Points will be at a premium when the Bartlett and South high school football teams take the field Friday night at 7 for the ASAA First National Bowl at Colony High School.

Bartlett enters the title tilt allowing just 6.8 points per game and having shut out out three offenses, while the Wolverines picked off 19 passes in 10 games and limited six opponents to 10 points or fewer.

Expect a defensive slugfest when these teams square off, if history is any indication. The last time they played was in Week 2, when the game was 7-7 after regulation before South sealed a 14-7 victory in overtime after forcing a fumble on the final play of the game.

Bartlett has won six of seven games since then, thanks to a defense that went into lockdown mode behind Alaska player-of-the-year candidate Deuce Alailefaleula.

The senior playmaker leads the state with an average of 13 tackles per game in addition to state-best totals of 11 sacks and 25 tackles for loss in nine games. He’s coming off a 23-tackle, 6-TFL, 1-sack performance to highlight a 9-2 win over Service in last week’s state semifinals.

The 6-foot-1, 290-pound Boise State bound defensive lineman anchors a formidable front four that creates a wall at the line of scrimmage, stopping opposing rushers in their tracks.

Alailefaleula explodes off the line and smashes through blockers and would-be double teams to blow up plays in the backfield. He can single-handedly take control of a game. He’s that good.

The key to the game could come down to when the South offense is on the field because it will pit Alailefaleula against Ethan Yarrington, arguably the best running back in the state.

The junior player-of-the-year candidate is tied for the state lead with 18 TDs and ranks fourth in the state with 1,062 yards. He needs 72 yards to pass Soldotna’s Andon Wolverine and win the rushing title.

ALASKA LEADERS

Top 5 Rushers
1,133 – Wolverton SOL
1,080 – Roschi ER
1,074 – Hall SOL
1,062 – Yarrington SOU
1,025 – Skinner LAT

The 6-foot, 220-pound Yarrington is a bruising runner who bounces off tackles and excels at racking up yards after contact. He also seems to fall forward at the end of every run, gaining extra yardage that adds up by the end of the game.

He has scored at least one rushing TD in all 10 games this season and surpassed the century mark seven times with a high of 185 yards against East.

In his first game against Bartlett in August, Yarrington was held to a season-low 60 yards on 12 carries.

Yarrington has a total of 20 TDs with his seven receptions for 57 yards and one TD as a receiver to go with his TD pass on a halfback option. On defense, the linebacker has recorded 124 tackles, 21 TFLs and three sacks.

South’s potent ground game also features running backs Kaiden Coleman Arroyo (509 yards, 6 TDs) and Austin French (324 yards, 4 TDs), while quarterback Jim Massey has thrown for 615 yards and five scores.

Zachary Buss could be an X factor for the Wolverines as the big-leg kicker has booted 4-of-6 field goals and 31-of-34 PATs.

When Bartlett has the ball, look for the Golden Bears to move the chains behind quarterback Tatum Pogtis and tailback Colt Jardine.

Pogtis, a sophomore signal caller, has passed for 1,051 yards and nine TDs. Simeon Alailefaleula and Salvation Tyrell are his favorite targets as each receiver has hauled in 20 catches and combined for 597 yards and seven scores.

Jardine has rushed for 319 yards on a 3.8 average and piled up a season-high 102 yards against Dimond in the state semifinals. He’s added 12 catches for 311 yards with both TDs coming in the regular-season finale against Colony.

Tyrell could be an X factor for Bartlett as the dynamic scoring threat has produced 520 passing, receiving and rushing yards to go with a pick six on defense.

Bartlett Golden Bears

Coach: Traves Ramirez-Medeiros, 2nd season
Seed: No. 2
Record: 7-2
Title Game History: 5-1 with wins in 1989, 1991, 2002, 2009 and 2017.
2025 Season
W 12-0 Dimond
L 14-7 South Anchorage OT
W 27-0 Juneau-Douglas
W 12-6 Service OT
L 7-6 East Anchorage
W 20-12 West Anchorage
W 15-3 Colony
W 34-18 Dimond
W 9-2 Service
Offense
Points per game: 15.7
Rushing per game: 79.3
Yards per carry: 2.9
Passing per game: 132.8
Total offense: 212.1
Defense
Opponents scoring: 6.8
Sacks: 18
Tackles for loss: 47
Interceptions: 11
Forced fumbles: 2
Special Teams
Blocked Field Goals: 5

South Wolverines

Coach: John Lewis, 18th season
Seed: No. 4
Record: 8-2
Title Game History: 4-2 with wins in 2006, 2012, 2014 and 2019.
2025 Season
L 13-8 West Anchorage
W 14-7 Bartlett OT
W 31-7 Lathrop
W 33-7 East Anchorage
W 29-28 Juneau-Douglas
W 48-29 Colony
W 37-6 Dimond
L 24-19 Service
W 38-17 Juneau-Douglas
W 24-10 West Anchorage
Offense
Points per game: 28.1
Rushing per game: 203.9
Yards per carry: 5.6
Passing per game: 68.6
Total offense: 272.5
Defense
Opponents scoring: 14.8
Sacks: 8
Tackles for loss: 52
Interceptions: 19
Forced fumbles: 9
Special Teams
Blocked Field Goals: 1
Punt Average: 37.9