Last year the Juneau Huskies came within a touchdown of the state title, so the list of ways to do better year is very short as they open the season Saturday at Adair-Kennedy Field.
But the challenges will again be formidable, beginning with the opening-day weather as strong winds and possibly heavy rain are forecast during the game against East Anchorage scheduled to start at 3 p.m. The junior varsity game is scheduled to start at noon.
The team will also be trying to top last year’s second-place season with new players replacing key departing seniors, including quarterback Jarrell Williams and running back Jamal Johnson.
Juneau is scheduled to play two Friday night games. The first is at Auburn in Washington state at 7 p.m. Sept. 8.
The second Friday game is a home rematch of the title game against Colony — whose team last year was composed mostly of sophomores and juniors, and thus is mostly intact this year — at 7 p.m. Sept. 15. Juneau lost last year’s championship by a final score of 14-7, with Colony quarterback Jack Nash, a junior, running for the winning touchdown end zone with 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The rematch will be followed the next weekend by a game at West Anchorage, also considered a top contender for the state title, at 2 p.m. Sept. 23.
Juneau Huskies 2023 schedule
(Note: all times are varsity games; junior varsity games start three hours earlier)
Aug. 12: East Anchorage, 3 p.m.
Aug. 19: Dimond, 3 p.m.
Aug. 26: @Bartlett, 2 p.m.
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.
