Sitka tops Falcons in season opener

SITKA - Jessee Conrad scored the first touchdown in Thunder Mountain High School history as the Falcons took a 6-0 lead on Sitka, but the Wolves scored 20 unanswered points on Saturday to pick up a 20-6 win in the teams' season opener.

• Photos

Coach Bill Byouer said TMHS just didn't have enough depth to compete late in the game.

"The kids played hard, and our depth thing got to us," he said. "Those guys were out there the full game and I've got to develop these second-teamers. They're going to get more playing time. I don't care what team we're playing, they're going to get more time because we have to give these guys spells. The second and third-teamers are going to have to step up because they're a valuable part of this program."

Conrad put the Falcons on the board in the first quarter after a seven-yard run up the middle.

Byouer said the offense also suffered from a few dropped passes and mental mistakes, including three turnovers. Gary Speck also had a touchdown called back after a holding penalty.

"We had an interception in the end zone by Eric Reyna, but he fumbled it on the 20-yard line, and that's when they were able to tie up the score," Byouer said. "They couldn't do anything at first, but then they started getting outside on us, and we had some miscommunications with the defensive backs and they got some passes off from there."

Sitka scored twice more in the fourth quarter to expand its lead.

"We were trying to get up from one, and threw a couple of interceptions from Camden Thomas, and we just kind of self-destructed," Byouer said. "But I have to hand it to Sitka, they played tougher football than they have the last few years."

Brandon Shaw had an interception for TMHS, and Seth Santana picked up a sack.

Byouer said that while disappointed with the loss, he was pleased with the effort given. There's a lot of potential with this team, he said.

"We've got to know our roles, our positions and what to do when situations arrive," he said. "These kids never quit, and I've got to hand it to them. We weren't out-manned, but we couldn't get our running game going or our passing game. We had dropped passes all day. We just couldn't get anything flowing smoothly. But it's a work in progress."