Josh Cummings
Josh Cummings of Fairbanks wrapped up a historic season running the ball for Western Colorado University.
If it wasn’t his 1,301 rushing yards, it was his 17 touchdowns.
Either way you look at it, Cummings had a season for the ages, and not by just Alaska standards but Western Colorado too.
Cummings became just the third NCAA running back from Alaska to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and ended the year ranked fifth all-time in Western Colorado school history for a single season.
His 17 rushing touchdowns are tied for the second most for Alaskan, matching Yohance Humphrey’s total from 1999. Cummings took sole possession of the No. 2 spot in Western Colorado history after he passed Mike Makings’ 16 TDs in 1976.
Cummings also scored at least one touchdown in eight straight games, equaling Humphrey’s feat from 2001 that was once considered untouchable.
It’s a rarity to see an Alaskan play running back in college, but it’s Bigfoot-sighting rare to see an Alaskan serve as a college team’s primary red-zone rushing option. In the last 50 years there have been four of them.
Yohance Humphrey
It started with Anchorage’s Rocky Klever (West) at Montana from 1977 to 1981. He was a run-first quarterback early in his career before moving to running back. He played tight end in the NFL.
Then it was Anchorage’s Mike Connaker (Service) at Western Colorado and Missouri Western from 1996 to 2000.
Then it was Humphrey (Chugiak) at Montana from 1998 to 2001.
Now, Cummings (West Valley) is carrying the torch.
Humphrey broke all of Klever’s rushing record at Montana and is considered the undisputed G.O.A.T when it comes to college running backs from Alaska.
Nobody has touched Humphrey’s statistics for the last two decades. Then Cummings crashed the party, finishing the year with the third most rushing yards by an Alaskan and edging Humphrey’s 2000 total by one yard. That one yard catapulted Cummings into rarefied air.
MOST RUSHING YARDS IN NCAA SEASON BY ALASKAN
1,658 Yohance Humphery Montana 2001
1,398 Yohance Humphery Montana 1999
1,301 Josh Cummings Western Colorado 2021
1,300 Yohance Humphery Montana 2000
1,042 Mike Connaker Missouri Western 1999
783 Rocky Klever Montana 1981
735 Mike Connaker Missouri Western 1998
679 Rocky Klever Montana 1979
663 Parker Kizer Luther 2019
621 Mike Connaker Western Colorado 1996
Mike Connaker
Humphrey – better known as Yo – holds state records for rushing yards in a season (1,658), rushing TDs in a season (23), career rushing yards (4,940), career rushing TDs (56), career total TDs (62) and most yards in a game (265).
He helped Montana win four Big Sky Conference titles and led the Griz to a 2001 national championship after he rushed for 142 yards on 30 carries and scored the game’s only touchdown in a 13-6 win over Furman in the NCAA DI-AA tournament final.
Humphrey is the only running back from Alaska to earn NCAA All-American status.
Connaker’s legacy has also stood the test of time. He was the first Alaska running back to score double-digit TDs in a NCAA season when he 11 scores for Western Colorado in 1996.
In 1999, Connaker and Humphrey both became the first Alaskans to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, breaking the previous state record of 783 yards set by Klever in 1981.
Connaker ranks No. 2 all-time among Alaskans for career rushing yards.
MOST RUSHING YARDS IN NCAA CAREER BY ALASKAN
4,944 Yohance Humphery Montana 1998-2001
2,911 Mike Connaker Missouri Western/Western Colorado 1996-2000
2,228 Rocky Klever Montana 1977-1981
1,664 Josh Cummings Western Colorado 2018-2021
1,134 Brandon Miles Bemidji State 2008-2011
1,063 Parker Kizer Luther 2018-2022
879 Justin Kauffman Adams State 2012-2014
835 Phillip Fenumiai Western Oregon 2014-2017
560 Jordan Tufaga Central Washington 2016-2018
416 Brett Denton Boise State 2003-2006
Brett Denton
In 2006, Anchorage’s Brett Denton (Dimond) put on a show for Boise State in one of the greatest NCAA performances by a running back from Alaska.
Starting in place of injured All-American running back Ian Johnson, Denton carried the ball 17 times, rushed for a career-high 125 yards and scored the game’s first two touchdowns in a 49-10 win over Utah State.
The 5-foot-9, 191-pound Alaskan scored on runs of 3 and 27 yards, giving him four TDs on the season.
Parker Kizer
Boise State went on to finish 13-0, capped by a stunning 43-42 OT upset win over No. 7 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
Another Alaskan hit a major milestone this season when Palmer’s Parker Kizer surpassed the 1,000-yard career benchmark at Luther College.
The senior finished his senior season in style, racking up 121 yards and a TD against Loras College.
That pushed him over the 1K benchmark, giving him 1,063 for his NCAA career – the sixth highest total among Alaskans.
In 2019, Kizer (Colony) rushed for 197 yards – the fifth most by an Alaskan at the NCAA level.
MOST RUSHING YARDS IN NCAA GAME BY ALASKAN
265 Yohance Humphery Montana 2001
216 Mike Connaker Missouri Western 1998
206 Josh Cummings Western Colorado 2021
201 Yohance Humphery Montana 2001
197 Yohance Humphery Montana 2000
197 Parker Kizer Luther 2019
194 Yohance Humphery Montana 2000
185 Rocky Klever Montana 1981
179 Mike Connaker Western Colorado 1996
167 Yohance Humphery Montana 1999
Sione Tuifua
At Morningside University, Sione Tuifua of Utqiaġvik hauled in his fourth TD reception of the season in a 58-21 win over Kansas Weslyean.
He grabbed a 4-yard score in the third quarter and finished with three receptions for 17 yards.
Tuifua (Barrow) has made 42 receptions in 44 career games for the NAIA team, piling up 414 yards and seven TDs.
Morningside improved to 12-0 and will next play Dec. 4 in the semifinals of the NAIA Championships.
At Central Michigan University, Eagle River’s Josh Rolston continues to build experience as a placekicker.
The freshman booted five kickoffs for a 47.6-yard average against Eastern Michigan. His season average was 57.1 yards on 74 kickoffs in 12 games. He had 22 touchbacks.
In 2020, Rolston (Chugiak) set an Alaska high school record for longest field goal when he blasted a 56-yarder, breaking the previous record of 53 yards set by Chugiak’s Bryan Maley in 2010.
Maley went on to kick 24 field goals on a .615 success rate at Wagner College from 2012 to 2015.
Representing AK in the cold of MI! Get after it @rolston_josh #fireupchips CMU to 8-4! @Chugiakfootball @MNevala9 @AlaskanAthletes @AKSportsReport pic.twitter.com/SrKglBzJvC
— Brian Rolston (@rolston_brian) November 26, 2021