Vengeance is the Bears'

ANCHORAGE - Faifo Levale answered his phone before Saturday's large-school semifinal game against South Anchorage High School and heard an oh-so-familiar voice on the other end.

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Chris Hinkley, the former Juneau-Douglas High School star quarterback who couldn't thwart undefeated South in last season's state semifinal game, called Levale to ask a favor.

"Avenge me," Hinkley told the 280-pound senior lineman.

Levale granted his wish.

In a rematch of last year's state semifinal, top-ranked Juneau used a strong first half to stun second-ranked South on its home turf and then coasted to a convincing 31-14 victory at Anchorage Football Stadium.

"South sent us home last year," Levale said. "And we couldn't forget that."

The win put Juneau (10-0) into next week's First National Bowl against its Railbelt Conference adversary - the Palmer Moose - in a rematch of the 2005 state championship. And it kept South (7-3) from repeating as state champs.

Juneau, which beat Palmer 49-29 in the 2005 title game, watched the Moose (6-4) upset Service 28-14 in Friday's other state semifinal at AFS. The Moose used a game plan that almost mirrored Juneau's - strike early to seize momentum.

"They know what we're going to bring, and we know what they're going to bring," said Rich Sjoroos, Juneau's offensive coordinator.

Saturday afternoon, however, the Crimson Bears were unsure of themselves, he said. South was the first Cook Inlet Conference opponent Juneau had faced all season.

"Fly, sweep, fly, sweep," said Levale about South's offensive plays. "It's the only two words we've heard all week."

The Wolverines have used a run-by-committee attack all season. But Juneau was ready and stopped the Wolverines on their opening drive. Three plays after South punted, Juneau quarterback Bubba Larson heaved a 31-yard pass to Alex Fagerstrom to put the Crimson Bears on the scoreboard first.

The Wolverines punted on three of their next four drives. Juneau made them pay with a field goal and two touchdowns.

"It would have been nice to come out strong," South coach John Lewis said. "We missed some second-level blocks and, defensively, we gave up the big plays."

On South's third drive, the punt snap sailed over Spencer Augustin's head and resulted in a 15-yard loss as he picked up the loose ball and pitched it to Sterling Lopez. The miscue set up Dominic Smith's 20-yard field goal to put Juneau up 10-0.

After South's third punt, Eric Fagerstrom bolted 32 yards into the end zone to cap Juneau's five-play, 45-yard drive.

And after South punted for a fourth and final time, Juneau ended a six-play, 56-yard drive with Larson finding Alex Fagerstrom again. This time on a 34-yard touchdown pass.

"Alex is so fast," said Larson, a senior and first-year quarterback who completed 3 of 6 for 67 passing yards. "I just have to throw it up there. The kid's a great athlete."

Juneau, which led 24-0 at halftime, scored once more.

It blitzed South quarterback Colin Graham in his own end zone, forcing a fumble.

Levale, a first-team all-Railbelt Conference center who's also a solid defensive lineman, recovered the loose ball, which put Juneau ahead 31-0. But after the play, Levale was issued an ejection when officials saw him punch a South player.

Levale said he just pushed away the Wolverine, whose helmet was on his stomach.

"I didn't throw a punch," he said. "I just tried getting him off. I apologize if (South) thinks that was a punch. It's just common sense - you try to get the guy off when you're pinned."

The ejection means Levale must sit out next week's title game. But Sjoroos said he will review the game footage to see if Levale actually threw a punch.

If there's evidence he didn't, Sjoroos will appeal the ruling with the Alaska School Activities Association, the state's governing body of high school activities.

Down 31-0 at halftime, practically every South fan and its pep band emptied the east-end bleachers, where they cheered along Juneau's home sideline.

They moved to South's visiting sideline along the west-end bleachers in an attempt to fire up the Wolverines.

South responded by attempting an improbable 31-point comeback, led by Graham's fourth-quarter passing.

He threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Taylor, and a 15-yard strike to Kendell Call to pull within 17 points.

Graham, a junior, completed 13 of 23 for a career-high 152 passing yards.

"It was just a tad (too late)," Lewis said. "Our kids showed so much pride, saying, 'We're not going to quit.' I don't see many teams doing that."

For the first time in Juneau history, the Crimson Bears will play for a state title with an undefeated record. It's impressive, Sjoroos said, considering they have only 27 players listed on their roster. By comparison, South has 46.

"If you don't have the depth, you have to do something early," Sjoroos said. "We didn't have much left in the tank."

JUNEAU-DOUGLAS 31,SOUTH ANCHORAGE 14

ASAA/First National Bank

Saturday's Large-School State Semifinal

At Anchorage Football Stadium

South 0 0 0 14 - 14

Juneau-Douglas 7 17 0 7 - 31

First Quarter

Juneau - A. Fagerstrom 31 pass from Larson (Smith kick), 6:57.

Second Quarter

Juneau - 20 Smith FG, 11:12.

Juneau - E. Fagerstrom 32 run (Smith kick), 5:00.

Juneau - A. Fagerstrom 34 pass from Larson (Smith kick), 0:10.

Fourth Quarter

Juneau - Levale fumble recovery in end zone (Smith kick), 11:57.

South - Taylor 73 pass from Graham (Augustin run), 8:49.

South - Call 15 pass from Graham (run failed), 6:05.

SOUTH JUNEAU

First downs 13 9

Rushes-yards 36-45 35-94

Passing yards 152 85

Return yards 77 2

Passes 13-23-1 4-7-0

Punts 4-34.5 5-42.2

Fumbles-lost 3-2 2-1

Penalties-yards 10-73 8-70

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - South: Augustin 7-39; Taylor 8-24; Saena 5-24; Sua 3-5; Bond 4-3; Lopez 1-(-15); Graham 7-(-35). Juneau: Maake 14-57; E. Fagerstrom 1-32; Wilson 3-5; A. Fagerstrom 10-1; Larson 5-1; D. Wilson 1-0; Maka 1-(-2).

PASSING - South: Graham 13-23-1-152. Juneau: Larson 3-6-0-67; A. Fagerstrom 1-1-0-18.

RECEIVING - South: Taylor 3-93; Call 3-29; Lopez 2-27; Sua 2-(-7); Bond 1-13; Eisenheimer 1-5; Augustin 1-(-8). Juneau: A. Fagerstrom 2-65; E. Fagerstrom 1-18; N. Wilson 1-2.

• Find Kevin Klott online at adn.com/contact/kklott or call 257-4335.