Looking for the silver lining amidst the dark shroud of a 55-0 drubbing by South Anchorage, the state's defending champions, Eagle River High School coach Kevin Bess was quick to note that, while the team members' egos were bruised, their bodies were left uninjured.
|
Eagle River High School senior running back Sean Evenstad gets wrapped up by a South High School defender for a loss during first half action Saturday at the Anchorage Football Stadium. The Wolves, who combined for a minus 45 yards rushing, were held without a first down for the first half en route to a 55-0 loss to the defending state champion Wolverines.
PHOTO BY DAN SHEPARD
|
“We played hard,” said the second-year Wolves varsity coach.
Bess said he felt the team had prepared adequately to take on the South Wolverines, last year's defending state champions, whose 11-game winning streak had been snapped by the Chugiak Mustangs a week earlier.
Aug. 16, the Eagle River High C team had beaten South 24-19, giving the varsity team hopes of a similar outcome.
“We didn't do too well,” said Bess. “When you give up 21 or 28 points with offensive miscues - that's tough. And until we resolve the miscue piece of the puzzle, we are not going to win.”
But credit the squad with a Herculean effort, with an offensive and defensive line significantly smaller than the opposition.
“We don't have the largest bunch of guys out there, so we have to prepare more. I thought we had,” said the coach.
On their first series of downs, Eagle River senior quarterback Denis Meyer fumbled amidst an extreme rush, yielding a 28-yard touchdown for South. For the day, the Wolves fumbled the ball four times, losing three.
In addition, Meyer was picked off three times, but none for touchdowns.
“Offensive mistakes have been our Achilles' heel,” said Bess.
During the first half, Eagle River was held in check, without a first down and with a minus 29 yards from scrimmage.
South played their reserves for much of the second half, allowing Eagle River to muster some yardage, as Meyer finished out the campaign with 137 yards on nine completions of 34 attempts.
“Being that we are smaller than other teams, we have to do things like roll out to the flat and throw the ball,” said Bess. “We were overpowered on the offensive line.”
Asked it the Wolves had some additional athletes who could step in and shore up the line, Bess retorted, “All the guys we could press into service had been pressed into service.”
Yet, the Eagle River coach praised the play of his defense.
“They had their hands full. They were out there a lot,” he said.
South ran the ball 40 times, amassing 213 yards. They also had 17 yards on two completions in five attempts.
Two of the brighter moments for the defense included an interception and a blocked point-after attempt. Unfortunately, the offensive team did not cap off any of their drives with a touchdown.
Bess said the team would need to regroup as they prepare for their 1 p.m. game with Bartlett High School Saturday at Anchorage Football Stadium.
The Eagle River coach said he feels his team has a legitimate chance against the Golden Bears.
“But if you would have asked me, I thought we had a chance against South and against Wasilla before them,” he said.
“We'll prepare for it — now we just have to execute,” Bess added.
The team may bring a little extra swagger to the field after practicing on their own artificial turf field Monday.
Both Eagle River's football and flag football teams were on hand for a short dedication ceremony on the school's new football field Monday after the field had been turned over to the school's principal, Natalie Burnett, earlier in the day.
Burnett uttered a short mantra to the teams at the end of the short speech with a comment of the team's privilege of ownership with the district's newest field.
“Respect it, protect it — and win,” said Burnett.
Reach the reporter at news@alaskastar.com.
