Football Recap: North Pole Wins High-Profile Contest Against Eagle River

North Pole faced Eagle River in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. The Patriots snuck past the Wolves with a 31-26 win. The Patriots have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Wolves, too.

Patrick Melvin had another great game (as he tends to do), rushing for 143 yards and four TDs.

Patriots

Rushing Yards

09/19/25 vs Eagle River	225
08/29/25 vs Service	108
08/22/25 @ Palmer	107
08/15/25 @ Chugiak	117
10/11/24 vs Soldotna	62
+ 2 more games

They were just one part of a punishing run game: North Pole was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 225 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2024.

North Pole didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Elijah Johnson, Michael Putnam, and Landon Ritter picked up one apiece.

When it comes to explaining why Eagle River lost, don't look at Miguel Marrero. Despite the final result, he picked up 58 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. Marrero didn't just play on offense: he also made two total tackles and defended two passes.

The victory got North Pole back to even at 3-3. As for Eagle River, they dropped their record down to 2-4 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road.

We've got plenty of inter-conference action coming up soon. North Pole is set to face off against their familiar foe West Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. That contest will pit two of the most dominant backs against one another: Melvin and Jacob Sherer. Meanwhile, Eagle River will square off against rival Wasilla at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.