Sione Tuifua

Sione Tuifua of Utqiaġvik finished his Morningside University career with more national titles than losses.

Let that sink in.

Tuifua’s senior class posted a 53-1 career record and won three NAIA titles after Morningside rallied for a 38-28 victory over Grand View in the championship game in Durham, North Carolina.

The 6-foot-3 tight end got a red-zone carry and caught two passes for 22 yards, including a key first down at the end of the third quarter.

Tuifua’s first touch came in the first quarter when the 240-pounder got the handoff and busted off a four-yard run to the 11-yard line. Three plays later, Morningside punched it in for a 14-7 lead.

Later in the quarter he hauled in an 8-yard reception on 2nd-and-20.

With his team trailing 28-21 late in the third quarter, the Alaskan picked up a first down with a 14-yard catch to put his team into the red zone. Five plays later Morningside scored to tie it up

Tuifua, of Barrow High fame, has a habit of making big plays in the big game. In the 2019 final he caught a 6-yard touchdown pass.

Morningside finished this season with a 14-0 record. The Mustangs also won NAIA titles in 2018 and 2019. The team’s only loss with Tuifua on the squad came in the 2020 national semifinals.

Tuifua finished this year with career highs in receptions (23), yards (239) and TDs (5), and had his longest play from scrimmage of 32 yards.

His career totals were 47-469-8 in 46 games.

Derryk Snell

In the FCS national semifinals, Montana State beat South Dakota State 31-17 in a game that featured Alaskans on both sidelines.

The Montana State Bobcats included Eagle River’s Derryk Snell (Chugiak) and Anchorage’s Jackson Harmon (South). The South Dakota State Jackrabbits included quarterbacks coach Zach Lujan (South).

From the Cook Inlet Conference to the FCS final four.

Montana State has advanced to the FCS (Division I-AA) title game for the first time since winning it all in 1984.

Snell, a sophomore tight end, has made catches in 10 different games, racking up 18 receptions for 130 yards and a TD in 13 games this season.

The former Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year has three career TDs, the most by an Alaska tight end at Montana State since Scott Harry (Homer) had five TDs from 1994 to 1997.

Jackson is a freshman redshirting as he transitions from quarterback to defensive back.

Lujan is in his fourth season as an assistant coach at South Dakota State, where he played quarterback from 2014 to 2016 and was part of three FCS playoff runs.

He was 10-5 as a starter, threw 29 career TDs and finished his career just outside the SDSU top 10 for career passing yards with 3,877. Lujan was named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team in 2014 and was elected a team captain for both the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Montana State will face North Dakota State in the FCS championship game Jan. 8 in Frisco, Texas.

Qyntyn Pilcher-Colbert

At Sierra College in California, Qyntyn Pilcher-Colbert of Anchorage is advancing to the NCAA Division II level after signing with Texas A&M Kingsville of the Lone Star Conference.

The sophomore quarterback is coming off an all-conference season in the California Community College Athletic Association, where he racked up more than 2,500 total yards and 29 combined TDs.

His high passing game was 367 yards against Modesto. He threw for six TDs against San Joaquin Delta and had two other games with 4 TDs.

Pilcher-Colbert (West) this year compiled 2,308 passing yards with 26 TDs and added 214 yards and three scores on the ground. In two seasons at Sierra College, he had 3,892 yards and 44 total TDs.

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