West football and South flag are No. 1 in Alaska
There’s a new No. 1-ranked high school football team in Alaska.
West Anchorage has taken over the top spot from perennial frontrunner Soldotna in this week’s Massey Ratings, despite both teams losing to Lower 48 competition in Week 3.
West dropped a 38-16 decision to Heritage of Littleton, Colo., while Soldotna lost 35-28 to Star Valley of Afton, Wyo. Both Alaska teams enter Week 4 with 2-1 records.
Undefeated Lathrop is ranked third, followed by South Anchorage fourth and unbeaten Palmer fifth. Juneau-Douglas (2-1) narrowly missed a top five showing.
Prep Football
Massey Ratings for Alaska
1. West (2-1)
2. Soldotna (2-1)
3. Lathrop (3-0)
4. South (2-1)
5. Palmer (3-0)
West got a season-high 176 passing yards and one touchdown from quarterback Parker Grimm, while Tatum Portis scored on the ground and Elias Sandberg kicked a field goal.
Soldotna piled up 352 rushing yards, with Eli Richards getting 28 carries for 94 yards. Chase Hall accumulated 151 yards in the first half before a shoulder injury sidelined him.
Lathrop beat South 27-16 behind quarterback Boaz Balash, who threw for 215 yards and two TDs. Tayven Sullivan scored two TDs – one receiving and one rushing.
Meanwhile, Palmer knocked off Valley rival Colony 14-7, thanks to rushing TDs by Sawyer Leingang and Nollege Price. Price finished with 105 yards on the ground, while Titus Lance added 95.
Week 4 features some big games with Soldotna hosting Lathrop on Friday and South hosting West on Saturday.
West halfback Manny Maga is averaging 7.1 yards per carry this season. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
MaxPreps has Soldotna ranked No. 1, Lathrop No. 2, West No. 3, Palmer No. 4 and South No. 5.
In flag football, the South Wolverines hold the top spot in the MaxPreps poll over fellow Cook Inlet Conference team Dimond.
Both teams picked up wins on Tuesday, with South blanking East Anchorage 54-0 and Dimond holding off Service 18-14.
Colony beat Wasilla 35-8 on Tuesday behind quarterback Briellyn Parrent’s monster game – 302 yards passing, 183 yards rushing, five total TDs. Wasilla’s Almaz Johnson bagged 135 yards of offense and scored once.
Flag Football
MaxPreps Rankings for Alaska
1. South (6-0)
2. Dimond (6-0)
3. Colony (8-0)
4. North Pole (4-1)
5. Wasilla (5-3)
North Pole and Wasilla round out the top five, with Service (4-4) just missing out on the top five.
Wasilla will travel to Dimond to face the Lynx at Don Winchester Field on Wednesday.
In another highly anticipated contest, North Pole faces Colony on Thursday in a game that features a trio of terrific playmakers in Parrent and North Pole’s sister act of Jade and Taimane Skipps, who a week ago combined for 500 all-purpose yards and nine TDs.
Colony’s Briellyn Parrent has amassed nearly 3,300 yards of total offense in eight games. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
