Crimson Bears to shine in NBC Sports spotlight against Dimond on the gridiron Saturday
- Klas Stolpe
- Sep 17
- 7 min read
Network crew filming documentary featuring JDHS, four others schools set to air on Super Bowl Sunday
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
It is hard to make any athletic contest against a defending state champion more exciting, but Saturday’s Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears’ Cook Inlet Conference football game at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Field against last season’s title-winning Dimond Lynx will be elevated to a nationwide spotlight with coverage by NBC Sports that’s set to be aired during next year’s Super Bowl.
“They are bringing their whole production crew and stuff, and will be at the game,” JDHS head coach Rich Sjoroos said. “Filming the field and the signage, interviewing some of the kids, and it will air before the Super Bowl. I think they picked, like, five high schools from around the country…Their focal point is, what does football mean to you and your community? That is kind of what I have heard."
"We are trying to get the word out so we can get a lot of support there and it will look good for the Super Bowl coverage to have the stands and stadium full…Yeah, it is a pretty neat deal...I know they saw some footage of our field and thought it was one of the most picturesque fields in the United States and that kind of got their attention…I know there are over 15,000 high schools so to be one of those five, regardless of what the reasons are, I thought that was pretty neat. Some of these kids will have a chance to say what football means to them.”
JDHS junior running back/defensive back and co-captain Ethan Van Kirk said the team was staying grounded.
“I think, if anything, what we really need to focus on this week is just focusing on playing football,” Van Kirk said. “I know NBC coming down is a huge thing and is going to be great to have everyone being interviewed and cool things like that, but still the most important thing for us is to go out there and play football.”
Said Van Kirk, “Growing up playing football in Juneau, for me, it is about the community. The community of Juneau and the support behind everyone, and the community of this football team. That’s what it means to me.”
NBC will be talking to players, parents and fans about football, and its impact on their lives. Those interviews will be supported by game footage — including drone images — and the combined snippets are expected to be included in the coverage of Super Bowl LX. The NFL uses Roman numerals to designate the championship game and LX represents 60, celebrating the 60th season of the NFL. Among the NBC crew involved in the project are Emmy Award-winning content director Dave Wilke, Emmy Award-winning producer Ollie Stokes, and famed Monday Morning Quarterback and Football Morning in America columnist Peter King, a past Sports Emmy winner for Inside the NFL.
"This is a story about what football means to players and coaches in different places in the country that we don't often hear from," King wrote in an email to the Juneau Independent. "The feature story is still in progress, and we are planning to go to several schools, but we haven't made final decisions. Juneau Douglas was chose because we wanted to take viewers to a place they wouldn't often see."
Mayor Beth Weldon on Wednesday stated in an email to the Juneau Independent on Wednesday that "we are thrilled and honored that the Bears will be on NBC Sports."
"As a community we love our local youth sports," she wrote. "What an opportunity for these young athletes and for Juneau to show what we are made of. Go Bears!!”
JDHS activities director Julie Herman said, “It is going to be a first for me and we are happy to host. Hopefully the weather cooperates a teeny tiny bit more than today. It’s exciting.”
Herman was initially contacted by NBC in early August.
“They identified the game that worked best for them on their ‘tour’ because they are visiting other schools all over the country,” she said.
After clearing approval with JDHS Principal Paula Casperson and Juneau School District Operations Director Kristy Germain, the permitting process with the City and Borough of Juneau’s Lands and Resources Department began roughly three weeks ago, reaching final approval on Monday.
City Lands and Resources manager Dan Bleidorn said, “The CBJ receives numerous filming requests throughout the year and we value the opportunity to connect audiences around the country with CBJ facilities and resources.”
Crimson Bears’ players had to sign waivers as well.
“I had the players all circled up and was telling them about it,” Sjoroos said with a laugh. “I said, So there’s a waiver you’ll need to sign and this grants NBC access to use your likeness and interview you and things like that. Make sure you get that done. If for some reason you don’t want to sign the waiver come talk to me because I did not explain this very well then. I didn’t explain it very good if you don’t want to be part of the Super Bowl pregame. I looked it up and the average viewership of the pregame for the Super Bowl is about 30 million people. I told them they might want to give some thought about what they would say in an interview with 30 million people watching.”
JDHS senior offensive/defensive lineman and co-captain Ricky Tupou said, “It is exciting, but also, like Ethan said, we have got to just strap it up and play our game. I think we did a really good job of that last week. It is just bringing the energy. Football has been my everything. It has been my motivation to keep good grades in school and I also hope it can be my future as well. It has been my everything growing up.”
JDHS co-captains also include senior wide receiver/defensive back Noah Ault and senior OL/DL Jonah Mahle.
Tupou and his senior line mates have been key for the Crimson Bears’ ground-and-pound attack that saw Van Kirk carry 35 times for 230 yards last weekend.
“Most of our O line are seniors,” Tupou said. “We have kind of gotten used to it over the years and especially this year I think we have been taking care of business.”
Dimond (1-3 CIC, 1-4 overall) defeated the Colony Knights (1-3 CIC, 2-3 OA) 25-22 at Colony last weekend with a last-minute score. JDHS (1-3 CIC, 1-4 OA) lost at home on a last-second heartbreaker to South Anchorage (3-1 CIC, 4-1 OA) 29-28 via a Wolverines two-point conversion.
To date, common opponents have included Service (3-1 CIC, 4-1 OA) — to whom JDHS lost 19-12 in week one and DMD lost 25-7 to in week four — and Bartlett (3-1 CIC, 3-1 OA) — to whom JDHS lost 27-0 in week four and DMD lost 12-0 week one. West Anchorage (4-0 CIC, 5-0 OA) sits atop the conference, while East Anchorage (0-4 CIC, 0-5 OA) is at the bottom.
“I think we need to get our rain gear out and make sure it is ready to go Saturday,” Sjoroos said. “I think it is supposed to be some pretty bad weather. In that regard, though, that is kind of what we play in this time of year…I hope they (NBC) can see the mountains and stuff, though. It makes it tougher if you can’t see all the extra stuff around here.”
On the field, Sjoroos noted this season’s defenses from the CIC have been powerful and Dimond is no exception.
“We don’t want to change our identity,” he said. “We did a great job of that last week. Ethan was a bulldozer behind that all-senior offensive line. We just kind of ran behind those guys all night long. And we played some great defense in stretches last game, and I think we just need to continue to find the things that worked and build on that, and that’s why we are working on tackling drills right now to continue to get better at that. Just play a four-quarter game would be the thing, just seal the deal. I think we are kind of chomping to get a full, four-quarter effort in here…We’ve played a great half or three quarters plus, but we’ve got to just close it out.”
JDHS had a great week of practice leading to South last weekend and have continued that solid preparation this week.
Said Sjoroos, “I told the guys last week, ‘There is no guarantee you’re going to win the game, but you sure didn’t put yourselves in a bad spot by how hard you prepared.’ And we came up one play short, a two-point conversion. I like how yesterday’s practice went. I like how today’s is going…Our ultimate goal is to be playing our best football at the end of the year because everybody makes the playoffs. The whole regular season is kind of a seeding process…Obviously, you feel better when you win games along the way, that you’re the top dogs, but I like where we are at. I think, and all the coaches agree, there is no real separation this year. No Dimond of last year, no West Anchorage of two years ago… I think whoever can stay the healthiest and execute the best the last few weeks of the year will be in a good shot to win this thing.”
JDHS and Dimond kick off at 3 p.m. It is advised that fans, if not already in attendance for the JV game, arrive early to find seating. The pregame festivities will include the cheer team performing “Back In Black” on the 50-yard line at 1:55 p.m. or as soon as possible following the JV contest. At 2 p.m. JDHS will enter the field for warmups through their tunnel. At 2:45 p.m. the new score clock (third clock since 1984) will be dedicated and sponsors acknowledged via VIP tent (donor Alaska Seaplanes will provide an honorary captain for the coin flip). At 2:55 p.m. the national anthem is scheduled to be played, followed by the coin toss, band chant and kickoff.
• Contact Klas Stole at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
