Cougars

Week 5 of the high-school football season kicks off Friday in a big Cook Inlet Conference showdown, with the Chugiak Mustangs -- No. 3 in the large-school rankings -- hosting the second-ranked Service Cougars at Tom Huffer Field in Chugiak. The Mustangs are preparing for the Cougars' prolific spread offense, but they also have a few weapons of their own, like running back Greg Ghramm and placekicker Bryan Mayley, who kicked a state record 52-yard field goal last week against Dimond.

Saturday afternoon at Tom Huffer Sr. Field, Nikiski took down Barrow for the small school football state championship 52-21. The Nikiski Bulldogs were first to strike.  Quarterback Colton Anderson threw 25 yards to connect with Walter Moore, Bulldogs up 7 - 0. Barrow was quick to answer.  A botched field goal attempt turned into a touchdown when the quarterback/kicker Edward Benson gets his hands on the wild snap, and pitches to Xavier...

Defending state 4A volleyball champion Dimond showed its colors Thursday on a visit to Cook Inlet Conference rival Service. The Cougars’ four each freshmen and sophomores were poised early, with Genny Boots giving Service an initial 9-1 run. The cornered Lynx, however, rallied from 17-9 down in the first game, and Abby Pacolt floored it, helping to turn the tide for a 26-24 Dimond win. Dimond would go on to take the match in three...

Damon Sherman-Newsome poured in 17 points to lead Bartlett past Point Hope into the finals of the 31st Service Cougar Tip-Off.  The Golden Bears broke open a close game during the third quarter, hitting four three pointers in the frame en route to an 81-48 win.   Bartlett will play host Service in the championship game.  The Cougars took down Seward in the other semifinal, 49-42.  Adam Klie and Taylor Willing led Service with 11 points each.  The title game is set for 7:15 saturday at Service High School.

The South Wolverines edged rival Service, 1-0 in an exciting Cook Inlet Conference game on Tuesday night.  The victory gives the Wolverines a season sweep of the Cougars, and puts South 6-1-1 in league play.  Service drops to 6-3-0.   Zach Aregood's first period tally held up, thanks to 19 saves from Trevor Gutierrez. Also in CIC play, Dimond remained undefeated by shutting out Chugiak, 5-0.  Lucas Dubie scored a goal and added an assist for the Lynx.  Thomas Davis made 18 saves to collect the shutout .

The Service Cougars remain at the top of this week's Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network poll after beating the South Wolverines 48-13.  The Cougars are set to face Eagle River this weekend.  West Valley makes an appearance in the number two spot after defeating Lathrop 60-0. The Wolfpack faces their next challenge agianst number four Juneau Douglas this weekend. Still holding strong at number three is Wasilla High School.  West High School rounds out the number 5 spot after defeating Bartlett 47-21.

The Cook Inlet Conference Baseball season is a 10-game sprint that allows little time for a slump.  The Service Cougars and South Wolverines have avoided that, and have now also clinched berths in the ASAA tournament with two games to play. Service defeated Dimond, 3-2 on Friday to remain perfect at 8 and 0.  After falling behind 2-0 after three innings, the Cougars rallied with two in the fifth to tie the game.  Then in the sixth, Trace Woodruff collected the go-ahead RBI single with two outs.  Dimond loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but could not push the tying run across.  The Lynx drop to 4 and 4 and fall out of contention.

Perhaps no other Alaska prep football training program combines an optimistic outlook with a desire to redeem itself more than the Service High School Cougars. Coach Jason Caldarera's team started off sizzling last season, before dropping three of its last four games to miss the state playoffs. Service's team was young, though, and the Cougars had a few sophomore starters. The more repetition those young athletes get in the spread offense, the better they will become. “A lot of those guys who were on the team last year certainly have something to prove,” Caldarera said.

As long as they're ranked #1 in the state, the Service Cougars are going to get every opponent's best shot.  On Friday night, they absorbed a gritty effort from East to win, 33-25 and stay unbeaten against Alaska competition ( 3-0 ). The Cougars never trailed, and led the T-Birds 21-0 at one point but had to fight off three touchdowns from East's Jarred Laws.  With the score 27-25 early in the fourth, Amu Aukusitino fired a touchdown to Nick Butler for the final margin.  The T-Birds drop to 1-3 overall, and 1-2 in the Cook Inlet Conference.