When Braden Pili takes the football field Friday night, he will look to continue a family tradition in Dimond’s season opener: Score touchdown, win game.

Big bro Brandon pulled it off in 2016, when he cashed in on a 1-yard dive in the fourth quarter to power a 21-14 victory over Chugiak.

Older bro Cayden turned the trick in 2024, throwing for one TD and rushing for two more as the Lynx beat Bartlett 35-30.

Braden is next man up. The senior will be under center against Colony for a Week 1 Cook Inlet Conference clash at Dimond High School.

Dimond holds a 9-8 advantage over Colony in the all-time series dating back to 1997. The Lynx have won the last three matchups, including a 40-23 win in 2024 that included Cayden and Braden Pili.

The brothers took their talents to Seattle for the 2025 season and played for Eastside Catholic. Cayden graduated last spring, while Braden came home for his final season.

The Pili bros have been good for the Lynx, who are 12-0 in their last dozen games with one of them on the field. In 2024, with Cayden and Braden, the Lynx went 11-0 and won a state title. In 2016, Brandon led Dimond to a Week 1 win before he transferred to Westview in Portland, Ore. (after the season he returned to Dimond and graduated with his class).

Now it’s Braden’s time to shine.

The 6-foot quarterback has a live arm. Strong and calm, he’s more fundamental than flashy. A steady hand who can move the chains.

On defense, he’s even better, and should make an immediate impact.

Prep Football

WEEK 1
Friday
Colony at Dimond
Bartlett at West
Soldotna vs. Wasilla
Chugiak vs. West Valley
Kodiak at Seward
Houston at Redington
🏈
Saturday
Juneau at South
Service at East
Palmer at Eagle River
Homer at Kenai
North Pole at Lathrop

Dimond enters the 2026 season with a new head coach in Devin Collins, a former assistant who got the call to replace Brian Yim. Collins is in his third season with the Lynx after previously working on staffs at West and South.

Yim stepped down because his wife is expecting their first child, a girl, in early 2027. “I may be out of coaching for a bit,” he said.

Yim has taken on a new role as prep football insider for the Alaska Sports Report. He will provide insight and assist with background for better coverage.

Another new coach this season is veteran bench boss Hans Deemer, who replaced Traves Ramirez-Medeiros at Bartlett. The Golden Bears played for a state title a year ago, losing to South in the Division I First National Bowl.

Deemer has vast experience on the gridiron, having played or coached football since 1975. He’s also got professional experience as the former head coach of the Alaska Wild, Anchorage’s short-lived arena football team in the 2000s.

He’s a defense-minded coach who will fit right in with the always physical Golden Bears.

“Bartlett looked really good at the scrimmage at Dimond last Saturday,” Yim said. “The talent will always be there, but they will need to put it all together.”

Among the standouts back for Bartlett include Colt Jardine, a Swiss-army-knife type player who you can plug and play pretty much anywhere.

According to MaxPreps, the teams to beat in the CIC are South and West, which rank No. 2 and No. 3 statewide behind top-ranked Soldotna.

South returns player-of-the-year favorite Ethan Yarrington, who rushed for 1,043 yards and 20 TDs in addition to making 143 tackles last season.

The Wolverines are far from a one-man show. Offensively, there is Kaedin Coleman-Arroyo, who accumulated 940 all-purpose yards and scored eight TDs last season. Defensively, Timothy Edmondson recorded 111 tackles and recovered five fumbles a year ago.

“South is the real deal,” Yim said.

West returns a handful of offensive stars led by running back Manny Maga, who rushed for 679 yards and seven TDs as a junior. He registered a career-high 168 yards against Colony and added 117 against East.

The Eagles lost their quarterback and top four wideouts but return receivers Isaiah Sosa-Carpenter (6-67-1) and Eddie Salesitino (7-104-0).

On defense, West welcomes back hard-hitting linebacker Jezekaiah Tufue, who racked up 93 tackles and five sacks last year. Also back are JJ Chanhtseng (81 tackles) and Gideon Makihele (36 tackles).

Kicker Elias Sandberg is another key returner for the Eagles. He split the uprights three times last season, including a 34-yarder in Week 5 that provided a 17-16 victory over Service.

Head coach Brown Faaaliga is back for his second year at West after going 8-2 and advancing to the state semifinals in Year 1.

Former bench boss Tim Davis is back to calling the offense. Davis is the CIC’s all-time wins leader (114) and is tied for second in Alaska history with four state titles.

Davis stepped down after the 2024 season, replaced by Brown, a former Service player who was coached by Yim in 2008.

The rest of the MaxPreps preseason rankings have Bartlett, Service and Dimond finishing in the middle of the pack in the CIC and Juneau, Colony and East finishing at the bottom.

Juneau features one of the league’s best halfbacks in Ethan Van Kirk, who rushed for 665 yards and seven touchdowns before suffering a shoulder injury in Week 6 that sidelined him for the season.

Regardless of who runs the ball for the Crimson Bears, they find success on the ground behind plays like the slot reverse.

“They run a deceptive offense that keeps them in close games,” Yim said.

Colony is boosted by the return of playmakers Trayvon Lott, Kadarious Pope, Hudson Broeder and kicker Charles Figgins.

East is a year older after having one of the youngest teams in the league last year.

“I am expecting them to be pretty solid,” Yim said of the T-birds. “Definitely not the bottom of the standings. They were super young last year, especially at QB, but if all those kids return this year, they should be solid. It’s East Anchorage, there is no shortage of talent.”