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Crimson Bears devour Cougars 47-12 in record night
- Klas Stolpe
- 45 minutes ago
- 9 min read
Krew Ridle scores six touchdowns, Jaxin Jim earns 10 solo tackles
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior linebacker Jaxin Jim led a hungry Crimson Bears defense and senior quarterback Krew Ridle whipped up an end zone full of desserts in a 47-12 feast over the visiting Service Cougars at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park on Saturday.
“It felt great,” Jim said. “It was a huge win for us. I feel like we still have to keep grinding, keep taking care of our bodies, because we have another big game next week against Colony. Our defensive coach told us the word of the day was ‘violence.’ Whoever the guy you hit, hit him with violence. Make them choose to run the opposite way.”
While Jim and the JDHS defensive half were stifling the Cougars offense, Ridle was racking up yards and touchdowns with scoring runs of 62, 12, five, one, 11 and 64 yards. The output set a new JDHS record for most touchdowns by a Crimson Bears player in a game. The old mark of five was shared among Brian Felix, Alex Fagerstrom and Jayden Johnson.
“That is the hometown energy we had tonight,” JDHS coach Rich Sjoroos said. “One thing the team is learning, like in week one against South they ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, but it didn’t really phase anybody. Our team just shook it off, got off the mat and kept playing, and the same thing tonight. A credit to Service, that is what you want to do on the road, score early and they did in the first minute.”
One of Service’s two highlights came on the second play of the game. Service had to start with the ball on their own 22 as JDHS senior kicker Sonny Mazon backed up the returners.
On Service’s first play Jim and the JDHS front line gave the Cougars a three-yard loss. But on the next play Service running back Edward Thompson scampered 81 yards to give the Cougars a 6-0 lead.
“I thought our guys did a great job, like, ‘Okay, here we go, got to get it back,’ and they did,” Sjoroos said. “And we kept rolling from there.”
The JDHS defense took over the game one second later, forcing a fumble on the Service two-point conversion attempt.
“They do a great job communicating with each other,” Sjoroos said of the Crimson Bears defense. “They put good work in during the week, continue to work on their fundamentals as far as tackling, bracketing and pass coverage, and all the things you want from a defense. I feel like they appreciate each other doing their jobs and we get a lot of three-and-outs.”
Crimson Bears senior Ethan Van Kirk took the kickoff to the 38-yard line and on the first play Ridle ran 62 yards to tie the game 6-6. Mazon kicked the extra point for a 7-6 lead that was never challenged the rest of the way.
Mazon put the next kick into the end zone, backing up the Cougars and allowing the JDHS defense to take over. Crimson Bears senior linebackers Jim and Jake Chambers stopped the first play, Van Kirk the next, defensive back Avei Tuvaifale the third and JDHS took a punt on their own 49-yard line.
“During the beginning of the game Service left me untouched almost,” Jim said. “And there was a giant gap that I just kept filling and making tackles. I just kept reading my keys and doing my job. I feel like our defense feels like home, we are all brothers for each other. We all do the most to prepare for a team. We always do film together.
JDHS went four and out, but Service was hit hard on their first run and Crimson Bears sophomore linebacker Carter Day recovered a fumble on the 12-yard line. JDHS’ Ridle ran through traffic on the first play for a 13-6 lead and Mazon kicked the extra point for 14-6.
Both teams exchanged four-and-out possessions, with Service punting and JDHS fumbling on a field goal attempt.
Service would get stifled again by Jim on their next possession. The senior recorded a sack and assisted on a tackle with junior linebacker Sylvion Washington, then, along with junior defensive lineman Leonidas Taualo-Tasi, forced two incomplete passes and JDHS took possession.
“Jaxin is our anchor in the middle,” Sjoroos said. “He has been doing a great job all year with film study, making the defensive calls, getting everybody in the right spots and tonight was just another example of that. We have some challenges coming up, but tonight we definitely want to enjoy this one and it definitely was a big group effort. I thought the O-line had their best game and I said that last week too. So another week with another climb up the ladder as far as chemistry and being synchronized, getting on the blocks and winning at the line of scrimmage. You keep doing that and it puts you in a good spot to be competitive.”
With the ball on the Service 31-yard line Ridle ran for three yards, Jim for six yards and Ridle for a first down to the 16-yard line. Van Kirk smashed in on the next play for a 20-6 lead. A Service penalty on the point-after try moved the ball the one-yard line, but a JDHS fumble ended the action.
The second quarter belonged to the Crimson Bears with Ridle scoring at 11:21 on a five-yard run, at 5:32 on a 1-yard run and at 1:38 from 11 yards out. And Mazon put the extra point through the middle of the crossbar after each one.
Mazon also blasted the kickoff to various points inside Service's own 20-yard line, setting up the JDHS defense to stop anything from passing the 50-yard line.
“To be able to put that ball in the end zone and the opposing team on the 20 is huge,” Sjoroos said. “It gives our opponents no chance at a big play. If a team is struggling to get points on offense and you take away special teams from them too, that is tough…I thought we did the best we have in a couple years in returning punts and getting even better field position off of some of those kicks. Ethan (Van Kirk) and Avei (Tuvaifale) did a nice job of getting some good run backs. Our blocking was good, Andrew Sanders helped spring some runs… We are just starting to see some of that teamwork. We are definitely going to need it as we get into the second half of the season.”
Service had their best drive of the night in the third quarter.
Starting at their own 20-yard line after JDHS’ Mazon put a bruise on the pigskin, Service would run 13 plays, capped off by a Noah Cummings 13-yard pass to Hunter Davis. The Cougars' two-point conversion run attempt was smothered by JDHS defensive back Van Kirk.
JDHS’ Chambers, Taualo-Tasi, Van Kirk, Carter Day and Jim all had tackles along the way.
JDHS’ only second-half score followed.
The Crimson Bears took possession at their own 20-yard line and Jim ran for two yards, Ridle for nine and a first down. Jim ran for a yard, junior Caleb Aube for six and Ridle for three and a first down. An incomplete pass and a penalty set up second-and-15 and Ridle burst through a hole and rocketed ahead of Service defensive standout Hunter Davis and could not be caught on his sixth touchdown run of the night.
“He has a nice burst of speed in the line,” Sjoroos said. “He is probably a little tougher runner than people give him credit for. He is not the biggest kid out there, but he runs like he is 20 pounds heavier than he is. That long run he had at the end, that Service player is their fastest, but Krew found another gear. He took that guy all the way to the house.”
JDHS’ sophomore linebacker Carter Day, Taualo-Tasi, Jim, freshman Vance Tupou, junior Jarry Maghinay and sophomore Soren Young all aided in second-half tackles.
Mazon would have a field goal hit the crossbar from deep with 7:06 left in the third quarter and 1:14 left in the fourth quarter, but each time he followed with a kickoff that put the Cougars back on their own 20-yard line facing a ravenous Crimson Bears defensive line.
Sjoroos also noted the substitution play of younger players including sophomores Parker Katasse (corner) and Soren Young (linebacker) and freshman Vance Tupou (line). Sophomore Henrik Van Kirk took over long-snapping duties for PAT’s and field goals — giving Ridle a break as he is quarterback and defensive back. Others, such as freshman Kolten Krueger entered on kickoff plays to give Ethan Van Kirk and Sylvion Washington a break.
“It was a very long game,” Sjoroos said. “A lot of plays. And we were definitely starting to feel it as far as cramping and a minor injury. We got a couple younger players in and, really, if you look at the game plan they were part of it but not to that degree and they went in and did a great job. I think that part went unnoticed, that this was the game we used the most players due to the length and the number of plays. It needed to happen to help us get to the finish line and the kids did a good job. It felt good to trust them all and they delivered.”
The final play of the game saw JDHS’ Jim read a play, make a call to his linemen, and Chambers and junior Andrew Sanders put the last Cougars running back to the turf and end the game.
“I am always looking to the sidelines for the signs our coaches are giving,” Jim said. “And I am yelling the calls. That is just all us guys doing our jobs. I can’t even choose who played the best for us tonight. Everyone played so well. Our linebackers have such good chemistry, we are all really good friends. Our D line did good today, our two safeties were really good, I am proud of our corners with our coverage, our O line and running backs and Krew… and our linebackers coming down and hitting Service with violence.”
Sjoroos noted that playing on the home field again was even more special with seeing the JDHS drumline, the cheer squad and inflatable bear tunnel.
“It is good to see the Crimson Bears having a nice little stretch here,” Sjoroos said. “It is going to be a short week. Starting Monday with school being a holiday. We have Colony Friday night. So we will travel up there Friday morning. Just a lot of things to get in order so we will take a day, decompress, reenergize a little bit, and then get back together on Monday and get going on Colony.”
Colony is first in the Cook Inlet Conference with a 3-0 record, 3-1 overall, followed by West Anchorage (2-0 CIC, 3-1 OA; South Anchorage (2-1 CIC, 2-2 OA); JDHS (2-1 CIC, 3-1 OA), Bartlett (1-1 CIC, 2-2 OA), Service (1-2 CIC, 2-2 OA), Bettye Davis East Anchorage (0-3 CIC, 0-4 OA) and Dimond (0-3 CIC, 1-3 OA).
SCORE BY QUARTER
Juneau 20 - 21 - 0 - 6 = 47
Service 6 - 0 - 6 - 0 = 12
HOW THEY SCORED
1ST QTR
11:17 - Cougars - Thompson 81-yard run. 2-point conversion fails, fumble. 6-0.
10:59 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 62-yard run. Mazon PAT 7-6.
7:54 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 14-yard run. Mazon PAT 14-6.
2:37 - Crimson Bears - Van Kirk 16-yard run. 2-point conversion fails, fumble 20-6.
2ND QTR
11:21 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 5-yard run. Mazon PAT 27-6.
5:32 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 1-yard run. Mazon PAT 34-6.
1:38 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 11-yard run. Mazon PAT 41-6
3RD QTR
2:38 - Cougars - Cummings 13-yard pass to Davis. 2pt-conversion fails. 41-12.
4TH QTR
11:05 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 64-yard run. PAT fails, fumble. 47-12.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
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