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Crimson Bears nipped by Lynx on the road
JDHS loses to Dimond 28-27 on a last-minute touchdown
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears football team were stunned on the road by the Dimond High School Lynx, losing 28-27 Saturday on a late touchdown drive with under four minutes to play.
Dimond senior quarterback Braden Pili scampered 12 yards to give the Lynx the late lead, capping off an eight-play drive from the Lynx’s own 37-yard line.
JDHS still had a chance to win the game, working from their own 37-yard line with 1:09 remaining in the game.
The Crimson Bears secured one first down, working the ball to the 47-yard line and needed to get across the 50 to test the kicking prowess of senior Sonny Mazon.
The Lynx defense put up their best series of the day, forcing an incomplete pass, stopping a run at five yards and then forcing two more incomplete passes to earn possession and take a knee with 33 seconds remaining to end the game.
“Dimond played with great energy and jumped on us early,” JDHS coach Rich Sjoroos said. “We did a nice job of coming back a few times to regain the lead, but they answered every time. They definitely outplayed us and deserved to win.”
Dimond took the game’s early lead in the first quarter. After both teams had one possession that ended in punts, the Lynx were guided by Pili’s foot and arm as they moved from their own 25-yard line in seven plays, capped off by a Pili two-yard pass to senior Jaeden Leonard. Lynx junior Kai Walker kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
JDHS went four-and-out on their next possession, and Dimond capitalized with a six-play drive from their 39-yard line that ended with Pili scrambling for a two-yard touchdown run and a 13-0 lead. The JDHS line forced the extra point wide.
JDHS sophomore Carter Day brought the Crimson Bears’ next possession to their own 46-yard line. Classmate Hendrik Van Kirk ran for two yards, quarterback Krew Ridle ran for nine and senior Jaxin Jim broke off a 22-yard gallop to the 21-yard line. Ridle was stopped on a run, but broke off 11 yards on the next play to the 10-yard line and senior Ethan Van Kirk battled for two yards as the first quarter ended. Ridle was tackled for a two-yard loss by Pili on the next play, but on third-and-goal he connected with Ethan Van Kirk for a 10-yard touchdown pass to close to 13-6 with 11 minutes remaining in the half. JDHS drew Dimond offside on the extra-point lineup, moved half the distance to the goal line, and Ridle scrambled in to close the lead to 13-8.
Dimond would have four new possessions in the half, but JDHS responded to each series with a defense that included tackles by Jim, E. Van Kirk, sophomore Tayt Whiteley and juniors Andrew Sanders, Helaman Aitaoto-Tele’a and Sylvion Washington — all behind the stout line of the Crimson Bears.
JDHS opened the second half on a nine-play drive from their 35-yard line that was capped by Ridle keeping on a scramble for 35 yards to the one-yard line and then keeping the ball for a battering touchdown and a 14-13 lead with 8:22 remaining in the third quarter. Mazon kicked the extra point for a 15-13 lead.
Dimond responded with a five-play scoring drive from their 25-yard line in just over a minute. Pili completed a pass to junior Jeremiah Converse for 14 yards and another for seven yards, then connected with sophomore Kaiden Graytrix for 15 yards and field position on the 32-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Pili connected with Graytrix for 32 yards and a 19-15 lead. JDHS stopped a two-point pass attempt.
JDHS responded with a 13-play scoring drive from their own 20-yard line. The drive included a 17-yard pass to freshman Liam Bigelow, runs by Ridle of nine and three yards, an eight-yard run by Jim, a nine-yard pass by Ridle to E. Van Kirk, runs by Ridle of 14 and six yards, a one-yard ram by Jim and three runs by Ridle that moved the ball to the seven-yard line. Ridle kept the ball for a run off center and a 21-19 Crimson Bears lead. JDHS again drew Dimond offside on the extra point lineup, but their two-point conversion run on the next play was stopped short by Dimond’s Pili.
Dimond responded on their possession with 1:05 remaining in the third quarter and took two plays into the fourth quarter and four more to set up a field goal by Walker for a 22-21 lead with 10:07 left to play.
JDHS went four-and-out in their next drive, ending with a fake punt that was stopped on their own 33-yard line by Dimond junior linebacker Owen Severson.
Dimond had good field position and Pili broke a 12-yard run, stopped by JDHS’ Jim at the 23-yard line. Three pass attempts were thwarted by the JDHS secondary of E. Van Kirk, Ridle and junior Andrew Sanders forcing a field goal attempt. The Lynx kick was short and JDHS senior Avei Tuvaifale played the kick to the 20-yard line.
JDHS went 80 yards in seven plays, including runs by Ridle of 17 and 22 yards, E. Van Kirk of 21 and 16 yards, and Ridle with two scrambles of four yards, putting the ball at the three-yard line. Ridle ran through the middle for a touchdown and a 27-22 lead with 4:44 remaining. The Crimson Bears opted to secure a seven-point lead but Ridle was stopped short on a pounding run by the Lynx defense led by Pili.
JDHS put a squib kick into the front of Dimond’s return, but the Lynx recovered on their own 37-yard line. Pili started the drive with a four-yard run, then recovered a bad snap. On third-and-six, Pili hit junior wide receiver DJ Evans for 17 yards, then again for 11 yards. Two incomplete passes forced by the defensive pressure of the Crimson Bears’ Jim and Ridle put the Lynx in a fourth-and-seven predicament from the JDHS 43-yard line. Pili responded with a 32-yard pass play to Graytrix, moving the ball to the 11-yard line. Pili then ran straight through the Crimson Bears’ middle for a touchdown and the 28-27 score.
The JDHS line tipped the extra point attempt, but JDHS could only move 11 yards on their last possession from their own 37-yard line, ending with the Dimond defense losing two players but filling the ranks and stopping the drive.
Unofficial JDHS stats show Ridle connected on four of 14 passes for 48 yards and rushed 33 times for 160 yards. E. Van Kirk carried eight times for 74 yards, Jim five times for 33 yards, H. Van Kirk and Aube rushed once. E. Van Kirk caught four passes for 33 yards and Bigelow was targeted once for 18 yards. Jim recorded five solo tackles and E. Van Kirk three.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Juneau 0 - 8 - 13 - 6 = 27
Dimond 13 - 0 - 6 - 9 = 28
HOW THEY SCORED
1ST QTR
6:31 - Lynx - Pili 3-yard pass to Leonard. Walker PAT, 7-0.
3:05 - Lynx - Pili 2-yard run. PAT missed, 13-0.
2ND QTR
11:06 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 10-yard pass to E. Van Kirk. Ridle 2-Pt run, 8-13.
3RD QTR
8:22 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 1-yard run. Mazon PAT, 15-13.
7:07 - Lynx - Pili 32-yard pass to Gratrix. 2-Pt conversion pass failed, 19-15.
1:29 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 7-yard run. 2-Pt conversion run failed, 21-19.
4TH QTR
10:07 - Lynx - Walker 27-yard FG, 22-21.
4:44 - Crimson Bears - Ridle 3-yard run. 2-Pt conversion run failed, 27-22.
1:29 - Lynx - Pili 12-yard run. PAT blocked, 28-27.
The loss does little for JDHS’ playoff standing. The Crimson Bears are fourth in the Cook Inlet Conference with a 3-3 record (4-3 overall) and will host a first-round playoff game.
West is 6-0 CIC (6-1 overall), South 5-1 CIC (5-2 OA) and Colony 4-2 CIC (4-3 OA). Service is fifth with a 2-4 CIC mark (3-4 OA), East sixth at 2-4 (2-5 OA), Bartlett at 1-5 CIC (2-5 OA) and Dimond 1-5 (2-5 OA).
JDHS closes the regular season hosting Bartlett on Saturday, Oct. 3. A Crimson Bears loss and a Service win over Dimond or East win over South, still gives JDHS leverage as they defeated Service 47-12 in the fourth week of the season and East 17-14 in week two. If JDHS wins and Colony loses to West, the Knights and Crimson Bears would have identical records but, again, JDHS has the leverage of a 41-27 win over Colony in week five.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
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