Undermanned and undersized, the Homer Mariners went toe-to-toe with Alaska's small-schools heavyweight champs and gave just as good as they got in Saturday's 44-20 loss to Soldotna in the semifinals of the state football playoffs at Anchorage Football Stadium.
"That team has the most heart of anybody we've played," said Soldotna captain Nate Strieby, a hulking 6-foot-4, 240-pound lineman.
Despite dressing just 24 varsity players -- many of them well on the wrong side of six feet tall -- the Mariners proved the old adage about the size of the fight being more important than that of the dog. Homer trailed just 27-20 entering the fourth quarter, and actually held the lead until the closing minutes of the first half.
"Oh my gosh, I'm overwhelmed," Homer coach Cam Wyatt said. "I thought we played fantastic."
Wyatt's glowing praise of his team illustrates just how dominant Soldotna has been at the small-schools level. The three-time defending state champions, Soldotna has not lost to a small-schools foe since the 2004 season, often blowing their hapless opponents out of the water with their precision wing-T attack.
Not so on Saturday, as the Mariners did everything in their power to make Soldotna's road to a fourth title as rocky as possible.
The Mariners opened the game on a high note after Soldotna quarterback Tanner Fowler fumbled the Stars' first play from scrimmage deep inside Soldotna territory. Three plays later, the Mariners grabbed the lead on a 19-yard pass from Cole Jacobsen to Jeremiah Carr -- the Mariners' only pass completion of the game.
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Soldotna didn't take much time waking up from its slumber, as Chris Nolden took the first handoff of the ensuing drive 60 yards to paydirt to tie things up.
Both teams stuck predictably to the ground for most of the soggy afternoon, with the Mariners using their own old-school offense, the single-wing, to rack up a solid 203 yards on the ground.
Homer took the lead back in the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Jacobsen that made it 13-7. That's how it stood until running back Philip Bennett made Soldotna head coach Galen Brantley look very good, going 67 yards on a risky fourth-and-two call with the Stars on their own 33-yard line.
Soldotna started to pull away in the second half, getting a 56-yard fumble return by Braden Price and a 20-yard Fowler run that made it 27-13.
The Mariners refused to yield, though, and when Homer running back Anthony Resetarits -- all 5-feet-6, 150 pounds of him -- burst through the line and hit the gas for a 49-yard score, the Mariners found themselves just a touchdown behind heading into the final quarter.
"They were very quick," Strieby said.
Soldotna finally got the knockout punch it was looking for in the fourth quarter, adding a 5-yard Fowler run, a 28-yard Daniel Koch field goal and a 29-yard Tate Syverson interception return to put the game well out of reach.
Soldotna struggled with penalties all afternoon, getting nailed for 15 infractions for 110 yards. But the Stars more than made up for it with their powerful running game, which gained 399 yards, including 153 from Nolden and another 124 from Bennett.
"We came out and got punched in the mouth, but we came back and were able to get the score back up," Strieby said.
The victory sets up a Saturday showdown between Kenai and Soldotna, the two most successful small-schools programs. Soldotna has won the past three state championships, while the Kardinals won the four before that.
Strieby, who has been a part of all three Soldotna championship teams, said his team must stay disciplined and focused in practice this week in order to notch the four-peat.
"There's always something to work on, always something that can be fixed," he said.
Brantley said he believes his team will have to play "a perfect game" against Kenai, which Soldotna beat 52-27 in the regular season finale.
"We expect that to be a battle," he said.
Homer 7 6 7 0 -- 20
Soldotna 7 7 13 17 -- 44
First Quarter
Homer -- Carr 19 pass from Jacobsen (Walsworth kick) 10:21
Soldotna -- Nolden 60 run (Koch kick) 10:03.
Second Quarter
Homer -- Jacobsen 2 run (kick blocked) 10:58
Soldotna -- Bennett 67 run (Koch kick) 1:56
Third Quarter
Soldotna -- Price 56 fumble return (Koch kick) 9:49
Soldotna -- Fowler 20 run (kick failed) 4:02
Homer -- Resetarits 49 run (Walsworth kick) 3:52.
Fourth Quarter
Soldotna -- Fowler 5 run (Koch kick) 11:55
Soldotna -- Koch 28 FG 3:01
Soldotna -- Syverson 29 interception return (Koch kick), 1:15.
Homer Soldotna
First downs 8 14
Rushes-yards 47-203 48-399
Passing yards 19 9
Return yards 24 117
Passes 1-7-1 1-6-1
Punts 7-33.4 3-34
Fumbles-lost 5-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 8-60 15-110
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Homer: Resetarits 9-90, Craig 15-65, Jacobsen 16-43, Carr 6-8, Raymond 1-(-3). Soldotna: Nolden 17-153, Bennett 10-124, Price 10-65, Fowler 9-53, Smithwick 1-3, Jenson 1-1.
PASSING -- Homer: Jacobsen 1-7-1-19. Soldotna: Fowler 1-6-1-9.
RECEIVING -- Homer: Carr 1-19. Soldotna: McGillivray 1-9.
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