The Juneau-Douglas High School football team scored seven touchdowns Saturday night.
Only five counted though.
The Crimson Bears’ Lance Galletes-Fenumiai and Liam Van Sickle both had long touchdown runs disqualified by penalties against Ketchikan.
The two still combined for three scores anyway at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Field as JDHS (2-0, 1-0 SEC) overpowered Ketchikan (0-2, 0-1 SEC) 32-8 in their first home game of the 2017 season.
Quarterback Bubba Stults scored the other two JDHS touchdowns, including one off an interception late in the first quarter. Elliot Gifford was 2 for 5 on extra point attempts.
“We just kinda came in thinking we were going to play as hard as we possibly can and we’re going to execute,” Stults said. “If we execute and we play as hard as we can, we’re going to win.”
It’s the Crimson Bears’ second consecutive win after they defeated Houston by a touchdown in Week 1. They’ll go for a third this coming week against Kenai Central before they square off against Thunder Mountain at TMHS on Sept. 1.
“I felt like in this game we got all our first-game jitters out and started to smooth out our offense and defense,” JDHS freshman lineman Camden Erickson said.
JDHS took time and space away from Ketchikan quarterback Brendan Wong throughout the game, leading to numerous Kings’ third-and-longs.
“We’ve got new running backs this year,” Ketchikan coach Jim Byron said. “One of our backs went down early, not in this game, but it’s just been tough to get the kids trained up on what they’re supposed to be doing. So there’s a little — a lot — of miscommunication out there.”
Galletes-Fenumiai took a lateral toss from Stults and bolted down the left sideline 55 yards midway through the first quarter. He was finally met by several Kings at the 5-yard line, but was able to break two tackles as he fell on the pylon for the touchdown.
A number of incomplete passes for Wong came to a head later in the quarter. The senior went up field with the ball, but Stults picked it off in the middle of the field, ran toward the left sideline and the end zone, where he received a little help from a freshman.
“I didn’t think I was going to get the pick-six, but Cooper Kriegmont … hit the quarterback,” Stults said. “I mean, he put his body on the line for me to get that touchdown. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t have scored.”
On the ensuing drive, in the shadow of JDHS’ 13-point run, the Kings garnered two first downs. Wong showed off his throwing accuracy on two completions to wide receiver Chris Carlson to sustain the drive. After two unsuccessful runs 10 yards out from the end zone, the Kings attempted a 26-yard field goal but missed it.
The first of the two touchdown runs to be called back occurred in the next quarter. Galletes-Fenumiai drove with the ball to the outside — the start of a crowd-pleasing 77-yard roar into the end zone. The penalty returned the ball back to the other side of the field and the half ended with an anti-climatic Kings’ interception.
The Kings’ Wong continued to show his willingness to throw the ball in the third quarter — to little payoff. The Kings’ line could do little to stem the tide of black jerseys ambushing their quarterback.
“They had some pretty big kids,” JDHS junior lineman Tristan Bryant said. “But we just wanted it bad … I got subbed out because I was starting to get tired and we put in a senior, Derrick Roberts, and he was just getting in there. We were actually playing as a unit.”
Van Sickle ripped off a 72-yard touchdown run later in the quarter that was brought back.
“It’s just mental errors, and those can be fixed pretty quickly,” Bryant said. “The wide receivers weren’t all set on the line, so it’s just little things. But we came back, and all the freshman stepped up.”
JDHS broke through again with a touchdown with a minute left in the third quarter. Stults scored on a QB sneak on the one-yard line to put the Crimson Bears up 19-0.
Just 20 seconds later, Galletes-Fenumiai intercepted the ball in the Kings’ end, returning it within 10 yards of the end zone.
Van Sickle then scored on a seven-yard run to put JDHS up 26-0. The 5-7 senior scored a second touchdown less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
The Kings scored their only points in the game on a 49-yard touchdown pass by Wong to Kody Malouf several minutes later.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
Juneau-Douglas’ Lance Galletes-Fenumiai attempts to hurdle Ketchikan’s AJ Malouf at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Field on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. JDHS won 32-8. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
Juneau-Douglas’ quarterback Bubba Stults breaks a tackle attempt by Ketchikan’s Tarrent Sasser at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Field on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. JDHS won 32-8. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)
