JDHS vs. TMHS football Saturday
Juneau-Douglas High School and Thunder Mountain High School start the prep football season with a 6 p.m. Saturday matchup at Adair-Kennedy Field. The tone-setting, non-conference opener won’t count towards Southeast Conference standings but look for both Juneau teams to establish positive momentum heading into their eight-game schedules.
The Falcons (4-5 overall, 2-1 in SEC last year) won the last meeting between Juneau’s teams, a 48-0 Glacier Bowl rout that left JDHS out of the playoffs and without their starting quarterback. The Crimson Bears (5-3 overall, 1-2 in SEC last year) return quarterback Bubba Stults under center in Saturday’s season-opener and will look to avenge their Glacier Bowl loss. Full previews of both teams are available at the Empire online under the sports tab.
A live video stream of the game will be available at juneauempire.com sponsored by the University of Alaska Southeast. Look for game highlights on the Empire Facebook page and post game coverage on the Empire website.
Nifty Fifty runners take to mountains
Southeast Road Runners host the Nifty Fifty 50K, 25K and 10K race Saturday at the end of Basin Road. The 50K race starts at 8:30 a.m.; the 25K and 10K races start at 9 a.m. Registration is available online at until noon the day before the race (website listed below). Cost is $20 for the 50K and $15 for the 25K and 10K. Race day registration is $25 for the 50K and $20 for the 25K and 10K.
Andrew Schirack set the 50K course record last year with his 4 hours, 19 seconds time, shattering John Stearns’ previous record of 4:12:51 set in 2013. A time limit of 7 hours, 30 minutes is imposed for safety and because of volunteer limitations. Contact race director Keith Levy at keithblevy@gmail.com for more information. Register online at http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=35847.
• Contact Sports and Outdoors reporter Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.
