Football Preview: North Pole Patriots vs. Soldotna Stars
North Pole is on a four-game streak of home wins, while Soldotna is on a eight-game streak of away wins (dating back to last season): one of those streaks is about to end. The North Pole Patriots will host the Soldotna Stars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. North Pole is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 25.9 points per game this season.
North Pole is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Alaska's top teams: West Valley, who was ranked seventh in their home state at the time (North Pole was ranked sixth). North Pole snuck past West Valley with a 28-22 win on Friday.
It was another big night for Patrick Melvin, who rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Landon Ritter also helped out with an impressive 117 receiving yards.
North Pole wouldn't let West Valley keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. North Pole can thank Jimmy Runnels and Hayden Lewellyn for forcing both of them. Runnels also set a new season high mark in total tackles with 15.
Meanwhile, after a string of 18 wins dating back to last season, Soldotna's good fortune finally ran out on Saturday. They fell 35-28 to Lathrop. The matchup marked the Stars' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
North Pole's victory bumped their record up to 7-1. As for Soldotna, their loss ended a ten-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 7-1.
North Pole took a serious blow against Soldotna when the teams last played back in October of 2023, falling 69-20. Will North Pole have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
