PALMER — Thunder Mountain gave the Moose a scare. But Palmer prevailed and will play for a state title.
Thunder Mountain scored 19 second-half points, but Palmer held on for a 28-26 win over the Falcons Saturday afternoon in the ASAA First National Bowl medium-schools semifinals at Machetanz Field in Palmer.
“They’re a very good team. I think we underestimated them coming in,” Palmer senior Trey Witz said of the Falcons, the Southeast Conference champions. “I have so much respect for them.”
Falcons junior running back Roy Tupou rushed for four touchdowns and senior quarterback Calen Jenkins threw for 290 yards as the Falcons tried to pull off the victory against the Moose on Palmer’s home turf. But during Thunder Mountain’s 19-point second half, Palmer freshman Duston Corbin used a pair of big plays on defense to help the Moose move into the medium-schools state title game, where they’ll face Northern Lights Conference rival Soldotna Oct. 15 at 12:30 p.m. at Palmer High.
After Tupou rumbled for his fourth touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter and cut Palmer’s lead to 28-26, Corbin batted down the Thunder Mountain pass on the 2-point conversion to preserve the 2-point lead for the Moose.
Late in the game, with the Falcons in the red zone, facing 4th-and-3 at the 18, Corbin stopped the Falcons a yard shy of the first down, which turned the ball over to the Moose.
“He came through huge, I’m so proud of him,” Witz said of Corbin, who played sparingly at the varsity level during the regular season.
After Tupou notched his first touchdown of the game on Thunder Mountain’s first possession, Palmer scored 22 straight points to take a 22-7 lead into the half.
In the second half, the Falcons opened with a quick score. Following Zebahdiah Stone’s 40-yard kickoff return, Thunder Mountain needed only four plays for a 47-yard scoring drive. Tupou capped the possession with a 4-yard run to cut Palmer’s lead to 22-14.
The score was set up by 43 yards passing on the drive.
Thunder Mountain used its passing game to climb back into the game. Jenkins was 16 of 19 for 203 yards during the final two quarters.
“They are so good at that short passing game,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said of the Falcons offense. “They really wore us out with that no huddle.”
Dominic Maua, who led Thunder Mountain with 131 yards receiving, had five catches for 102 yards in the second half.
With the Falcons facing 3rd-and-19 at their own 15, Maua took a short Jenkins pass and went 75 yards down the field.
Two plays later, Tupou reached the end zone for the fourth time. Riley Owens also had a big second half in the Falcons passing game, with six catches for 49 in the final two quarters. Owens finished with a game-high nine catches and 88 yards. Gabriel Crawford added four catches for 36 yards in the loss.
Palmer junior quarterback Clayton Southwick led the Moose with 116 yards passing and 48 yards rushing in the win. He rushed for a short touchdown and connected with Nick DeBach on a 10-yard scoring play. DeBach finished with 60 yards and a touchdown. Jared Oviok also scored for the Moose, who will play in a state title game for the first time since 2007.
Palmer 28, Thunder Mountain 26
Medium-schools semifinals
First quarter:
Thunder Mountain — Tupou 5 run (kick good) 8:40.
Palmer — Southwick 1 run (kick good) 4:33.
Second quarter:
Palmer — DeBach 10 pass from Southwick (Cutsforth run) 8:29.
Palmer — Oviok 4 run (kick failed) 1:14.
Third quarter:
Thunder Mountain — Tupou 4 run (kick good) 11:08.
Palmer — DeBach 6 run (kick failed) 5:15.
Thunder Mountain — Tupou 4 run (kick failed) 3:29.
Fourth quarter:
Thunder Mountain — Tupou 6 run (pass failed) 9:26.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Thunder Mountain: Tupou 16-59, Jenkins 5-(-1), Hinckle 2-7, Mendoza 1-3; Palmer: DeBach 16-60, Cutsforth 11-68, Southwick 9-48, Oviok 8-49, Witz 2-19, L. Farris 1-2, A. Farris 1-(-1).
PASSING — Thunder Mountain: Jenkins 24-32-0—290; Palmer: Southwick 9-15-0—116.
RECIEIVNG — Thunder Mountain: Owens 9-88, Maua 7-131, Crawford 4-36, Tupou 2-20, Hinckle 1-9, Mendoza 1-6; Palmer: Daniels 4-48, Witz 2-43, Christiansen 2-19, DeBach 1-10.
Falcons running back Roy Tupou is tackled by Palmer defenders during a state football semi-final game played in Palmer on Saturday. Palmer won 28-26.
