After nearly a decade dominating Alaska's Division II, the Soldotna football team has a new role -- underdog
Oct. 14—Is it possible for a team that has dominated the ranks of Alaska's Division II football for a decade to be considered an underdog?
In the case of the Soldotna High, the answer may be yes.
The Stars won eight straight D-II crowns starting in 2010, but last year Lathrop topped Soldotna twice, including 39-28 in the state title game.
And this year Lathrop has gone wire-to-wire as the top-ranked team in D-II.
So when the Stars and Malemutes match up Saturday at noon at Service High School, Lathrop will enter as a deserved favorite.
"We've had nearly a decade worth of teams that we're kind of going through uncontested," Soldotna head coach Galen Brantley said. "(The team) came up short a year ago. They worked their way through the season and lost to the Lathrop in the title game. So we feel like we're a little bit of an underdog going into this one and, you know, our guys feel like they have something to prove."
Soldotna cruised through the regular season, scoring more than 40 points in every game. Last week's 34-20 playoff win over North Pole proved to be a test, but Brantley said the Stars have been anticipating this weekend's matchup all season.
"We've been on a collision course with Lathrop," Brantley said. "I think we've known it from Day 1. Our entire season and the playoffs, everything has been preparation up to this point. As far as getting ourselves ready, that started a year ago in October."
The two teams played in the 2019 title with Soldotna cruising 69-23. After no championship was played in 2020 due to the pandemic, Lathrop got its revenge last season.
[Lathrop looks to claim second straight Division II Alaska prep football state championship]
And despite not necessarily being rivals, Brantley said it's a game both teams look forward to.
"We've had this game circled on the calendar for a long time," he said. "This is why we put all the work in, to get to the point where you have a chance to get on the field with a better team and do everything we can to give ourselves the opportunity to be successful."
Brantley said the team has had injuries as well as some student-athletes move away, leaving an opportunity for younger players on this year's team.
"We're down to five returning seniors," he said. "We start a ton of 10th graders. There were plenty of games this season where we started seven sophomores on defense. The youth is part of the storyline with this group."
Despite the youth, Brantley said both the team and the town are anticipating the chance to add to their championship total.
"It is a football town and it's a big deal for our kids to be a part of our program," he said. "We feel it's a special thing for them."
