Chugiak High School varsity football coach Duncan Shackelford might have done a few things differently in the Mustangs' 21-14 loss to Lincoln High in the Tacoma Dome Saturday.
Arriving home by 2 a.m. Monday, Shackelford was at school a few hours later kicking himself for a couple of missed opportunities.
"We should have gone for the field goal. I have the best placekicker in that state and I didn't use him," said the coach, referring to a scoring opportunity stalled on a fourth-and-one.
Shackelford said that senior Kyle Schierholt is a standout player, one of the state's best ever at that position. "And I didn't use him," said the coach, in a raspy voice.
No doubt the Mustang coach had to scream a little louder to make himself heard amidst the din of arena football.
"It was just a great atmosphere - very intense," said the coach, saying approximately 1,500 fans were inside the famed Tacoma Dome. "We played with an intensity that we hadn't played at all this year."
The team responded to the electricity and played one of their best games of the season.
"It was a game of big plays," said Shackelford, with long spans of little yardage punctuated with segments of plays worthy of highlight reel footage.
The biggest play for the Mustangs came in the third quarter when junior Jake Lester received a punt at the 19-yard line then proceeded to score on an 81-yard run.
"That was an incredible run," said the Chugiak coach, also commending hits by Brian Niedermeyer and Mike Pannone. "They both had critical blocks to help spring him.
Twice the Mustangs were halted inside their 20-yard line, both following fumbles in the backfield.
Chugiak junior quarterback Shane Ghramm also threw two interceptions.
Shackelford said after Lincoln scored on its first possession, the Mustangs made the defensive adjustments to make a game of it.
"They had an incredibly fast and quick team. But we gave it a real gritty team effort," he said.
With this being Lincoln's second game, Shackelford said the Mustangs, already in the middle of their season, showed a significantly better level of conditioning.
"We were in very good shape compared to them," he said. "They'll be one of the better teams in their conference."
With the road game out of the way, the Mustangs must now bring their A-game to the rest of their Cook Inlet Conference schedule beginning with Dimond at Chugiak Saturday.
"We need to put together to same kind of effort that we had last Saturday in the Dome. If we do that, we'll be successful. I'm confident of that," Shackelford said.
The game begins at 2 p.m. and is preceded by the junior varsity contest at 11 a.m.
