Sithri Fainuulelei and Colt Jardine fueled a second-half comeback under the lights Friday in Fairbanks that led the Bartlett football team to its first win in Week 3 on the gridiron.

The dynamic duo combined for 313 all-purpose yards and had a hand in all four touchdowns to power the Golden Bears to a 28-10 victory over the Wolfpack at West Valley High School.

Fainuulelei threw for a pair of touchdowns, rushed for another and piled up 191 yards on offense, while Jardine caught a TD, rushed for a TD and added a 51-yard punt return on the final play of the third quarter.

West Valley playmaker Cole Stumpf single-handedly kept his team in contention by delivering one of the state’s best single-game performances this year as he scored on an 82-yard kickoff return, intercepted a pass on defense, kicked a 25-yard field goal and completed a pass for a first down on a fake punt.

Prep Football

Week 3
Thursday
SWDP 42, Kodiak 6
Friday
Bartlett 28, West Valley 10
Palmer 14, Colony 7
Oakmont (CA) 28, East 13
Dimond 42, Homer 34
Service 44, Eagle River 0
Wasilla 21, Kenai 14
Chugiak 28, Redington 7
Saturday
Star Valley (WY) at Soldotna
Valdez at Seward
Nikiski at Monroe
South at Lathrop
Barrow at Houston
West at Heritage (CO)
North Pole at Juneau

Facing West Valley for the first time in 11 years, the Golden Bears improved to 11-0 all-time in the series dating back a quarter-century. Outside of two thrilling state playoff matchups in 1989 and 2001, Friday’s meeting was one of the better games in this rivalry.

Bartlett scored on its first possession, marching 76 yards on eight plays capped by Fainuulelei’s 11-yard pass to Lion Moana. Fainuulelei accounted for 45 yards on the drive, including two throws to Moana for 34 yards. McDellienne Muasau ran in the two-point conversion to give the Bears an 8-0 lead.

West Valley responded on the ensuing kickoff after Stumpf busted up the middle on his way to an 82-yard house call. Stumpf kicked the PAT to pull the Wolfpack within 8-7.

The Fairbanks team then got a golden opportunity after Bartlett snapped the ball over the punter’s head, giving West Valley possession at the 16. The Wolfpack moved the ball to the 3 and were set up to go for it on 4th-and-goal, but a false start forced a field-goal attempt and Stumpf split the uprights from 25 yards for a go-ahead 3-pointer thanks to a great hold on a low snap.

A few possessions later, Stumpf intercepted a pass in the red zone to halt a promising drive for Bartlett and keep the Wolfpack ahead 10-8 at halftime.

Stumpf came up clutch again in the third quarter, this time on a fake punt in West Valley territory, after completing a 9-yard pass to Jasper Sipes on 4th-and-8. But the drive stalled, and four plays later, Bartlett seized the lead for good.

With two minutes left in the third quarter, Fainuulelei broke off a 54-yard TD run down the right sideline that ended with a rugby-style finish after getting tripped up near the goal line. Jardine converted the two-point conversion to put the Bears ahead 16-10.

Not long after that, Bartlett’s defense forced a three-and-out and Jardine returned the ensuing punt 51 yards to set up the Bears in the red zone. Two plays later, Jardine dodged two tacklers on his way to a 13-yard scoring sprint.

In the fourth quarter, Fainuulelei scrambled to his right and found Jardine over the middle for a 44-yard catch-and-run TD that made it 28-10.

Bartlett continues to make strides under coach Hans Deemer, a veteran bench boss who is in his first season with the program. Things couldn’t have started worse after a 57-0 loss to West in the opener. Since then, though, the Bears have come out of hibernation. They played South tough in a 13-0 loss in Week 2 and then found their rhythm in Fairbanks.

Bartlett 8 0 8 12 – 28
West Valley 7 3 0 0 – 10
FIRST QUARTER
Bartlett – Moana 11 pass from Fainuulelei (Muasau run), 8:51
West Valley – Stumpf 82 kickoff return (Stumpf kick), 8:37
SECOND QUARTER
West Valley – Stumpf 25 FG, 11:52
THIRD QUARTER
Bartlett – Fainuulelei 54 run (Co. Jardine run), 1:52
FOURTH QUARTERS
Bartlett – Co. Jardine 13 run (kick missed), 11:07
Bartlett – Co. Jardine 44 pass from Fainuulelei (kick blocked), 2:05
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Bartlett – Fainuulelei 9-113, Moana 15-58, Co. Jardine 7-27, Muasau 4-24, Ezekk 2-7. West Valley – Irigoyen 14-49, Reese 6-17, Ladd 1-(-2), Harder 1-(-5).
PASSING
Bartlett – Fainuulelei 3-5-78. West Valley – Reese 5-16-21, Stumpf 1-1-9.
RECEIVING
Bartlett – Moana 2-34, Co. Jardine 1-44. West Valley – Wright 3-7, Sipes 1-9, Byrd 1-8, Harder 1-6.