Thunder Mountain High School put on a defensive clinic Saturday in their final regular season game against Juneau-Douglas High School.
A month removed from a tight overtime win over the Crimson Bears, the Falcons showed they’ve corrected more than a few mistakes since then, winning 26-8 at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Field.
“These guys came out and they had something to prove. We’ve basically been underdogs all season long and so this is big for us,” TMHS head coach Randy Quinto said.
TMHS’ Jacob Tapia intercepted the first pass of the game and JDHS managed just two plays in the first quarter for positive yardage.
Late in the second quarter, the Falcons forced a safety as several linemen converged on JDHS quarterback Max Wheat. Before getting sacked, Wheat chucked the ball upfield, which counted as an intentional grounding and two more points for the Falcons.
“Our line coach, Jeff Hedges, he likes to say ‘five fingers, one hand, you all work as one,’ and that’s kinda our motto,” TMHS senior tackle Ivan Williams said. “We were kinda flat in the first half of the season, we were struggling on the line. But now I feel we’re picking up our blocks, we’re noticing blitzes, we’re adapting to other different defenses right now so I think the line is at an all-time high right now.”
Senior Roy Tupou racked up two touchdowns on two and 11-yard runs. He ran for 134 of his 161 total yards in the first half alone.
Tupou scored at 11:12 of the first quarter and 2:26 of the second. Tapia scored the second touchdown of the game on a two-yard slant play at 1:15 in the first quarter.
“Credit to my lineman — without them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I was doing today,” Tupou said. “We saw that the right side was open, so we kept hitting the right side.”
JDHS’ Donavin McCurley had eight carries in the first half but just two in the second. McCurley appeared shaken up late in the first half and was used sparingly thereafter. After running for 121 yards against North Pole the week prior, McCurley never found room to run against Thunder Mountain.
After throwing two interceptions in the first half, the Falcons coaching staff used the second half as more throwing practice for Mendoza.
“The passing game was just not quite there tonight,” Quinto said. “Owen actually threw some beautiful balls and didn’t get much help from his receivers and that’s tough. Then they started getting on each other a little bit.”
The Crimson Bears made good on a 10-play, 52-yard drive at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter.
On a third and one on the two-yard line, Nathan Van Sickle recovered a goal line fumble to score the only touchdown of the game for JDHS. Koen Schultz made an impressive catch for the two-point conversion.
It was one of several plays Crimson Bears fans found reason to cheer in an otherwise lopsided game.
Injured seniors Lance Galletes-Fenumiai and Bubba Stults both drew cheers when they touched the ball.
The JDHS senior class gathered on the field after the game. Senior Kasey Watts gave a pep talk before they huddled together to pray with one another.
“I love them with all my heart. I grew up with them, I played football with them,” JDHS senior John Elisoff said. “Most of them, my very first year (playing football), they were on my team, and I still remember those days, we were playing on the dirt fields tackling each other and all that.”
Thunder Mountain now heads for the third straight year to the Alaska School Activities Association First National Bowl Series Division II Football State Championships.
The Falcons play the Palmer Moose in the semifinals in a rematch from last year’s playoffs. The Moose won that game, 28-26, to eliminate TMHS.
If the Falcons win their Oct. 7 game at Palmer High School, they will advance the championship game Oct. 14 against either Soldotna or North Pole.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
Thunder Mountain’s Hansel Hinckle challenges Juneau-Douglas’ Liam Van Sickle during their game Saturday night at Adair Kennedy Memorial Field. Thunder Mountain won 26-8. (Konrad Frank | For the Juneau Empire)
