Football Preview: Soldotna Stars vs. Eagle River Wolves
Soldotna has gone 10-0 against Eagle River recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Saturday. The Soldotna Stars will welcome the Eagle River Wolves at 5:00 p.m. Soldotna will be coming into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
Soldotna is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: Wasilla, who was ranked 15th in their home state at the time (Soldotna was ranked first). Soldotna claimed a resounding 63-21 win over Wasilla on the road. Fans of the Stars have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 20+ points.
Meanwhile, Eagle River came up short against North Pole on Saturday and fell 17-8. Despite 123 more yards than the Patriots, the Wolves couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Eagle River's loss came about despite a quality game from Michael Roschi, who rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. Roschi's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 100 rushing yards dating back to last season. Eagle River also got a significant boost from Nolan Beaty, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 98 yards.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Eagle River was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 279 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 257 rushing yards in three consecutive matches.
Soldotna's victory was their eighth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-0. As for Eagle River, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-3.
Everything came up roses for Soldotna against Eagle River in their previous matchup back in September of 2023, as the team secured a 55-7 win. In that game, Soldotna amassed a halftime lead of 35-7, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Saturday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
