Football
Valdez Football vs. Eielson
Contributed by Coach Lee Chadwick – The Buccaneer football traveled to North Pole to play the Eielson Ravens on Saturday. It was a beautiful fall day there for a football game.
The Ravens took possession of the kickoff, but a stiff Buc defense caused a fumble. 3 plays later, the Bucs fumbled the ball on the 10 yard line. However, the defense again took control, pushing the Ravens back and ultimately tackling them in their own end zone for a safety by Josh Baczuk, taking a 2-0 lead.
The Ravens responded with a drive resulting in a long touchdown run. The Buccaneers subsequent drive was then hindered by penalties, resulting in a turnover on downs. As the Ravens were approaching the goal line, another stiff defensive effort resulted in a recovered fumble keeping the Bucs alive with a halftime score of 2-8.
Receiving the kickoff to start the second half, Logan Anderson rumbled for a long return. 3 plays later, the Bucs were in the end zone taking a 9-8 lead. On the ensuing Raven drive, Deveraux Calhoun came up with a huge interception, ripping the ball away from the opponent to stop the drive. A stalled drive by the Bucs however, gave the ball back to the Ravens. Eielson then turned a bungled play into a scramble that resulted in a long touchdown taking back the lead at 16-9. The Bucs responded 5 plays later on a beautiful screen pass from Dillon Fowler to Clay Woodgate for a 45 yard touchdown pass.
Causing another quick fumble, the Buccaneers took control of the game with a Josh Baczuk touchdown run. After another quick shutdown of the Raven offense, the Bucs mounted a last drive ending in a Hayden Howard touchdown effort nearing the end of the game to seal the deal with a 28-16 winning score.
A deciding factor in the game was the stellar defensive line play of the Buccaneers led by Dennis Mott, Gaspar DeLeon, Tim Shantz, Monroe Smith, and Gabe Brewi. Their combined efforts frustrated the Raven offense and limited their ability to consistently move the ball.
This is the first time in program history that the Buccaneers have defeated the Eielson Ravens in football. The players were ecstatic that their efforts have culminated in this victory this year, ensuring them of a playoff berth.
Cross Country
Region VI Championships
September 26, 2020
Contributed by Coach Melissa Koontz – The Bucs Cross-Country team gave it all they got at Regionals. The course was a mixture of grass and dirt. It was two loops around Fairbanks Golf Course. The sun graced us with its presence just enough to take the bite out of the air. Runners put aside tight calves, aching feet, and sore shins to go out with a bang!
Freshman Anika Palomar hung out in the back for a majority of the race and then began to pick things up at the end, giving her a 7th place finish and a personal best. Palomar lost over 6 minutes since the beginning of the season. This earns her a trip to State!
Freshman McKennan Mayer represented Valdez in the JV Boys race. Mayer hung out in the back for the first lap and then began to speed things up, passing his opponents. Mayer also finished with a personal record in 6th place at 25:01, almost a 10 minute improvement from his first race this season!
Finally, the varsity boys team was made up of Junior William Benes, Sophomore Jason Smilie, Sophomore Cole Wadsworth, and Freshman Rafe Caruthers. Benes began the race hanging out in the back of the front back. Gradually he began to pick off his competition. All of a sudden he was flirting with second place. During the last 800 meters, he drifted in 3rd and finished with a season’s best at 19:34, earning a trip to State! Smilie stayed close behind Benes for the first lap and then couldn’t match Benes’s increased pace. Smilie finished strong with a season best at 21:19, placing 12th. Wadsworth also had his best performance of the season finishing 14th at 22:31. Caruthers made his debut in Varsity and held his own all the way to the end, finishing 15th at 22:56.
This team overcame constant pains, injuries, Covid Mitigations, and season disruptions to finish strong. Proud doesn’t begin to describe how Coach Koontz feels. She’s already looking forward to next season! This young team worked hard and proved they were willing to push themselves when it mattered most.
Varsity Volleyball
Contributed by Coach: Madison Fleming – This weekend we played Glennallen High school. On Friday, we drove up to play in Glennallen. The girls had an incredible night and won in three sets. They played hard and were executing every play. Peyton Wade with a great night ending with the most kills. Savannah Cockerham led the team in Aces. Along with those two, Reese King had a phenomenal night setting and gained the most assists.
On Saturday, Glennallen drove down to Valdez to play us. The girls had another great game winning the match in 3. Masen Holmes and Savannah Cockerham ended the game with the most molds. Both Aly Metzger and Rylie King had a great weekend serving and passing. They both also had some kills from the back row including quite a few quick sets. We are excited to travel this upcoming weekend to play in our second set of conference games against Eielson.
J.V. Volleyball
Valdez Bucs vs. Glennallen Panthers
September 25-26
Contributed by Coach Katie Burns – The Junior Varsity Volleyball Team came out strong Friday night against the Glennallen Panthers, sweeping up the competition in three sets. Saturday games were just as controlled, winning the match in five sets.
The Bucs set out for Glennallen right after school on Friday for a quick, there and back, game. The team played with great control, setting up attacks at every opportunity. Setters, Ember Leadbetter and Ariel Mitchell, worked hard to constantly set up different hitters on the net and even back row attacks to keep the defense moving and give all players an opportunity to execute their offensive skills. Desi Woodgate had the most kills on Friday (6) with Lucy Selanoff close behind (4). Consistent serving played a huge factor in the momentum of the game. High servers for the night were Leadbetter (19), Bella Smelcer (12), and Jaimie Crisp (10). The JV Bucs won three straight sets ( 25-23, 25-17, 25-22).
Our Saturday games were played with the same control and communication exhibited on Friday. Due to the teams’ hard work and on-court communication, we were able to push in all members of our team. Jaelynne Adams, Christina Wise, Caelyn Wise, and Denali Woods were able to spend time in the front row covering on defense and attacking at the net. Bailie Wenner played front row and was a server for our team, while Alina Kochentiet played as a defensive specialist in the back row. Leadbetter continued to hold the lead for serves, with 23 serves for our team. Mitchell was a close second, with 20 serves followed by L. Selanoff with 16. Our lead attackers on the net were Woodgate (7 kills) and Mitchell (6 kills). Huge shout out to Olivia Selanoff who is playing the role of libero for the JV squad. This position is highly active. O. Selanoff is responsible for almost 50% of the passing that takes place on the court. Bucs JV ended up winning the match in five sets (25-14, 25-22, 15-25, 16-25, 15-7).
Great weekend Lady Bucs!
