Soldotna’s formidable full-house backfield ran like a finely tuned machine Saturday afternoon as it churned out 600 yards of offense and chewed up the Malemutes at Service High School.
The Stars’ 64-14 victory over Lathrop came in the ASAA Division II First National Bowl in a rematch of last year’s state championship game.
The trophy is going back to the Peninsula.
Running backs Gehret Medcoff, Wyatt Faircloth and Collin Peck each surpassed 100 yards in rushing and quarterback Zachary Buckbee accounted for 158 total yards and four touchdowns.
The Stars capped an 11-0 season to give coach Galen Brantley Jr. his 11th unbeaten season since 2004.
With 156 wins, Brantley is now just three wins from tying former Palmer coach Rod Christiansen for the No. 1 spot on the all-time wins list for Alaska high school football.
His teams have routinely executed its opponent to death, running teams ragged behind a potent power-T formation that blends devastation with deception. On any given play, any of the four backs could get a carry and picking up who has the ball is no easy task.
The fakes are so good there are times when all four players may be tackled on a play.
Buckbee orchestrated the offense like a maestro and engineered nine consecutive scoring drives before the starters were pulled after the third quarter.
Congratulations to the Soldotna Stars, your 2023 ASAA First National Bowl DII Football State Champions!@FNBAlaska pic.twitter.com/npPO8lMVyd
— ASAA (@ASAA_org) October 22, 2023
Soldotna piled up 502 yards on the ground and another 98 in the air. In the first half, the Stars scored 42 points on 25 plays.
Medcoff was magnificent with 193 yards and a 21.4-yard average per carry. Both of his TDs came on one-score drives, an 86-yard run in the second quarter and a 38-yard sprint in the third quarter.
Faircloth had 113 yards on 12 carries and scored on runs of 1 and 5 yards. He also had a 29-yard run.
Peck racked up 112 yards on just six carries and took a 43-yarder to the house in the first quarter. He also caught a 16-yard TD to get the party started six minutes into the game.
Buckbee completed passes to four different receivers and hit Andrew Pieh for a 40-yard TD in the second quarter.
Defensively, the Stars carried a shutout into the third quarter, got an interception from Trevor Michael, recovered a fumble and had five tackles for loss.
Soldotna’s Wyatt Faircloth finished the season with 986 total yards and 21 TDs. Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion
Lathrop (8-3) amassed 301 yards of offense, keyed by playmaker Jenner Webb.
Webb was wonderful as he recorded 247 total yards while starting at running back and finishing under center after starter Solomon Wade left with an injury early in the second quarter and did not return.
Webb rushed for 89 yards and passed for 159, including two scoring strikes in the second half. He connected with Jirah Simeta on a 17-yarder in the third quarter and a 35-yarder to Luke Skinner in the fourth quarter.
Skinner finished with three receptions for 92 yards while Simeta hauled in five catches for 66 yards.
Jewitt Hill also played well for Lathrop. He furnished 70 yards in kickoff returns, denied a touchdown with a pass breakup and made an interception in the end zone to deny another score.
Wade managed 71 total yards before he got hurt and finished the season 2,144 total yards and 35 TDs.
Lathrop 0 0 7 7 – 14
Soldotna 14 28 22 0 – 64
FIRST QUARTER
Soldotna – Peck 16 pass from Buckbee (O’Reagan kick)
Soldotna – Peck 43 run (O’Reagan kick)
SECOND QUARTER
Soldotna – Medcoff 86 run (O’Reagan kick)
Soldotna – Faircloth 5 run (O’Reagan kick)
Soldotna – Pieh 40 pass from Buckbee (O’Reagan kick)
Soldotna – Buckbee 1 run (O’Reagan kick)
THIRD QUARTER
Soldotna – Buckbee 19 run (O’Reagan kick)
Soldotna – Medcoff 38 run (O’Reagan kick)
Soldotna – Faircloth 1 run (Kemp pass from Michael)
Lathrop – Simeta 17 pass from Webb (Naber kick)
FOURTH QUARTER
Lathrop – Skinner 35 pass from Webb (Naber kick)