Homer football shuts out visiting Barrow

Returning strong for the season after winning the Division III state title for the second time in three years last season, the Homer football team defeated Barrow 34-0 during the Mariners first home game of the season.

Hundreds of community members gathered in support on the beautifully clear evening of Friday, Aug. 22, for the Pop Warner Night. Homer’s win Friday came after winning on the road against Houston 64-8 in another nonconference victory Aug. 15.

Justin Zank, Homer head coach, said he was really proud of how the team played.

“You know, it’s only Week 2, but we’re playing really well as a unit,” he said. “I thought our defensive effort was extraordinary. Barrow’s always a tough game for us. And I thought that our defense played with great physicality, so I was really pleased.”

Zank said that while the game started out a little slow, Homer managed to find the weakness and exploit it in the second half, noting that senior quarterback CJ Burns played particularly well.

Burns got the Mariners on the board in the second quarter on a 3-yard rushing touchdown, then threw to Justus Grimes for a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead at the half.

Homer then led 20-0 after three quarters on a 7-yard rushing touchdown from Grimes and a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Nikifor Reutov.

In the fourth quarter, Ty Gibby had a 34-yard interception return. Eli Weisser capped the scoring with a 41-yard pass to Emelian Melkomukov, with Joaquin Jackson running in the two-point conversion.

Zank also noted that the large crowd gathered Friday night in support of the Mariners created an “electric environment” that “definitely fed into our players on the field.”

This is the second time in a row the Mariners have defeated the Whalers, after beating them 6-0 last year during the semifinals of the Division III playoffs.

In a sweet moment at the beginning of the game on Friday, the Homer Pop Warner team — comprised of students as young as 5 and as old as 13 — joined the Homer High School footballers as they ran onto the field for the game.

Next week, Homer will host Kenai Central at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29.

A pair of sandhill cranes fly over the game. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)

A large crowd watches the home game on Friday, August 22. It spanned all sets of bleachers and stretched across the sunny, grassy areas too. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)