After his 182 receiving yards Saturday, Anchorage’s Deuce Zimmerman now sits No. 3 among Alaskans at the NCAA level.
Two games, two historic performances for Anchorage’s Deuce Zimmerman.
Last time out he became the first Alaska wide receiver to catch four touchdowns in a NCAA football game. Over the weekend he hauled in eight catches for 182 yards, the third-highest receiving total by an Alaskan.
The Western New Mexico University sophomore wideout produced his big game Saturday that included two TD receptions, but it wasn’t enough to stave off a 28-20 loss to visiting Texas A&M-Kingsville in Silver City.
Zimmerman, of East High fame, caught a 52-yard TD early in the fourth quarter and added an 18-yard score five minutes later. In his last two games, the 6-foot-2 receiver has 19 receptions for 306 yards and six TDs. That’s a season for some guys.
Only two Alaska receivers have posted 200+ receiving yards in a NCAA game – both of them former East T-birds; Joel Pelagio-Williams at Division I Weber State University in 1995 and Caleb Holley at Division II East Central University in 2013.
Another T-bird got close.
Zimmerman did reach another benchmark by becoming the eighth Alaskan to catch 10 receiving TDs in a NCAA career, the first since Fairbanks’ Brandon Joyner in 2019.
Juneau’s Noah Chambers threw for a career-high 352 yards Saturday. Photo by ZPL Media Productions
CHAMBERS HAS CAREER DAY
After losing his starting job a few weeks ago, Juneau’s Noah Chambers was back under center for Valley City State University on Saturday.
He responded with the best game of his NAIA career.
Chambers completed 22-of-38 passes for three TDs and a career high 352 yards in a 42-24 loss to 15th-ranked Dickinson State.
He shattered his previous career high of 282 yards in his first college game way back on Sept. 1, 2022. He equaled his career high with three TDs.
Chambers tossed back-to-back TDs in the third quarter to pull Valley City within 28-17.
The win was Dickinson State’s 40th consecutive North Star Athletic Association victory.
Dickinson State features senior defensive back Jayden Heartwell, a South Anchorage High grad who played in his 40th career game Saturday and made his 100th career tackle. He also ranks fourth in school history with 16 interceptions, one shy of third place.
Anchorage’s Elijah Reed found the end zone for the fifth time Saturday. Photo courtesy Sierra College
TWO ALASKANS, TWO TDS
For the second time this season, Sierra College’s two Alaskans found the end zone in the same game.
Sophomore running back Elijah Reed of Anchorage and freshman receiver Malachi Casey of Anchorage each scored in the second quarter of Sierra’s 62-13 victory over Shasta.
Reed rushed for a 16-yard TD at the 6:20 mark and Casey caught a 29-yard TD at the 1:03 mark, marking the first time both Alaskans scored in the same game since Sept. 28 against Foothill.
Reed carried the ball six times for 36 yards and the score, bumping his season totals to 41-307-5. Meanwhile, Casey hauled in three receptions for 71 yards and a score to improve his season totals to 27-422-2.
