A matchup of two 0-2 teams resulted in one feeling better about its prospects this season. But it wasn’t the Juneau Huskies as they fell behind 35-7 before the midpoint of the second quarter before going on to lose against Anchorage’s Bartlett High School 56-21.
Juneau had some moments during its first road game of the season, including a 99-yard touchdown reception by junior wide receiver Jayden Johnson that tied the score at 7-7 midway through the first quarter. But Bartlett dominated its first home game of the season, rolling to a 49-14 score by the midpoint of the third quarter before the teams played out the remaining time with an exchange of touchdowns.
Jayden Johnson (4) looks for room to run against Bartlett High School during Saturday’s game in Anchorage. Johnson, a junior wide receiver, played extensively at quarterback after emerging as a strong backfield threat during the Huskies previous two games this season. (Courtesy of Juneau Huskies Football)
Johnson, who had a big-play performance last week with 286 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns, was again a focal point for Juneau’s offense this week. Coach Rich Sjoroos sought to put the ball in Johnson’s hands by having him play extensively at quarterback since he has been effective running from the backfield this season.
But the gambit misfired when Johnson threw a second-quarter interception on a third-and-10 at the Bartlett 25 that was returned nearly the entire length of the field for a pick-six to make the score 35-7.
As happened to the Huskies last week, Bartlett was able to move steadily and consistently on offense against a Juneau team that lost many of its seniors from last year’s team that came within a touchdown of the state title. But while the Huskies were able to rally from far behind against Dimond High School last week with a series of big plays, Juneau’s offense was unable to score after its initial touchdown against Bartlett until the game was out of reach in the third quarter.
Juneau also showed fight during the first half of its season-opening game at home in a heavy rainstorm against East Anchorage, playing to a 6-6 tie just before halftime. But Juneau was stopped short at the 1-yard-line on the final play of the half and East Anchorage would take control in the second half to prevail 21-6.
The Huskies next game is another Anchorage road trip against Service High School at 2 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 2, before playing a Friday night game in Washington State at Auburn High School at 7 p.m., Sept. 8. Juneau’s return home for another Friday night game on Sept. 15 won’t necessarily be a reprieve, as they’ll engage in a rematch of last year’s title game against Colony High School, which is 2-1 so far this season.
Juneau Huskies 2023 schedule
(Note: All times are varsity games; junior varsity games start three hours earlier)
Aug. 12: East Anchorage 21, Juneau 6
Aug. 19: Dimond 40, Juneau 33
Aug. 26: @Bartlett 56, Juneau 21
Sept. 2: @Service, 2 p.m.
Sept. 8: @Auburn (Washington), 7 p.m.
Sept. 15: Colony, 7 p.m.
Sept. 23: @West Anchorage, 2 p.m.
Sept. 30: South Anchorage, 3 p.m.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
