Building a Dynasty: The Alaska Warriors

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Week 12

#15 Alaska at BYU


It was a long and grueling day for the Alaska Warriors as they struggled to slow down BYU. It wasn't a game of missed opportunities. It was a mauling up front by the BYU offensive line and it was BYU forcing Alaska to throw. BYU defenders got home multiple times and their offense put up over 700 yards to rout Alaska 61-37.

Summary:

It's hard to lose when your quarterback throws for 424 yards, 5 touchdowns, and your team has no turnovers, but that's exactly what Alaska did this week. They began the game on defense, and within a minute BYU had a touchdown. Alaska did a good job of answering at first, but, simply put, Alaska had to punt and BYU didn't.

"When they hit a 40 yard pass on third and 17 is when we kind of knew it was going to be one of those games," Coach Hardaway said after the loss. "They were physical. Their backs weren't being touched until they were ten yards down field, and they got everyone involved. I don't know if we've ever been this manhandled in our history."

One highlight came in the second quarter as Patrick Cole stood in and threw a strike for an 88-yard touchdown on third and long to Fred Skinner. But by half time BYU had over 40 yards of offense and a 14-point lead.


The second half was a half of desperation for Alaska. They tried all they could but nothing seemed to work.

"We went for it on fourth a few times late in the third. We felt we had no choice at that point. We wanted to run the ball... We had good success early, but being down 17+ makes it hard to stay with it. Patrick did what he does but he doesn't play defense."

Alaska Warriors at Brigham Young Cougars
Nov 11, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#15 Alaska Warriors (7-2)	7	10	14	6	37
Brigham Young Cougars (4-6)	14	17	10	20	61

Team Stats Comparison
	ASK	BYU
Total Offense	481	677
Rushing Yards	57	335
Passing Yards	424	342
First Downs	19	29
Punt Return Yards	0	43
Kick Return Yards	140	28
Total Yards	621	748
Turnovers	0	1
3rd Down Conversion	5-14	10-15
4th Down Conversion	0-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2-1-1	9-7-2
Penalties	7-69	2-20
Possession Time	17:45	22:01

Alaska Warriors PASSING C/A YDS TD INT P. Cole 24/43 424 5 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD B. McNamara 12 67 5.5 0 P. Cole 10 -61 -6.1 0 V. Ward 4 30 7.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Glover 5 82 16.4 0 D. Taylor 3 38 12.6 0 B. McNamara 3 46 15.3 1 F. Skinner 2 103 51.5 1 J. Williams 2 49 24.5 2

Brigham Young Cougars PASSING C/A YDS TD INT R. Holley 21/32 342 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD U. Tolutau 22 133 6.0 1 R. Holley 18 90 5.0 2 L. Ford 6 61 10.1 0 T. Parker 5 27 5.4 1 C. Thomas 2 8 4.0 1 B. Powell 1 16 16.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Smith 6 101 16.8 0 T. McGee 4 130 32.5 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD B. Thomas 11 0 0 0 PP. Gates 5 1.0 0 0 A. Charles 2 1.0 0 0 L. Tuifua 2 1.0 0 0 M. Lake 2 2.0 0 0 M. Smith 1 1.0 0 0

News:

Coach Hardaway welcomed his first child this week.

Brother of Alaska quarterback Patrick Cole and 2019 prospect in his own right, Adam Cole, will be playing in the state playoffs this year. Early projections have him as a fringe four-star player.

Alaska travels to a 2-8 USC team who is looking to play spoiler.

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Week 13

#23 Alaska at USC


There's not much to say about this one. Alaska finally gave the 2-8 Trojans something to cheer about as they laid an egg today. USC took advantage of huge turnovers in the first half, taking a fumble and an interception back for a touchdown. Alaska fumbled the ball at the one yard line just before half in what would have brought the game to within 18... a doable comeback. Then, Daniel Workman-who had 271 yards rushing today-took a handoff 99 yards and essentially sealed the game away.

"I'm not so much disappointed that we lost as much as how we lost. We opened the game with a stop and got the first score and then it all fell apart. It was missed tackles and turnovers and we never could recover." Indeed it was a very disappointing showing as Alaska gave up 60 points for the second straight week. USC won 63-37.

It doesn't get any easier as Alaska will travel to Death Valley to take on the #2 Clemson Tigers. This makes the second straight week that Alaska fumbled an opportunity to make a statement. And as quickly as it appeared, the number next to their name disappeared. They limp into the final week of the regular season 7-4.

Recruiting

As disappointing as this game was, it gets worse. Three star and top priority linebacker Jack Ingram committed to FAU after a lengthy battle with Alaska and FIU. Jack looked to come in his freshman season and play significant minutes, possibly being a mid-70s linebacker day one.

Priority 1B, guard Akeem Bennett, also committed elsewhere. Akeem was also a projected low to mid-70s guard who would have competed for a starting spot very early on. He chose this week to go to Stanford over Alaska.

In other news, 3 star defensive Tackle Corey Woodard committed to Houston. Alaska was never really in the hunt for him and they finished fifth on his list.

Tim Cook, an outside linebacker and 3 star player from Ohio, also committed to Boston College over Alaska. Alaska came in second, but by a wide margin as it seemed BC was always going to win this battle.


After beginning the season so strong, the wheels seem to be coming off of the Alaska Warriors football program. Can they recover in a big way against Clemson and get their first bowl win?

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Week 14

Alaska at #2 Clemson


The regular season mercifully came to an end in a 46-5 dismantling at the hands of Clemson. Running back Bobby McNamara strained his achilles tendon early in the game. This was a game that included a safety by each team.

The game started off close. Clemson got on the board halfway through the first with a field goal, and with a minute left they sacked Patrick Cole- one of their EIGHT sacks on the day. Going in to the game, Alaska had only given up 27 sacks on the season.

In the second quarter, Clemson added a field goal. Then, Alaska quarterback Patrick Cole fumbled a pitch and set up a Clemson touchdown where receiver Amari Rodgers out-jumped cornerback Mike Moore. This would happen again later in the quarter. Darnell Taylor had a long 55 yard return, but Clemson sacked Alaska twice.

Alaska would punt down to the 1, and they'd capitalize with a safety. Later in the quarter Mike Moore got beat again for a touchdown on a jump ball.

At half Alaska was down 22-2. They'd eventually go on to lose 46-5.

News

11-2 Alabama-led by Heisman winner Brian Robinson Jr- leapfrogged Clemson the week they beat Alaska by beating 10-1 Auburn. They would solidify their ranking by beating Florida in the SEC championship which avenged a 2-point loss to them earlier in the season. Their other loss was a 52-49 loss to Arkansas. They will face 13-0 Notre Dame who beat Texas in the Big 12 championship.

The final rankings were weird. Notre Dame understandably finished first at 13-0. Alabama was second at 11-2 but they avenged an earlier loss. Nebraska beat #2 Ohio State in the B1G championship, and at 10-3 they are 3rd. Clemson, who is 12-1 and beat #11 UNC in the ACC championship, finished fourth. I hate how this happened and if I could fix this to put Clemson in the championship using the editor I would. I don't think it works on teambuilder dynasties however. If anyone know how to do this please let me know.

Finally, Jerrell Smith took home the Bednarik, Lombardi, and Nagurski trophies and was a consensus first team All American. He had 46 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 14.0 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. Zach Grier was also first team All American. Patrick Cole was freshman All American and finished fourth in the nation in passing.

Alaska will face UAB in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl.

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Figured out how to get teambuilder to work with teambuilder so I’ll be able to adjust the playoffs to a 4-team system. It’ll be
1 Notre Dame
2 Clemson
3 Alabama
4 Ohio State.

I’m also going to be adjusting some things with recruiting in terms of names and ratings thanks to skulletor’s editor and this should be happening in the next day or so. I’m going to play the bowl game and get through the offseason to the preseason tonight and then I’ll work on recruits.

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Bowl Week

Beef O'Brady's Bowl


UAB Drive Chart:

• Missed Field Goal
• Missed Field Goal
• Punt
• Punt
• Punt
• Missed Field Goal
• End of Half
• Punt
• Punt
• Punt
• Punt
• Interception in end zone

In what will go down in history as both the first bowl win and shutout in school history, everything went Alaska's way as they drubbed UAB 27-0 in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl. UAB came in with the nation's 6th best scoring defense and the 11th best passing defense, but Alaska leaned heavily on Evan Preston, who finished with 120+ on the ground.

The game began slowly for Alaska. UAB got the ball and on the return they took it all the way to the 50, and added 15 more with a facemask. But the Alaska defense held strong and UAB missed a field goal short. On their next drive they missed a field goal from just a bit shorter wide right. No team scored until 7:49 left in the half when Bobby McNamara, the senior tailback, took a fourth and 1 handoff in to the end zone.

After a UAB punt, Alaska would convert a third and 14 and a third and 11 before eventually finding Wesley Hairston in the end zone for 6. UAB again missed another long field goal, and Alaska got aggressive. On Fourth and inches from their own 42, they gave it to the upback who got the first. Then, on fourth and 1 from the opponent's 46 they again went and got the first down. Alaska would end the half with a 28-yard Evan Preston touchdown reception to take a 21-0 lead.

The second half would begin with four straight punts, including a beauty to the 2 by Alaska's Mayo. Alaska would end this streak with a 42-yard field goal, and they'd add another on their next drive. In a last ditch effort, UAB threw a pick in the end zone with just over 4 minutes, and Alaska was able to keep the ball on the ground and run out the clock.

UAB Blazers at Alaska Warriors
Dec 21, 2017	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
UAB Blazers (7-5)	0	0	0	0	0
Alaska Warriors (7-5)	0	21	3	3	27

Team Stats Comparison
	UAB	ASK
Total Offense	170	339
Rushing Yards	73	146
Passing Yards	97	193
First Downs	9	16
Punt Return Yards	8	31
Kick Return Yards	101	20
Total Yards	279	390
Turnovers	1	0
3rd Down Conversion	2-13	4-15
4th Down Conversion	0-0	3-3
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	1-0-0	2-1-0
Penalties	3-45	3-45
Possession Time	14:01	21:59

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		UAB	ASK
7:48	(ASK) B. McNamara 1-yd run	0	7
4:26	(ASK) W. Hairston 27-yd reception	0	14
0:24	(ASK) E. Preston 28-yd reception	0	21
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		UAB	ASK
2:00	(ASK) 42-Yd FG J. Cronin	0	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		UAB	ASK
8:45	(ASK) 44-Yd FG J. Cronin	0	27

UAB Blazers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT T. Johnston 13/20 97 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD L. Stanley 16 67 4.1 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Morris 10 1.0 0 0 A. Maxwell 6 1.0 0 0 J. Jackson 5 1.0 0 0 L. Brasher 4 1.0 0 0 J. Lloyd 1 1.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG J. Johnson 0/3 0 0 0

Alaska Warriors PASSING C/A YDS TD INT P. Cole 15/26 193 2 0 B. McNamara 0/1 0 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD E. Preston 19 126 6.6 0 B. McNamara 11 44 4.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD E. Preston 4 49 12.2 1 W. Hairston 3 48 16.0 1 B. McNamara 2 48 24.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Z. Grier 8 1.0 0 0 E. Schultz 6 2.0 0 0 B. Hamby 4 1.0 0 0 M. Moore 1 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG J. Cronin 2/2 3/3 9 44 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 J. Mayo 6 262 43.6 3 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD D. Taylor 1 20 20 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD F. Skinner 4 31 7.7 0

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Playoffs

Semi-Finals



#1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Ohio State

In a thrilling, 3OT game, Ohio State pulled the upset 57-55. Both teams entered the fourth tied 21-21, and entered overtime tied at 35.


#2 Clemson vs. #3 Alabama

Clemson got up early and never looked back, beating Alabama soundly 52-34


National Championship




#2 Clemson vs. #4 Ohio State

Clemson again got up early, at one time being up by as many as 31 points, but Ohio State fought back and made it a game late. Clemson had the last possession and Ohio State still had all its timeouts, but Clemson was able to finish the game and win the National Championship 38-30.

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Offseason and Stats:

Season Stats:

Patrick Cole went 271/456 for 3,299 yards, 25 Touchdowns and 13 interceptions

Evan Preston led the rushing attack with a school record 882 yards and 11 touchdowns, while senior Bobby McNamara added 86 carries for 391 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Kelvin Wade had the most receptions with 50, but Fred Skinner was the most explosive. Skinner had 41 receptions for 714 yards and 6 touchdowns. Evan Preston added 41 catches and 4 touchdowns.
Tight end Wesley Hairston had 37 catches for 404 yards and 4 touchdowns, and Marcus Glover, who took over for former stand out Darnell Taylor after drop problems, had 28 catches for 444 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The defense was led by Jerrell Smith who tied the single season sack record and broke Rondell Cannon's career sack record by one after a 14.0 sack season. He added 23 stops behind the line. Will he be the first drafted Warrior?

Coach Don Hardaway Inks New Deal

As expected, Coach Hardaway got a 6-year extension to be the coach of Alaska. Both coordinators were also retained as both sides of the ball looked more efficient this year.

Transfers

65 overall HB Robert Lane from Nikiski, Alaska is transferring to Oregon, and 67 overall tackle Emmanuel Richards is transferring to Alabama due to being homesick. I won't try to convince either to stay as Lane won't play much and Richards is leaving for personal reasons.

There are no incoming requests

Recruiting:

Alaska Warriors Recruiting - 2017 - 63rd overall
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Marcus Humphrey	OLB	HS	Perrysburg, Ohio	6'2"	216
Leon Hurst	T	HS	Los Angeles, California	6'7"	286
Lamar Douglas	ATH	HS	Key West, Florida	6'3'	262
Lee Johnson	C	HS	Newark, Ohio	6'4"	295
Cedrick Thomas	QB	HS	Jacksonville, Florida	6'4"	199
Alan Weber	SS	HS	Ford Lewis, Washington	6'0"	186
Albert Wilson	C	HS	Sanford, Florida	6'4"	283
Scott Hale	WR	HS	St. Petersburg, Florida	6'4"	218
Pete Watson	CB	HS	Rohnert Park, California	6'1"	176
Jesse McCarthy	G	HS	Richland, Washington	6'5"	324
Allen Jordan	WR	HS	Okolona, Kentucky	6'5"	213
Joe Wynn	DE	HS	Parkway, California	6'2"	250
Kevin Wade	T	HS	Kendale Lakes, Florida	6'3"	282
Michael Jones	DE	HS	Takoma Park, Maryland	6'5"	249
C.J. Wilson	DE	HS	West Pensacola, Florida	6'2"	266
Zac Young	OLB	HS	Carmichael, California	6'0"	234
Jared Crowell	T	HS	Minnehaha, Washington	6'8"	283
Lamont Clarke	DT	HS	Dishman, Washington	6'3"	285

Jared Crowell RT to LT
Cory Robertson LE to RE
Lamar Douglas ATH to LE (6'3" 262... was rated 72 as a runningback? Is rated 70 at DE and has 83 speed and 90 acceleration. Possibly the weirdest recruit I've ever seen.)

Cut:
52 Freshman Lamont Clarke. I didn't recruit him.

Redshirt:

Freshman QB Cedrick Thomas
Freshman WR Allen Jordan
Freshman WR Scott Hale
Freshman LG Jesse McCarthy
Freshman C Albert Wilson
Freshmen DEs Joe Wynn and C.J. Wilson
Freshman DT Lamont Clarke
Freshman OLB Zac Young
Freshman CB Pete Watson
Freshman SS Alan Weber
Freshman LT Leon Hurst - medical. Would've been starter
Senior FS Alex White - I want to let him get playing time and he's behind Ronnie Carter

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Alaska Warriors 2017 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 1	vs Akron
Sep 8	at Syracuse
Sep 15	vs Eastern Michigan
Sep 22	vs Tulane
Sep 29	at Arkansas
Oct 1	vs UTEP
Oct 13	at UCLA
Oct 27	at #24 Oregon
Nov 3	vs Purdue
Nov 10	vs Colorado
Nov 17	at San Diego State
Nov 24	at #5 Florida