Football
Valdez vs. Eielson Football Game
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – This past weekend the Buccaneers hosted the Eielson Ravens in Denali Conference action. A week of cold rainy practices, student absences, and minor injuries had provided limited preparation time for the Saturday action. However, as the rain, fog, and cold lifted from the field on Saturday, the Buccaneers also turned up the heat ultimately rolling to a 60-18 half-time score and a 66-24 victory.
The 9 man format allowed a pre-game controlled scrimmage between JV players from both teams, giving valuable experience and an opportunity to compete with matched opponents. Scoring twice, the JV squad gave a good showing for the future of Buccaneer football.
The Buccaneer defense quickly stifled the Raven offense on their initial drive, taking over on a fumble from their own 30 yard line. Two places later, the Bucs ran the ball to the endzone, only to be called back by a penalty. A subsequent penalty moved them back an additional five yards. After getting the cobwebs out from a haphazard week of practice, the Buccaneer offensive line of Dennis Mott, Hunter Francis, Spencer Holbrook, Gabe Brewi, and Griffin Hastings began a dominating performance, clearing the way for Josh Baczuk, Tate Chadwick, and Wyatt Williams to score several running touchdowns, and Dillon Fowler to connect with Hastings on a 65 yard scoring pass. The epic play of the game, however, was senior guard Hunter Francis rumbling into the end zone on his first touchdown play of his career.
Despite some early miscommunications defensively leading to Eielson scores, the Bucs quickly clamped down on the Ravens with Dillon Fowler hauling in 3 interceptions in the effort. The Buc play was so physically dominant in the first half that a few short minutes into the third quarter, the Ravens requested the remainder of the game be played by JV players.
This opportunity was another great experience for our younger players to get to play in front of a home crowd. Thank you to all those who attended and made it such a memorable event for our team.
We are especially grateful to all those who helped put this on, including feeding both teams, running the chains, the gate, the sound system, and everything else it takes to run our program. Your support, whether highly visible or not, is greatly appreciated.
Due to Covid considerations in Barrow, our travel this week to play there this week has been canceled. We will resume conference play the following week when the Seward Seahawks come to Valdez for conference action.
Cross-Country
Kenny Lake Invite
September 4, 2021
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – The Bucs Cross-Country team headed to drier ground north at Kenny Lake. The course consisted of two loops through mostly flat mixed terrain. Starting on the field behind the school, runners headed out onto a gravel road to a paved bike path, then headed through the woods above the bluff on a single track that returned to the field. Kenny Lake brought in some tough competition with the addition of ACS, Wasilla, and Redington.
Nineteen girls faced off. Sophomore Anika Palomar started off strong in first until she hit the gravel. Palomar remained strong throughout the race and finished 10th at 26:35. Freshman Morgan Hamilton kept a steady pace and finished strong in 17th place at 30:32. In Region VI, Palomar is currently ranked 4th and Hamilton is 8th.
The boys faced off against 29 runners. Out of nowhere Sophomore Rafe Caruthers was hot on the heels of ACS and Wasilla. Caruthers cruised to the finish in 10th place with a new PR of 19:52. Senior William Benes was having an off day, but finished in a sprint at 22:15 in 16th place. Junior Cole Wadsworth continues to hone his stride and race pace. Battling a crippling side cramp on the second lap, C. Wadsworth picked up speed to finish 24th at 24:08. Junior Jason Smilie wasn’t far behind and turned it up at the finish in 25th place at 24:29. Freshman Jace Wadsworth earned himself another PR with an impressive sprint to the finish in 29th place at 29:02. Current standings in Region VI are Caruthers in 6th, Benes 11ths, C. Wadsworth 20th, Simile 24th, and J. Wadsworth in 29th. We are on the road to state once again! Go Bucs!
We missed having Freshmen Landon Metzger and Dalen Beck. We hope they will be joining us
next week in Palmer!
Varsity Volleyball
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – This weekend, we traveled to Fairbanks to play in the West Valley Tournament. On Friday, the girls played some tough games but each had a few great plays throughout the day. They had some great moments executing advanced plays they had been practicing. We played 12 sets of pool play ending the day with a record of 5-7. West Valley 0-2, Hutchison 2-0, Monroe 1-1, North Pole 0-2, Wasilla 1-1, Palmer 1-1.
On Saturday, the girls played their last 4 sets (Barrow 2-0 and Bartlett 0-2) of pool play and a record of 7-9 . The girls played incredibly against Bartlett and kept the sets close. This seeded them 7th and in the Red Bracket. We played Barrow again, beating them 2-0. We then played Monroe in the championship game of the Red Bracket. The girls all played phenomenally and beat them 2-0. At no point did they lose momentum or confidence.
Red Bracket MVP
Momoe Togagae
Red Bracket All-Tournament Team
Masen Holmes
VHS Volleyball Team Took 3rd Place at West Valley Invitational, Photo courtesy of Coach Madison Alexie
JV Volleyball
Monroe and Eielson
Sep. 2-4 2021
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – The Bucs JV Volleyball team traveled North to Fairbanks this past weekend. On Friday the team joined part of Monroe Rams JV for a combined practice and scrimmage. Thanks Rams for welcoming our team at the last minute! On Saturday we were able to play a full match, best out of five against the Eielson Ravens.
The Bucs came out aggressive in the first two sets against Eielson winning handily (25-18 and 25-10). In sets 3 and 4 they let their guard and focus down and allowed the Ravens to take control of the game. In set 5 the team dug in right from the start and never let the Ravens gain any momentum, taking the final set and match victory (15-7). Co-captain Marcedes Taylor continues to lead the team with consistent aggressive serves. The team was able to set up a few plays for Christina Wise, Denali Woods, and Bella Smelcer. Rachel Berkeley threw up some blocks and tips on the net while defending the front row.
Way to go Bucs!
