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Crimson Bears QB Krew Ridle earns honors
JDHS senior player of the week follows his lineman to prepare team for Colony
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears senior quarterback Krew Ridle was selected by local sports journalists as the Alaska Athlete of the Week for his performance on the gridiron against Service High School last Saturday.
“That means a lot to me,” Ridle said. “I know it takes a lot of work to get recognized like that. I always look to see who that player is and it is crazy to think that it is me.”
Ridle ran the ball 21 times for 237 yards and scored six touchdowns, setting a JDHS single-game touchdown record in front of home fans at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park. Ridle had scoring runs of 62, 14, 5, 1, 11 and 64 yards as the Crimson Bears defeated Service 47-12. The team captain also starts at defensive back and played both ways throughout the game.
“Krew has been our field general and been doing a really nice job of engineering the offense,” JDHS head coach Rich Sjoroos said. “It is something we have been able to take on the road, and I like what he has been doing and hopefully we can keep building on it. He is probably the first one to say he isn’t making those plays without other guys helping him get there. You kind of like to have that type of leader, somebody who doesn’t focus on themselves and definitely wants to see the team do well, and that is Krew.”
Ridle is always the first athlete to praise his teammates for any accolades.
“I could not have gotten the chance of earning that title this week without my offensive line,” Ridle said. “They have put in a great deal of work this year.”
The JDHS O-Line, D-Line and sideline will be needed as the Crimson Bears travel to top-seeded Colony High School on Friday for a Cook Inlet Conference battle at the Knights' field and during their opponent’s homecoming festivities.
“It is a tough place to play, just like people say Juneau is tough, but all these road games are hard,” Sjoroos said. “It is a short week and we are trying to get that energy level back, get it rolling.”
Thirty-two of the Knights’ seniors have felt the crush of the CIC over their previous three seasons and now they are the crushers, boasting an identical 3-1 mark possessed by the Crimson Bears, except Colony is undefeated in the CIC while JDHS has a lone loss. The Crimson Bears’ 16-6 setback to third-ranked South Anchorage came in the season opener on the road. Colony fell 14-7 to undefeated Palmer of the Division II Railbelt Conference.
“They have a lot of one-way players,” Sjoroos said. “That probably bodes well for them to be able to have a lot of communication on the sideline when your whole offense or your whole defense is over there, kind of like typical college or NFL programs. It is not a luxury we have had in Juneau for the last 20 years but credit to them for having that.
JDHS is averaging 30 points per game and giving up just 10. The Crimson Bears defense is rated as the strongest in the league, including out-of-conference play, but they are third defensively in CIC contests behind proven powers West and South. Colony ranks fourth defensively. JDHS’ offense is rated second across all games and third in CIC, Colony is ranked second with the ball in CIC.
“We expect a tough game,” Sjoroos said. “It is their homecoming so they will have that built in energy. We are looking forward to it. We know if you want to have any kind of success into October, it doesn’t necessarily always happen in Juneau. You have to be able to play well on the road. This will be a good mid-season road test for us. We will see how we are doing. We have been at home the last couple weeks, which is nice, but I think the kids are eager and ready and we will see what we can do Friday night.”
Through one Alaska computer ranking system — starting with preseason editorial input, based on returning student-athletes, strength of schedule, opponents' strength of schedule and game-by-game results — the top 10 teams are Lathrop, Soldotna, West Anchorage, South Anchorage, Palmer, JDHS, Wasilla, Colony, Kenai and Barrow.
“Colony has a very fast team,” Sjoroos said. “And they are super hungry and motivated. They are coming off a couple of tough seasons and are off to a really good start this year. I am sure they are excited we are coming there just like last year we were happy they came here. It is one of those tough environments to play in, but I like, in two of the games this year, we started out where the other team kind of scored in the first minute of the game, but we did not panic. I think that is going to be important this week because Colony will come out raring to go, just like we are. We just have to settle in and make it a four-quarter game.”
A more concise national ranking system — based on respected media coverage and a compilation of data from companies Rivals, Max Preps, ESPN and Sports Illustrated — puts West on top, followed by Lathrop, Soldotna, South, JDHS, Palmer, Colony, Bartlett, Service and Wasilla.
“We keep reminding our players there are many layers to what you can call success and growth,” Sjoroos said. “Playing well on the road is one of those layers. I think being able to travel well, hydrate well, just doing all the things for yourself personally and that puts you in the best position to be successful. Getting as much sleep as you can, those types of things. We are definitely preaching that and trying to stay grounded. I think the team is getting it. Yeah, those were a couple nice wins we have had, it feels good. Obviously you put a scoreboard up there for a reason, so having a win always feels better than not winning, so it is something we want to keep striving for. But at the same time it is recognizing that you can see improvements in other areas and still move yourself forward where you are playing your best football at the end of the year.”
BIG HITS
West put down powerhouse South 21-14 last week - the Wolverines' second loss as they also fell to Railbelt leader Lathrop 27-16 the game before. West needed to tie the game late in the second half and hold South to negative yards in the fourth quarter, including two sacks and a forced fumble. West will have a week off to mend before traveling down to Juneau in what could be a state championship preview. JDHS will travel to Colony and continue to do what they have done all season, stand up to the larger rostered schools and play for the last game of the season which, by fate, is the state championship hosted at Colony High School.
STANDINGS/ WEEK 4 SCORES
DI COOK INLET
1 - West (3-0, 3-1); 2 - Colony (3-0, 3-1); 3 - South (2-1, 2-2); 4 - JDHS (2-1, 3-1); 5 - Bartlett (1-1, 2-2); 6 - Service (1-2, 2-2); 7 - East (0-3, 0-4); 8 - Dimond (0-3, 1-3).
Colony 36, East 29, 2OT
West 21, South 14
Juneau 47, Service 12
Bartlett 55, Dimond 22
Week 5:
Fri: Juneau 3-1 at Colony 3-1
Fri: South 2-2 at Dimond 1-3
Fri: Bartlett 2-2 vs East 0-4
West 3-1 idle
Service idle
“Everybody is getting better each week,” Sjoroos noted. “It is just that everybody progresses at different speeds. And it is the teams that continue to progress at that wider, faster pace that start separating from everyone else. That is the thing. Can you keep everybody engaged if you are not winning a lot of games? Can you keep everybody showing up, can you come up with a formula, can you move a few pieces around that gets you on the right track? If you are winning, can you keep everyone grounded, keep them humble and keep them motivated? On a team, if you have 32 seniors, a lot of time that takes care of itself, a lot of your seniors are leading the way. But if you have a younger team and they start having success when they are younger, it can be hard to maintain that mindset because it came to them, maybe, easier. Colony’s seniors took it on the chin this last couple of years so they are like, ‘Hey, it is finally our turn.’ So they probably have pretty lively practices, pretty locked in; I imagine it is going to be a pretty tough one for us. So we have some work to do.”
DII RAILBELT
1 - Lathrop (3-0, 4-0); 2 - Palmer (3-0, 4-0); 3 - Soldotna (2-1, 2-2); 4 - Wasilla (2-1, 3-1); 5 - Chugiak (1-2, 2-2); 6 - North Pole (1-2, 1-3); 7 - West Valley (0-3, 0-4); 8 - Eagle River (0-3, 0-4).
Lathrop 23, Soldotna 20
Palmer 21, Chugiak 7
Wasilla 41, Eagle River 7
North Pole 8, West Valley 7
Week 5:
Fri: Chugiak 2-2 vs Eagle River 0-4
Fri: North Pole 1-3 vs Soldotna 2-2
Fri: Wasilla 3-1 vs West Valley 0-4
Sat: Lathrop 4-0 vs Palmer 4-0
DIII MID ALASKA
1 - Barrow (3-0, 3-0); 2 - Kenai (2-0, 2-1); 3 - Homer (1-2, 1-3); 4 - Redington (1-2, 1-3); 5 - Houston (0-3, 0-3).
Barrow 40, Redington 6
Homer 65, Houston 8
Kenai vs idle
Week 5:
Fri: Homer 1-3 vs Redington 1-3
Sat: Barrow 3-0 vs Kenai 2-1
D2-D3 Poll:
1.Lathrop 4-0 vs Palmer
2. Palmer 4-0 at Lathrop
3.Barrow 3-0 vs Kenai
4. Wasilla 3-1 at West Valley
5. Kenai 2-1 at Barrow
DENALI 9-MAN
1 - SWDP (4-0); 2 - Kodiak (3-1); 3 - Seward (3-1); 4 - Nikiski (2-2); 5 - Monroe (0-4); 6 - Valdez (0-4).
SWDP 74, Nikiski 6
Kodiak 68, Valdez 0
Seward 34, Monroe 6
Week 5:
Fri: Kodiak 3-1 vs Nikiski 2-2
Sat: Monroe 0-4 vs Kodiak 3-1
Sat: Seward 3-1 vs SWDP 4-0
NOTE: Alaska Sports Hall of Fame executive director Harlow Robinson and Alaska sports journalists and photographers, including Beth Bragg, Matt Nevala, Van Williams, Kathleen Navarre, Arielle Himelbloom, Stephanie Burgoon, Doyle Woody, Jason Metrokin and Juneau Independent sports editor Klas Stolpe vote each week for athletes to be chosen for publishing in the Alaska Sports Report.
Other athletes receiving votes included Kai Anderson-Berghoff, Charlotte Deemer and Katahdin Staples.
Anderson-Berghoff, a Colony sophomore, caught nine passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-29 double overtime win over East Anchorage. He was part of a trick play in the second overtime, catching a pass on a hook-and-ladder play, and moving the ball to a teammate who ran it in for the decisive score.
Deemer, a Kodiak freshman, won her 5-kilometer home course debut race at Fort Abercombie State Historical Park in a time of 19 minutes, 47 seconds, and in the process defeated Colony senior Aubrey Virgin who holds the state's fastest time this season of 18:42. Virgin finished 4.7 seconds behind Deemer and Kodiak defeated Colony 26-29.
Staples, the two-time defending Division I cross country running state champion and reigning Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year (XC), is not only responsible for the return of East Anchorage High School’s 2026-27 Partners Club - an initiative that brings together and creates connections between students with disabilities and their peers - but he also continued his undefeated streak by matching his personal best time of 15:36 to win the 2026 Big 8 Invite Cross Country Meet at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park last week. The meet brings together the eight Anchorage School District High Schools.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
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