Palmer overcomes mistakes, JDHS can’t in 41-20 road loss

Mark Sabbatini
23 hours ago
5 min read

Two TD passes, 102-yard interception return by Crimson Bears put them down 21-20 at half before Moose stampede to second-half supremacy

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears practice in their white road jerseys on Aug. 15, 2025, at Thunder Mountain Middle School. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent file photo)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This is a developing story.

An evenly matched first half of wild plays and miscues turned sour in the second half for the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa·at Kalé Crimson Bears, as hometown Palmer High School put a stop to its mistakes and asserted command en route to a 41-20 win.

Juneau (1-2 this season) trailed 21-20 after a first half in which all six touchdowns were scored through the air: three TD passes by Palmer QB Nolan Garner, two TD passes by Crimson Bears’ QB Daniel Campbell and a 102-yard interception return for a TD by Juneau’s Noah Ault.

"We definitely threw everything we had at them," Rich Sjoroos, the Crimson Bears’ head coach, said in an interview after the game. "It's a good football team. Palmer’s one of the top teams in the state, that quarterback is the real deal, and lots of weapons around him and stuff, you can just tell it’s real well-coached group, and they're at home playing in front of their fans and feeding off that energy. And I didn't think that our kids lacked desire and energy, and trying and just doing everything they could to claw their way to the finish line. But we just kind of ran out of ammo and ran out of opportunities."

While two turnovers by Palmer led to Juneau touchdowns during the first half, it was the Crimson Bears who had trouble with the ball in the second half. Several Juneau snaps were dropped in the backfield and an interception thrown by Campbell led to a touchdown that put the Moose solidly ahead 35-20 with 11:43 left in the game.

"We were a little fatigued there," Sjoroos said. "We only suited up 20 kids and so we had some challenges there. We want to clean that up and execute better, for sure."

Juneau mounted a final effort by relying on the power running game that’s been its offensive strength so far this season, driving the ball to a first-and-goal at the Palmer 7-yard line with about seven minutes remaining. But another dropped ball two plays later put the Crimson Bears at the 12-yard line and two incomplete passes later they turned the ball over on downs.

A three-and-out by Palmer gave Juneau a last shot when they returned a punt to the 44-yard line of the Moose with 4:14 remaining. But two more errant snaps resulted in the Crimson Bears turning the ball over again on downs when a fourth-down completion came up short.

The Moose scored their final touchdown a few plays later on a 45-yard run with 1:49 left, missing the extra point and resulting in the 41-20 final tally.

It was a markedly different finish to a game that saw the teams each flash their strengths and weaknesses at the start.

Palmer stuck immediately on the opening kickoff with a reverse handoff during the return for a touchdown, making the score 7-0 with just 15 seconds elapsed.

Juneau answered back with a drive that started on its own 31-yard line, highlighted by two long runs by Campbell and another by running back Ethan Van Kirk that resulted in a first down at the Palmer 24-yard line. A run for a loss and an incomplete pass left the Crimson Bears with a third-and-11, but Campbell then threw to a wide-open Van Kirk downfield who took it the rest of the way for a 25-yard touchdown. A failed conversion left the score 7-6 in Palmer’s favor.

Both teams drove the ball downfield on their next possessions, but were halted by miscues. Palmer turned the ball over on a fumble Ault recovered and returned to the Juneau 37-yard line. The Crimson Bears drove inside the Palmer 20-yard line, relying almost entirely on the running game, but missed a field goal when the drive stalled with about two minutes left in the first quarter.

The Moose took over on their 20 and, following a run that got them to their own 45, got a break on a third-and-14 when the Crimson Bears were flagged for pass interference on a long pass down the right sideline. A completed pass and a couple of long draws gave Palmer a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line.

A potential turning-point play ensued as Garner, eluding a sack and scrambling to his right, threw a pass that was intercepted in the end zone by Ault and returned the length of the field. The extra point gave the Crimson Bears their first lead at 13-7 with 9:24 left in the first half.

But while turnovers put Palmer into a hole, penalties would do the same to Juneau as another pass interference penalty on a long throw put the Moose at the Crimson Bears’ 38-yard line. After three runs advanced the ball to the 8-yard line, Garner connected on a wide receiver screen for his second touchdown pass of the day. The extra point made the score 14-13 with 4:54 left in the half.

Juneau returned to its power running game on the ensuing series, advancing the ball from its 31-yard line to the Palmer 34 before facing a fourth-and-4. A short direct snap to sophomore fullback Sylvion Washington caught the Moose off-guard as he took the ball to the Palmer 18-yard line. On a third-and-11 from the 19, Campbell connected on a pass to Ault to give each their second touchdown of the first half. The extra point put Juneau back in front 20-14 with 22 seconds left in the half.

But Palmer would strike back and reclaim the lead for good after returning a short kickoff to its own 44-yard line with 14 seconds left, with Garner throwing a 56-yard touchdown pass to Reed Craner with eight seconds remaining in the second quarter.

"I thought that (interception) was just phenomenal to get us some momentum in the back-and-forth," Sjoroos said. "And then the big play right before half, that definitely hurt. They were able to get that score with just a handful of seconds left and kind of seize the momentum back."

The Crimson Bears got the ball to start the third quarter, but went three-and-out before punting. Palmer took over on its own 37-yard line and drove for what would be the first of its three second-half touchdowns.

Juneau’s next game is at Bartlett High School at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6. The Crimson Bears’ next home game is against South Anchorage at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12.

"The whole goal here is to be playing our best football at the end of the year," Sjoroos said. "And I thought that for week three we played really good compared to week three a year ago. So now it's just a matter of what are we going to do in week four?"

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.

Box score (provided by the Alaska Sports Report) Juneau-Douglas 6 14 0 0 – 20

Palmer 7 14 7 13 – 41

FIRST QUARTER

Palmer – Gerkin 83 kickoff return (Pettit kick) 11:45

Juneau – Van Kirk 25 pass from Campbell (run failed) 9:31

SECOND QUARTER

Juneau – Ault 101 interception return (Mazon kick) 9:24

Palmer – Craner 8 pass from Garner (Pettit kick) 4:54

Juneau – Ault 19 pass from Campbell (Mazon kick) 0:22

Palmer – Craner 56 pass from Garner (Pettit kick) 0:14

THIRD QUARTER