KETCHIKAN — The Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears football team needed all of regulation — and then some — to notch its first win of the young season, 25-22 over the Ketchikan High School Kings, Saturday in Ketchikan.
Crimson Bear junior Elliot Gifford, with the ball right around the 5-yard line and the game in its fourth overtime possession, nailed the game-winning field goal to bring his team’s record to 1-2, while the Kings fell to 2-1. The game was a non-conference match.
The Kayhi defense held Juneau-Douglas in check for much of the first part of the game, until Crimson Bears junior Donavin McCurly opened scoring with a long touchdown run to the left side with just under a minute and a half to go in the first quarter. Kayhi blocked the extra point attempt, and Juneau-Douglas took a 6-0 lead into the second quarter.
The Crimson Bears wasted little time in the second quarter when McCurly found the end zone for another rushing touchdown less than a minute into the second half, and a successful two-point conversion gave Juneau-Douglas a 14-0 lead.
Kayhi, in an attempt to beat Juneau-Douglas at football for the first time, scored 22 unanswered points to take a 22-14 lead into the fourth quarter. The Kings defense was able to pressure junior quarterback Jonathan-Che “Bubba” Stults to force several interceptions, while also stopping Crimson Bears runners for losses.
With just under seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Juneau-Douglas blocked a Kayhi punt and recovered the ball at about the Kings’ 15-yard line. On the third play from scrimmage after the block, junior running back Lance Galletes-Fiagatusa crossed the goal line, and a successful two-point conversion tied the score at 22-22 with just over six minutes to go.
The score remained stagnant through the end of regulation, and the game went to overtime.
Juneau-Douglas had the first crack at scoring in overtime, but Kayhi kept the Crimson Bears out of the end zone. The visiting team returned the favor on consecutive Kayhi possessions.
Three straight runs kicked off the fourth overtime possession and, with the ball as close as Juneau-Douglas could manage, Gifford kicked the game-winner.
Crimson Bears head coach Kevin Hamrick said after the game that his team has been shorthanded all year, and several of his players went down with cramps and minor injuries — including ankle and shoulder injuries — on Saturday.
“To go into overtime was my worst nightmare,” Hamrick said. “Ketchikan was so strong up front that I just feel blessed (to win). It was a good team effort; I have a great junior class of leaders, and so I needed those guys. It was just all heart. They were physically overmatched in the fourth quarter. … The guys, the unity, it came together. They came together in the end.”
Key players in the win included senior lineman Luis Lozada — who came up with a fumble recovery in Kayhi territory and played a solid game overall — the offensive and defensive lines as a whole and junior linebacker Nathan Van Sickle, according to Hamrick.
“Defense won the game,” Hamrick said. “Our offense was a little discombobulated a few times because we don’t have enough people to rotate in at, like, guard, and so when they’re supposed to pull they don’t always get it. The whole defense played really well.”
Juneau-Douglas also intercepted Kayhi quarterback Brendan Wong near the end zone twice.
The Crimson Bears will play at Homer on Saturday. The team will be focused on getting healthy and staying healthy this week, according to Hamrick.
Juneau-Douglas junior quarterback Jonathan-Che Stults (17) evades a rush and passes the ball Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016, during the Crimson Bears’ 25-22, double-overtime win against Ketchikan High School at Esther Shea Field in Ketchikan.
