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Crimson Bears' roar silences Thunderbirds
- Klas Stolpe
- 8 hours ago
- 8 min read
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé football team storms through East Anchorage
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears drove 70 yards on their first possession Saturday at Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School’s home field and never looked back, earning a 17-14 road win over the Thunderbirds.
“Our defense ran into a pretty powerful run game and I thought just make some nice adjustments,” JDHS coach Rich Sjoroos said. “And they did get a long drive, like a 10-minute drive after we scored and tied the game up at eight, and then after that we really kept them in check. Pretty much all the way until the final drive of the game.”
The opening drive took just seven plays and JDHS senior Jaxin Jim rushed in from eight yards out for the score. JDHS senior Ethan Van Kirk ran in a two-point conversion for the 8-0 lead.
Sjoroos praised the play of senior quarterback Krew Ridle, senior running back Ethan Van Kirk and junior running back Sylvion Washington.
“East runs a little softer coverage and I just figured we could find some spots and muscle our way down the field,” Sjoroos said. “Krew did a great job of that. They all did. Driving their legs after contact and turning the two-yard gain into a four-yard run. You do enough of those and you get a first down. So it was great.”
East matched that effort with a score on their first possession, moving 12 plays down the field - and into the second quarter - and punching in a five-yard run by junior Devon Peseti. Senior Sunu Fatialofa ran in a two-point conversion to tie the score at 8-8.
JDHS had to punt on their second possession and East struggled to get the ball past midfield and punted from their own 30-yard line.
A JDHS 12-play drive from their own 49-yard line against the solid East defense turned into a field goal attempt from 20 yards out and Crimson Bears senior Sonny Mazon drilled the kick for an 11-8 advantage.
East called a timeout to preserve three seconds on the clock, but the JDHS onside kickoff was recovered by the Crimson Bears with one second left in the half. A run play up the middle resulted in five yards as the first half expired.
“Field position was a big deal today,” Sjoroos said. “We took advantage of a drive towards the end of the half. It started near midfield and we were able to get it down to field goal range. It would have been nice to get a touchdown, but at the same time just having points and having the lead going into halftime was big. I've been on this end of it where we played East on the road before or even at home and they make some nice adjustments at halftime and come out and take that first drive to the third quarter and just march down the field and get points, and they didn't today and that was big for us.”
East had first possession in the second half, but the JDHS linebacker corps stepped up. Crimson Bears sophomore Carter Day stopped a run, junior Helaman Aitaoto-Tele’a another, senior Jake Chambers yet another and JDHS took over on downs.
JDHS’ Krew Ridle threw a sideline pass to junior wide receiver Andrew Sanders as part of an eight-play drive. The action stalled with an interception by East, but at the Thunderbirds' own 15-yard line. The Crimson Bears had good defensive position to work with and after three plays JDHS’ Jim intercepted a pass and ran it back 20 yards for a 17-8 lead. The extra point by Sonny Mazon was just shy.
“I can’t tell you how big that interception was,” Sjoroos said. “It gave us that two-score cushion and just a little bit of breathing room on the road... I feel like you always kind of wonder how you're going to play on the road. Getting up early at 5 a.m. or 4:30 and getting to the airport, can the kids get the right nutrition in them and stay hydrated and have the right energy. All that kind of stuff. A lot of times you just need something big to happen early in a game to kind of get you going because you just don't know. I thought that pass from Krew Ridle to Andrew Sanders down the sideline just really got the sideline hyped up and the team hyped up and we were able to cash that in and get some points early in the game. Of course you have to play four quarters after that. But I thought that was a good way to start in a tough environment on the road. So that was great. And I am glad that the kids could do that and then see it all the way through to the end, it was pretty awesome.”
On East’s next possession JDHS junior linebacker Caleb Aube tackled a Thunderbird for a loss and Jim sacked the East quarterback to force a punt.
JDHS ran down the remainder of the third quarter clock but also had to punt possession away.
East had the ball on their own 43-yard line but ran just three short plays before JDHS junior linebacker Jarry Maghinay intercepted a pass and the Crimson Bears had possession on their own 38-yard line with 9:20 remaining in the game.
“Once again, and I know I said this last week too, our defense had another solid game,” Sjoroos said. “Our linebackers especially, Jaxin Jim, Carter Day and Caleb Aube did a nice job of filling holes…”
Sjoroos noted the standout play of junior interior lineman Leonidas Taualo-Fale and junior defensive lineman Helaman Aitaoto-Tele’a and credited defensive line coach Jeff Hedges for the surge of play defensively.
“It was a really good move by coaches putting them in together because they play off each other so well,” Sjoroos said. “And Jake Chambers and Jaxin Jim and Jarry Maghinay, he played a corner today and did a phenominal job… Ethan Van Kirk and Caleb Aube, they both tackled so well… just lots of positive things.”
In a masterful possession JDHS worked through nine plays and over seven minutes of game time to put the ball at the East 29 yard line. A last-play incomplete pass gave possession to East, but on their first play JDHS’ Day uncorked a big tackle to stop a gain.
“We were able to eat about six minutes off the clock,” Sjoroos said. “I know I didn't get points out of it, but I've always said over the years when you have a two-score lead in the game, eating time is almost as valuable as getting more points. We were able eat a lot of the clock down there so even when they got it back, time was against them at that point. We had good opportunities to learn situational football today and that is great for earlier in the year that will probably pay off later on down the road.”
East stayed in the game with a series of short passes and worked the ball over midfield and down to the JDHS 16-yard line where junior Logan Womack, Aube and junior Sylvion Washington gang-tackled a runner.
East junior quarterback Kiona Toa threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Kaiedenn Sanders to close to 17-14. The point after was tipped at the line of scrimmage and fell short.
JDHS recovered East’s onside kickoff attempt to end the game.
“They made a pretty nice adjustment and they went to a spread with an empty set and put it in a pretty fast,” Sjoroos said. “He was kind of a dual-threat guy, somebody that could really run. And it really kind of got us on our heels a little bit in that last two minutes of the game and then getting that score right at the end. But I thought we just played better. Special teams was way better. Our kick coverage, our punts, everything was better. And then offensively, I thought we blocked better. Once we got some film and got to self-evaluate and make some adjustments and things, I figured we would play better. Pretty much everybody around the state makes improvements, right, from week one to week two, but you just hope you make enough to start getting some victories and for us it worked out that way.”
The obvious eye test on the field was the size difference between the two teams. East easily had more - and bigger - players across all positions, but JDHS would not be tossed aside.
“We hear that a lot from coaches,” Sjoroos said. “It's like, ‘How does Juneau, with guys half our size, hold up against us?’ And I hear that week in and week out. It is just kind of a testament to the type of players that we have on our team. They are just gritty. And it comes from the guys before them and the guys before them, and it is a foundation that was laid a long time ago for successful football. And Juneau is just tough kids. Maybe we don't win the pregame. But when it comes to playing on the field, most games we are pretty tough and we match up and just get after it and today was one of those days.
SCORE BY QUARTER
Juneau 8 - 3 - 6 - 0 = 17
East. 0 - 8 - 0 - 6 = 14
HOW THEY SCORED
1ST QTR
8:27 - Crimson Bears - Jim 8-yard run. Van Kirk 2-pt conversion scores. 8-0.
2ND QTR
11:14 - Thunderbirds - Peseti 5-yard run. Fatialofa 2–pt conversion run. 8-8.
:08 - Crimson Bears - Mazon 20-yard FG. 11-8.
3RD QTR
3:45 - Crimson Bears - Jim 20-yard interception. Mazon PAT no good. 17-8.
4TH QTR
5:50 - East - Toa eight-yard pass to Sanders. 17-14. PAT blocked.
The Crimson Bears host the North Pole Patriots on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park field.
“It is going to feel really good to play at home for a couple weeks,” Sjoroos said. “I feel like we have been on the road for what feels like a month now. We are a quarter of the way through the regular season and we haven't had a home game yet so we are ready. The few people that were there with us in Anchorage did a great job of cheering for us today. Imagine when we get the bleachers full. And talking to Brian Van Kirk, the band director, they are going to have the pep band out there all year too. So it is going to be great.”
The JDHS JV defeated the East JV 27-0.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
