Building a Dynasty: The Alaska Warriors

[Trojuun]

Long time lurker. Love the dynasty!

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Quote: Originally Posted by Trojuun

Long time lurker. Love the dynasty!

Thanks a lot!!

[xToXiCxSAVAGEx]

Year 5 Preview

Anchorage, AK;

After four straight years of improvement, Alaska looks to take a leap forward, especially on defense. The defense under defensive coordinator Matthew Gatewood has struggled mightily, especially against the pass.

"When you look at this Alaska team, the thing they struggle with most is stopping the pass. They can get pressure, and their offense has done enough to keep them in games, but when you give up 40 points per game, you're not going to win as much as you should. You can't depend on your offense that much," said ESPN analyst David Erickson in an interview this week. "If they don't improve this year, I can't imagine [Gatewood] being back next year."

This will be the final year any of the original members of Alaska Warriors football will be on the team. Redshirt seniors Bobby Wilcox, Nick Mackey, and Justin Brant are the only original members left.

"These guys have meant everything to this program. They've worked hard and waited for their moment. They've all been the consummate teammates you want if you're building a program," Coach Hardaway said.

Schedule:

This year Alaska's schedule is back heavy with road games in four of their last five games. Three of those are against teams currently ranked in the top 5. They also travel to #9 UCLA in the fifth week of the season.

Alaska Warriors 2017 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 2	vs Air Force
Sep 9	vs Eastern Michigan
Sep 16	at Kansas State
Sep 23	vs Fresno State
Sep 30	at #9 UCLA
Oct 7	vs Troy
Oct 21	vs Utah State
Oct 28	at #2 Alabama
Nov 4	vs New Mexico State
Nov 11	at #22 BYU
Nov 15	at #4 USC
Nov 25	at #5 Clemson

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Aug 1, 2017
RK	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	Georgia
2	Alabama
3	Ohio State
4	USC
5	Clemson
6	Florida
7	Notre Dame
8	California
9	UCLA
10	Washington
11	Florida State
12	Oklahoma
13	Tennessee
14	Texas
15	Virginia
16	Nebraska
17	Virginia Tech
18	Pittsburgh
19	Michigan
20	Wake Forest
21	Army
22	BYU
23	Boston College
24	Arizona
25	Mississippi State

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Personnel Preview

Quarterbacks

Alaska will be returning some key members, but will be starting completely over at the quarterback position this year. There is not a quarterback on the roster older than a redshirt freshman. The starter going in to the season is 74 overall Patrick Cole, who beat out 76 overall Vince Keyes in practice. They will be redshirting Anthony Phillips unless something catastrophic happens.

Runningbacks
Alaska will return Junior tailback Evan Preston who also emerged as a receiver threat last year, and Bobby McNamara, part of the first recruiting class ever for Alaska, will back him up. Redshirt sophomore and freshman Van Ward and Chad Smith will follow those two, respectively.

Receivers and Tight Ends
At receiver, senior Kelvin Wade and redshirt junior Fred Skinner will line up outside. Skinner has elite speed at 95 and acceleration at 96. Former freshman All-American Darnell Taylor, who broke out early but struggled with injuries last season, will run slot. 69 Overall sophomore Marcus Glover also proved last year he deserved more playing time over 73 overall RS sophomore Jonathan Williams. The starting tight end will be Wesley Hairston, who took over the starting spot from Nick Jenkins in the middle of last year after some drop issues. Behind him are two redshirt freshmen Kelvin Cox and Victor Little.

Offensive Line
The line has a ton of experience, as four of the starting five are seniors and the other lineman is a junior. At left tackle, 80 overall George Redd will be leading the charge. 6'8" junior Barry Stone will start at left guard at 73 overall, and 78 overall Nick Mackey will start at the other guard spot. At center, 87 overall senior Bryan Whitmore will start, and 81 overall Adam Gregoire will start at right tackle.

Defensive Line
Seniors Jerrell Smith and Bobby Hamby are starting at defensive end with junior Dustin Thomas backing both up. All-American Matt Lewis and senior Marcus Wheeler will plug the middle at 83 and 82 overall respectively. Sophomores Ellis Schultz and Reggie Wilson will start at the OLB positions, and senior Zach Grier and junior Maurice Childress will hold the MLB position down.

Defensive Backs and Special Teams
Senior and all-time interceptions leader David Russell is starting at CB and Mike Moore will be starting opposite of him. Justin Hayden and Pete McCoy will play the slot receivers. All-American and 78-overall junior Ronnie Carter is starting at free safety and Richard Caldwell will play strong safety. Freshman kicker Jeremy Cronin will start and redshirt junior Jason Mayo is starting at punter.

Cuts:
58 ovr freshman MLB Dane Brink
53 ovr freshman MLB David Williams
66 overall junior CB Andrew Evans
62 ovr freshman K Marcus Williams
56 ovr freshman C AJ Branch
67 ovr sophomore OLB Will Francis

Redshirts:
64 Freshman QB Anthony Phillips
65 Freshman RB Robert Lane
62 Freshman WR Mark Roberts
67 Freshman RG Karl Harris
67 Freshman RT Emmanuel Richards
68 Freshman RE Marcus Woods - Medical
62 Freshman DT George Williams
62 Freshman DT Pierre Williams
66 Freshman MLB Jordan Matthews
64 Freshman CB Robert Taylor
63 Freshman SS Jarrett Parker

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Housekeeping

Sliders:
If the pass defense doesn't start improving I may up the pass coverage.

Injuries:
I do an RNG system for weekly injuries and I do this preseason, that way if somebody gets injured within the first 4 weeks for the season, I can give them a semi-medical redshirt. This also makes it easier throughout the season so I don't have to do it each week individually.

Recruiting:
I want to follow recruiting a little more closely around the country and around the program. I've also decided that if a 4 star has interest, I'll add him to the board and only offer a scholarship and put no points in to him for the year. I had a couple of 4 stars and a 5 star who had no interest last year on the board, and all of them went to other schools by a huge margin.

Frequency:

I want to get things out more quickly and more in depth but that will require some interaction from you guys.

[Itsma806]

Thats a pretty tough stretch to end the season. Good luck!

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Week 1

Anchorage, AK;

Today Air Force travels to Alaska in what should be a great first test for Alaska. They are coming off a solid 8-5 record, but they're looking to be much improved this year. They will be without tight end Wesley Hairston today, however, as he will be out for the first couple of weeks with an abdominal strain. Keep it locked here for all your football needs today, as Air Force wins the toss and kicks off. Away we go!

First Series
Patrick Cole steps back to throw but the Air Force defense is on him immediately! Second and long, Cole takes the snap and again he's sacked! After a short gain on a screen Alaska will be forced to punt...

Air Force takes over and begins to drive the ball, moving with tempo. They drive in to the red zone, surely looking like they're going to score, but quarterback Damien Harvey takes a shot and has to leave the game for a bit. The drive stalls, and Air Force settles for 3.

Game Break:
And with our first upset of the year, Utah State takes down number 10 Washington!

Back to the Action:
Bobby McNamara takes his first handoff of the year up the left side for a good gain of around 12, but he fumbles! The ball is loose! Air Force scoops it and they take it in for a score! Alaska is stunned!

Can they Respond?
After a return to the 23, Alaska begins to move the ball. They get to midfield... Preston motions wide left, Cole takes the snap, looks, wide open! Preston catches in stride and walks in for a 50-yard bomb from Cole!

Can the Defense Play?
After giving up a long drive, the Alaska defense again surrenders yards early. But they stiffen, and Air Force connects on a long field goal.

Alaska gets the ball again, and this time they methodically and efficiently move the ball down the field, and Evan Preston rushes for his first TD of the year.

Air Force quickly goes three-and-out, and Alaska has the ball driving. Third and goal with a chance to take an 8-point lead, Patrick Cole steps back, looks, throws... intercepted. Intercepted, and with that we head to half time Alaska 14, Air Force 13.

Second Half
Air Force drives again, and yet again has to settle for a field goal. Alaska takes the ball and quickly goes three-and-out with Kelvin Wade dropping a crucial first down pass on third and 10. The punt takes a good bounce inside the 20, and Air Force goes three-and-out.

Fred Skinner roams back, catches, comes forward and bounces outside... he's got blockers, HE'S GOT BLOCKERS! 20! 10! 5! TOUCHDOWN! 57-YARDS TO THE HOUSE FOR FRED SKINNER! Alaska takes a 21-16 lead!

Air Force Response?
Air Force takes the ball and they begin moving. After a long drive, they finally punch it in with Matt Charles and he catches the two point conversion to make it a 24-21 game.

Mental Errors
Alaska receives the ball again, and on a first down run they get called for clipping. On second down... flag... another clipping penalty! Now it's third and they need a play. Cole steps... throws to Kelvin Wade and... dropped. Alaska will punt.

Air Force gets the ball again, and we jump to third down. Air Force is passing. Damien Harvey looks, can't find anyone and Matt Lewis takes him down for Alaska's third sack! Air Force will punt.

Fourth Quarter
McNamara, who had the fumble earlier, is back in the game. He motions out wide, here's the snap. Cole takes it, looks down field, throws in to traffic but Bobby goes up and gets it! Like a receiver he just went up between two defenders on a poorly thrown ball and snage the ball away! A HUGE 29-yard gain and Alaska is in business.

The drive stalls, however, and freshman Jeremy Cronin makes his first field goal to tie the game at 24.

Time is winding down, third and 2. Air Force snaps the ball, hands to the back but he goes nowhere! Stuffed! and they will have to punt.

Again, Cole steps back, it's a screen and nobody will catch Evan Preston as he walks in for an 11-yard touchdown. Alaska leads 31-24.

Last Chance
On third down, Air Force scrambles... Matt Lewis chases him down and... the ball is out! The ball is out! Alaska has recovered! and with that they should be able to run out the clock and put this game away.

Evan Preston would go on to salt the game away with a 5-yard touchdown run and Alaska wins it 38-24.

More Upsets
Memphis over #9 UCLA
North Dakota State over #25 Vanderbilt

Stats:
Patrick Cole started the game 10/11, with his lone incompletion being the interception at the end of the half. He finished 19/24 and dealt with a couple of drops. Pretty solid for his first start.

Air Force Falcons at Alaska Warriors
Sep 2, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Air Force Falcons (0-0)	13	0	11	0	24
Alaska Warriors (0-0)	7	7	7	17

Team Stats Comparison
	AFA	ASK
Total Offense	276	402
Rushing Yards	195	148
Passing Yards	81	254
First Downs	12	19
Punt Return Yards	0	82
Kick Return Yards	35	118
Total Yards	311	602
Turnovers	1	2
3rd Down Conversion	4-12	6-12
4th Down Conversion	0-1	1-1
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2--1	5-3-1
Penalties	2-10	2-27
Possession Time	13:39	2:21

Air Force Falcons PASSING C/A YDS TD INT D. Harvey 7/9 81 0 0 R. Parks 0/1 0 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. Harvey 20 43 2.1 0 K. Remsberg 8 30 3.7 0 A. Ransom 6 50 8.6 0 N. Thomas 3 48 16.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD M. Townsend 6 0 1 0

Alaska Warriors PASSING C/A YDS TD INT P. Cole 19/24 254 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Preston 27 118 4.3 2 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD E. Preston 6 83 13.8 2 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Smith 7 2.0 0 0 B. Hamby 4 1.0 0 0 M. Lewis 4 2.0 0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD F. Skinner 3 71 23.6 0 D. Taylor 2 47 23.5 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD F. Skinner 3 82 27.3 1

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Week 2

Anchorage, AK;

And here we go on another sunny Saturday afternoon in Anchorage! The Eastern Michigan Eagles are in town, and they've won the toss and elected to defer.

First Quarter

Alaska begins with two straight losses again, but on 3rd and 13, Patrick Cole throws a dart for a first down. After a few plays, Alaska will have to punt, however.

Jarius Grissom the senior from Dearborn Heights, Michigan takes the snap... He sees nobody, he evades a defender and runs up near the boundary. Alaska gives chase and... fumble! The ball is loose with three Alaska defenders but incomes the Eagles receiver to save the drive!

Eastern Michigan begins to move the ball down field, and Coach Hardaway reluctantly calls a timeout in an effort to stall the no-huddle attack. The Eagles continue to drive, but on third and 12 they have to take a delay of game penalty.

Grissom surveys the field, snaps the ball. It's a screen, the runningback has it and he's got space! He runs near the sideline and... out of bounds 3 yards short! What a stop from the Alaska defense. With 3:25 left in the first, EMU kicks and makes it a 3-0 game.

Game Break

Arizona gets the huge upset over #7 Cal in a shocker! Meanwhile Cincinatti upsets #22 Navy.

Back to the Action

After a 27-yard pass moves the Warriors in to field goal range, punter and "long field goal specialist" Jason Mayo kicks a booming 53-yard field goal with 24 seconds remaining in the first to tie the game.

Second Quarter

The Eagles take the ball and begin to drive. They're in enemy territory and Alaska seems to be having trouble getting lined up! The quarterback takes the snap, looks and lobs it to a wide open Ralph Pollard and he will walk in for a 44-yard touchdown. It looked like the defensive back moved up to press and got beat, and had no safety help on top. If they want to have a chance in this game, they're going to have to figure out how to stop this offense.

Alaska puts together a nice drive following the touchdown, but Jeremy Cronin misses the 44-yard field goal wide left. It seems like everything is going wrong for Alaska.

With just over five minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Eagles are looking to take a two-score lead. Grissom takes the snap... It's another screen and... picked! Ellis Schultz, the crafty sophomore out of Sans Souci, South Carolina does it again, taking a screen pass all the way back to the house! With 4:59 remaining in the half, Alaska has tied it at 10.

On the ensuing possession, Alaska holds. Eastern Michigan punts and Fred Skinner has an amazing return that is negated by a clipping penalty oh boy.

On first down Patrick Cole fakes the handoff and he's looking for it all. Kelvin Wade is wide open! But the ball is just overthrown. That's unfortunate because he had him for what would've been a walk-in touchdown.

Now we are at third and 9 and it's a screen pass to Evan Preston who jukes outside and runs through a defender to just get the first! The drive stalls however, and on 4th and 4 instead of going for it they punt. They didn't want to give the Eagles the ball near midfield this close to half.

Second Half

The Eagles receive the ball out of halftime. They hand the ball outside and up the field goes the back. He pushes through a couple def- the ball is out! He lost the ball! Jerrell Smith the defensive end just came up behind the ball carrier and stripped him my goodness!

On the ensuing drive, Alaska kicks a field goal with 6:24 remaining in the third. They proceed to stop the Eagles just short of the first, and they force a kick. On the Warriors drive, they get down close to the goal line but have to settle for a field goal, which is missed.

Grissom again takes the ball and looks for a screen... and this one is picked by Reggie Wilson! It won't be taken back for a score but he looked like he was playing a contain position from his edge rushing spot and Grissom threw it right to him!

This time Cole takes the ball and on the very first play he connects with Evan Preston on a 17-yard touchdown catch.

Again, with EMU driving, Alaska has to burn a timeout but it doesn't help as they punch it in for a touchdown with 45 seconds remaining in the third.

Fourth Quarter

Alaska drives down to the EMU 36, and on 4th and 4 from no-mans-land, they go for it and get stopped short. EMU takes the ball and begins to drive. After another long run, Alaska burns another timeout, this time successful. EMU kicked the field goal to tie the game at 20.

Eastern Michigan kicks to Fred Skinner, who takes it and bounces outside... He's got space! 50, 40, 30, 20, 10... touchdown but we have a flag. Clipping and that is a huge penalty. Basically an 86 yard penalty and they'll get the ball at their own 14.

On second down after a negative run by Preston, Patrick Cole steps back to pass. Eastern Michigan brings pressure and Cole throws it out to Marcus Glover who makes an incredible one handed grab! The ball was behind him and he went up and absolutely snatched it with one hand. Alaska drives and has to settle for a field goal with 45 seconds left.

It's fourth down and it all comes down to this. Grissom takes the ball and looks to pass but sees no one... He scrambles and he has the first and more! Down to midfield he shrugs off one defender! And another! But the ball is loose! Big Matt Lewis makes another huge play! Instead of having the ball across midfield with 10 seconds left and a timeout, it will be Alaska's ball after Matt Lewis chases down Grissom and snatches the ball away! Alaska will win it 23-20.

Post Game:

Coach, the team has a different feel to them. Can you tell us what's different this year?

Well, I think there is a greater awareness as to how things work around here. They know the schemes, and they're focused and executing.

How has Patrick (Cole)'s play affected the team?

He has come in and done everything the right way.

After two games, he's completing 71% of his passes and only has one turnover. How much of that is on playcalling?

We want to run the ball. In years past we tried doling out responsibility but this year we're just going with whoever is hottest. And because of that, it allows him to just do what he does. It's not rocket science. When you can move the ball with your runningbacks, you give them the ball.

The style of offense has definitely changed. What cause that?

When you look at past years, we had a lot of spread gun formations and we were often down and had to throw a lot. This year we've really focused on playing our game. I told the team today, actually. I said "they're going fast, so we have to make sure we move the ball and play our game, not theirs." We dictated the tempo and it helped tremendously.

This week the team travels to Manhattan to face Kansas State. What about them concerns you the most?

Everything. They're currently ranked the 21st team in the nation for a reason. They'll play defense and offense and it's going to be a tough task.

Thanks Coach.

Analysis

Alaska looks like a much improved team through two games. But just like that, it is only a two game sample size. This week will be a huge test in determining where this team will go, but for now things are working. Wesley Hairston will be returning so the team will be at full health next week.
This week the story was turnovers and third-down conversions. Alaska was 9-17, but many of those were third and longs. That can't happen this week.

Eastern Michigan Eagles at Alaska Warriors
Sep 9, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Eastern Michigan Eagles (0-1)	3	7	7	3	20
Alaska Warriors (1-0)	3	7	10	3	23

Team Stats Comparison
	EMU	ASK
Total Offense	393	319
Rushing Yards	225	70
Passing Yards	168	249
First Downs	16	18
Punt Return Yards	0	14
Kick Return Yards	58	113
Total Yards	451	446
Turnovers	4	0
3rd Down Conversion	6-12	9-17
4th Down Conversion	0-2	0-1
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-1-2	3-1-1
Penalties	1-5	3-44
Possession Time	12:50	23:10

Eastern Michigan Eagles PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Grissom 19/28 168 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Grissom 20 129 6.4 0 B. Castillo 12 91 7.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD B. Pollard 4 63 15.7 1

Alaska Warriors PASSING C/A YDS TD INT P. Cole 25/38 249 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Preston 22 56 2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD K. Wade 6 62 10.3 0 D. Taylor 5 98 19.6 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD E. Schultz 8 0 1 1 R. Wilson 8 0 1 0 J. Smith 5 2.0 0 0