Cougars

Service High School’s hockey team took the ice Thursday night against a North Pole team fielding only 10 skaters, with the Cougars quickly using their superior numbers to wear down the Patriots. Service’s Garrett Brown quickly sank a puck four minutes into the game, followed by a Henry Yawit goal three minutes later in a first period that ended with the Cougars ahead 3-0. Yawit went on to score a second goal plus an assist, helping to seal a 7-0 rout by Service. Contact Kevin Wells at kwells@ktuu.

A state championship in 2008 re-established Service as one of Alaska's premier football schools. This weekend, the Cougars are looking for their second large-schools crown in three years -- a title quest that began with a defeat. The Cougars still remember their heart-breaking Week 1 loss to West. But since that stumble Service has mauled its competition, winning nine straight games -- including a pair of double-digit victories in the playoffs. That performance has earned the Cougars a spot in the championship game and a rematch with the Eagles.

Saturday saw some fantastic high-school playoff football, with Juneau and West fighting for the right to face Service in next week’s title game. The Crimson Bears were quite active in the first half, as Phillip Fenumiai went deep to Colin Gonzelski to pick up 6 points on a 44-yard touchdown, amassing an 18-7 lead by the early third quarter. But the Eagles’ Connor Feckley would not let that aggression stand, hitting Dahmir Bell on a crossing rout. Sixty-four yards later it was the goal line that Feckley crossed, bringing the score to 18-14 Juneau.

The Service Cougars snapped Colony's seven-game winning streak in emphatic fashion with a 54-26 victory in the state large-school semifinals Friday at the Anchorage Football Stadium. The Cougars will face either Juneau or West in the title game next Saturday at 4:30 p.m.   Michael McCrae played another outstanding game for Service, rushing for 182 yards and bringing his season total to 1,849. McCrae's first touchdown of the night put Service ahead 14-7 late in the opening quarter.

In Cook Inlet Conference flag football Wednesday afternoon, Chugiak faced Service on Dimond's field. The Cougars were up 13-8 in the third quarter, but Kendra Bulawa led a charge to change that, finding Jessi McMullen for a touchdown that put Chugiak on top 14-13. On the next Mustangs drive, Chugiak took advantage of a blown coverage spotted by Bulawa, who sent the ball to Kendra Harter on a streak down the right side, raising the score to 21-13 Chugiak. The Mustangs added one more touchdown before game’s end,  coming away with a 28-19 victory over the Cougars.

On a beautiful day for a Week 6 football contest, Eagle River was matched up with Service at an Anchorage Football Stadium game Saturday at noon. The Wolves are 0 and 4 in the Cook Inlet Conference, but were looking strong early in Saturday’s game. A 45-yard Kelechi Madubuko pass found Malcolm Bell put Eagle River out in front, 7-0. Cougars backup Amu Aukustitino struck back with a beautiful throw to La'Michael Fernandez, who used a little fancy footwork near the endzone to complete his 68-yard trip.

Football players come in all shapes, sizes and, these days, even genders. A successful team enjoys depth of talent and you might call Service “Alaska's Noah's ark” because the Cougars have two of everything. Since opening the season with a loss to West, Service has reeled off four-straight wins, dramatic ones, to reach number two in the ASBN poll. Last week against Chugiak, Service played back-up quarterback Amu Aukusitino in place of a hobbling J.J. Christy. All the sophomore did was complete 12 of 18 passes and engineer a game winning drive, culminating in Taylor Bomar's winning field goal.

In the season since a first-week loss to West High School, Service High's football team has served notice that it will be a force in the Cook Inlet Conference race. In the last two weeks, the Cougars have outscored opponents 57-7 in the second half, in victories over Kenai and South. The win over the Wolverines was particularly satisfying for Coach Jason Caldarera's crew, with a 30-point outburst in the fourth quarter sending the Cougars' confidence soaring before a Week 4 matchup with east.

In varsity football, players may only get two chances throughout their high school career at South High to play each conference opponent. The Wolverines have a score to settle heading into Saturday's clash with Hillside rival Service. Last year, the Cougars defeated the Wolverines for the first time in their six-game series history. Now, both teams are coming off victories, and after a week of watching film, Matt Weidemann is looking forward to one matchup in particular.