Juneau stays perfect, defeats Chugiak 31-20
Crimson Bears bring record to 4-0 with victory
CHUGIAK -- The embarrassment of riches showcased by the fifth-ranked Juneau-Douglas High School football team in its 31-20 victory over No. 2 Chugiak on Saturday afternoon made it hard to pin down the Crimson Bears' most impressive asset.
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Among the gems to be admired at the Chugiak High School Stadium was Juneau senior quarterback Brett Fairchild. He picked apart the Chugiak secondary for a school-record 249 passing yards, with 12 completions in 22 attempts, while throwing for three touchdowns and running for another score.
Juneau senior wide reciver Jacob Dutton sparkled with four receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown, and as a defensive back twice intercepted Chugiak quarterback Tim Hehnlin.
Not to be outshone was Juneau's defense, which sacked Chugiak quarterbacks six times and harassed Hehnlin and backup Nathan Sperry so thoroughly it was as if the Crimson Bears had a pipeline into the Mustangs' huddle. Juneau defensive end Jake Miller was in on 2 1/2 sacks, and that was when he wasn't on offense and catching five passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. The Crimson Bears' defense held the Mustangs to 33 yards rushing.
Oh, and Juneau kicker Lee Sullivan capped his team's scoring with a school-record 41-yard field goal that would have been good from five yards farther out.
Coming on the heels of Cook Inlet Football Conference victories over West Anchorage and Bartlett, Juneau's victory Saturday kept it among the state's unbeaten teams -- at 4-0 overall, 3-0 in conference -- and knocked Chugiak (3-1, 2-1) from the unbeaten ranks.
"No one gives us credit," Miller said. "When we beat Bartlett, that was one of those statement games. And this was another."
Juneau defensive tackle Zac Campbell, who recorded one sack and caused mayhem for Chugiak's offensive line all afternoon, said Saturday's win confirmed what the Crimson Bears have thought all along -- they are players in the race for a conference crown.
"We have a lot of talent," Campbell said. "We think we have one of the best coaching staffs in the state. We think it's our year."
After a scoreless first quarter, Juneau raced to a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter on Fairchild's 8-yard scoring pass to Sione Tupou and Fairchild's 13-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw.
Meanwhile, Chugiak lost the services of top running back Michael John, who injured his right knee when he was face-masked at the end of a long punt return late in the second quarter. In Chugiak's first three games, John accounted for 537 yards total offense and six touchdowns. On Saturday, John had just one yard rushing on two carries before his injury.
But even as the Mustangs pulled to within 13-8 on Hehnlin's 1-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion run late in the second quarter, their biggest problem was trying to contain Fairchild. He has been Juneau's quarterback for four seasons and, with wonderful protection from his line, he riddled the Mustang secondary.
Fairchild's two touchdown passes in the third quarter -- 50 yards to Dutton and 11 yards to Miller -- blew the game open.
"We gave up twice as many points as we have all year," Chugiak coach Travis Cantrell said. "I thought I was a pretty good secondary coach, but I better go back to the drawing board. You've got to be able to defend."
Fairchild praised his linemen for giving him plenty of time to find his receivers.
"I give all the passing yards and the touchdowns to the line," he said. "If you drop back and have to scramble to find receivers, it's hard. If you drop straight back and have time, spot your receivers, plant and throw, it's about eight times easier."
And that's how Fairchild made it look Saturday.
CRIMSON BEARS 31, MUSTANGS 20
Saturday's game from Chugiak High School
JUNEAU-DOUGLAS 0 13 15 3 -- 31
CHUGIAK 0 8 0 12 -- 20
First quarter
No scoring.
Second quarter
Juneau-Douglas -- Tupou 8 pass from Fairchild (Sullivan kick), 7:25.
Juneau-Douglas -- Fairchild 13 run (kick blocked), 4:25.
Chugiak -- Hehnlin 1 run (Hehnlin run), 1:07.
Third quarter
Juneau-Douglas -- Dutton 50 pass from Fairchild (Sullivan kick), 6:38.
Juneau-Douglas -- Miller 11 pass from Fairchild (Miller pass from Dodd), 1:27.
Fourth quarter
Chugiak -- Lochner 62 pass from Sperry (pass failed), 11:47.
Juneau-Douglas -- Sullivan 41 FG, 10:17.
Chugiak -- Lozano 5 run (pass failed), 2:14.
Team Statistics
Jun Chug First Downs 14 10 Rushs-yards 34-72 35-33 Pasing Yards 249 106 Comp-att-int 12-22-0 8-24-2 Return yards 76 179 Punts-ave 4-33.0 5-30.0 Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0 Penalties-yards 12-120 9-64
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING -- Juneau-Douglas: Cameron 19-69, Dutton 2-17, Clair 1-6, Fairchild 7-(-2), Tupou 5-(-17). Chugiak: Lozano 13-59, Chatman 5-19, George 3-4, Smiley 1-2, John 2-1, Pavlik 1-(-3), Sperry 1-(-6), Hehnlin 9-(-49).
PASSING -- Juneau-Douglas: Fairchild 12-22-0 -- 249. Chugiak: Hehnlin 6-19-2 -- 39, Sperry 2-5-0 -- 67.
RECEIVING -- Juneau-Douglas: Dutton 4-165, Miller 5-52, Cameron 1-15, Tollefson 1-9, Tupou 1-8. Chugiak: Lochner 3-77, Sandhofer 2-17, Pullen 1-5, Smiley 1-0.
MISSED FIELD GOALS -- None.