Homer football tops Kenai

Published 9:01 pm Tuesday, September 30, 2025

The Homer football team defeated Kenai Central 44-6 on Saturday in Mid Alaska Conference action at Ed Hollier Field at Kenai Central High School.

The Mariners move to 3-1 in the league and 6-1 overall, while Kenai is 2-2 and 3-4.

Barrow leads the league at 4-0 and has the top seed no matter what happens in Week 8. Homer heads to Kodiak for a 5 p.m. game on Friday, Oct. 3, but already has clinched the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game.

Kenai hosts Barrow at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, and can clinch a playoff berth with a win.

If the Kardinals lose, and 1-3 Houston defeats 2-2 Redington, the Kards, Huskies and Hawks would all be 2-3 with no clear winner in head-to-head matchups.

If the Kardinals lose and Redington wins, then Kenai is the No. 4 seed.

After taking their first loss of the season to Barrow last week, the Mariners jumped to a 24-0 lead after the first quarter against the Kards.

“I’m proud of how the guys came back after that loss and played the way we did today with physicality,” Homer head coach Justin Zank said. “Execution, for the most part, was pretty good.

“We’ve still got things we have to clean up and get better at.”

Kenai head coach Jake Brand was proud of the way his players battled. He said the Kardinals came in missing players due to injury and lost more during the game.

“I definitely think they’re physical,” Brand said of the Mariners. “They’re definitely as good as their record says they are.

“We’re playing the top half of our JV — what we’ve got left — and that’s when you see things like that happen.”

Homer started the game with a 14-play, 65-yard drive culminated by a 1-yard run from Nikifor Reutov. Reutov then went straight up the gut again for the conversion.

“They call me fat boy for a reason,” Reutov, a running back and inside linebacker, said of the package where he takes a direct snap and runs up the middle.

Homer converted two fourth downs on that first drive. The Mariners converted three third downs before CJ Burns hit Justus Grimes for a 3-yard touchdown.

Grimes would score three times on the day, while Burns would throw for 114 yards and three scores, plus add another touchdown on the ground.

Nik Macauley, who rushed 15 times for 107 yards, ran in the conversion.

With 24 seconds left in the first quarter, the Mariners scored on a fourth down pass from Burns to Berend Pearson.

“It’s going to be a hard game every time we play,” Zank said of the rivalry with Kenai. “Those fourth downs are expected, especially early on.

“I’m proud of the guys for making plays when we needed to.”

Kenai battled back when Ezra Jusmable recovered a Homer fumble on the Homer 28-yard line.

Jamel Barnes cashed in the turnover when he caught a 16-yard strike from Garrett McCanna.

“The kids — they’re tough,” said Brand, who also got an interception from Patrick Miller. “They really, really try their best.

“They played as hard as we could with what we’ve got.”

Homer closed the half up 30-6 when the Mariners converted again on fourth down, then Burns hit Grimes for a 14-yard score.

Burns scored on a 42-yard run in the third quarter, while the shifty Grimes ran back a 69-yard punt in the fourth quarter. Grimes followed the block of Reutov.

“Sometimes it gets really annoying, how much he shifts around and doesn’t get tackled,” Reutov said of Grimes. “I get really tired really fast, especially on punt returns.

“But on that one punt return, I’m glad he followed me.”

In addition to skill players Grimes, Burns, Macauly and Pearson, Zank said the offensive line of Dimitri Hooks, Shea Yatchmeneff, Timmy Cissney, Maxwell Herndon and Ellington Dudley made the run game go.

Zank said the Mariners got back on track defensively after giving up a season-high 22 points at Barrow. The coach said Reutov and cornerback Jackson Snaric led the way.

Jayden Sims had an interception, while Joaquin Ferrerya and Donovan Milstead had fumble recoveries.

Brand said Barnes, a tight end and defensive end, battled on both sides of the ball. The coach added Mac Marion kept going out to play offensive line and middle linebacker despite numerous injuries.

Saturday

Mariners 44, Kardinals 6

Hom 24 6 6 8 —44

Ken 0 6 0 0 —6

1st Quarter

Hom — Reutov 1 run (Reutov run), 8:55.

Hom — Grimes 11 pass from Burns (Macauly run), 2:14.

Hom — Pearson 16 pass from Burns (Grimes run), 0:24.

2nd Quarter

Ken — Barnes 16 pass from McCanna (pass failed), 6:04.

Hom — Grimes 14 pass from Burns (run failed), 0:12.

3rd Quarter

Hom — Burns 42 run (run failed), 8:16.

4th Quarter

Hom — Grimes 69 punt return (Reutov run).

Hom Ken

First downs 13 8

Rushing-yards 35-228 36-93

Passing yards 130 68

Comp-att-int 9-24-1 7-18-1

Return yards 154 51

Punts 0-0 4-26.5

Fumbles 2-1 3-2

Penalties 8-80 2-25

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Rushing — Homer: Macauly 15-107, Burns 14-90, Reutov 3-6, Grimes 3-25. Kenai: Taylor 17-41, K. Stanley 2-6, G. Stanley 8-24, McCanna 8-22, Cramer 1-0.

Passing — Homer: Burns 8-23-1—114, Weisser 1-1-0—16.

Receiving — Homer: Pearson 3-56, Webb 1-12, Grimes 3-33, Melkomukov 1-14, Macauly 1-16. Kenai: Barnes 2-26, Odis 2-35, Taylor 1-1, Smith 1-6.