Lathrop senior A.J. Allen in the end zone for a safety.
Allen led the Malemutes with 36 yards on 15 carries, but Lathrop managed just 42 total yards.
Lathrop had only 19 yards in the first half, and Allen was able to top that total by himself with a 20-yard run in the third quarter.
With the mercy rule in effect and the clock running throughout the fourth quarter, Lathrop only had seven offensive plays in the second half.
The win erases a three-game losing streak for the Warriors.
“It was good for us,” Shetter said. “We really needed that.”
Following its season-opening win over Chugiak, the Warriors suffered a trio of tough defeats, including a frustrating 10-9 loss at West Valley last week.
“We went down into a slump a little bit, but I think we pulled out,” Pfeifer said.
Lathrop (1-4) remains in a slump. The Wasilla win marks Lathrop’s fourth straight loss and third against Mat-Su Valley programs this year. Including losses to Colony and Palmer earlier in the year, Valley teams have outscored Lathrop 156-6 this season.
Community Discussion
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Hey NM....Great support slack for the local Lathrop Malemutes.
Couldn't a "local" reporter do the write up in a more supportive way for the "local" schools? Even in a loss those players learned something.. to support each other. Offer a positive.
Or has the NM turned into The Frontiersman to support the Wasilla Warriors...
Not much you can say support wise when you get beat 65 to Zip
Well, yes, and with local coverage we probably could be reading that despite another error filled game the Lathrop players are "loved".
hambone
could you blog one of your comments on our local school's games weekly. You have logical insights that help clarify areas. There are those of us who can not afford to travel to out of town games. Or are new to Fairbanks high school sports. But would love insights to tell & help our players to improve. Error how, fumble how, lost footing, hand control as examples. I support & attend games at 2 high schools with family but any first hand knowledge & experience directs us in supporting at home. We have great times practicing together. My grown children did track, swimming, tennis, wrestling, soccor so we are "learning" football improvement. Sometimes I wish we played more local games against each other even if it's preseason or practice. We have such a short season to play so many sports. It would be great if all coachs did comments like yours. There's a lot of talent to sharing view points. I have seen your dedication to our youth in person and on here. Thank you
Romans needs to go.....He is not a coach by any capacity, let alone a head coach. I have seen some of the bone head plays he calls and it's obvious that he doesn't know the game of football at all. I saw him call a dive play up the middle on a 4th and 18 situation in their own territory, or calling pass routes to the middle of the field when they need to be flag and out routes to stop the clock.....West Valley suffered enough the past few years with an incompetent head coach and now that they finally got rid of him and replaced him with Ben Johnson, things are turning around for them. Lathrop needs to cut ties with Romans and find a new head coach to turn this program around.
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