The Nikiski football team opened up Greatland Conference play by topping host Seward 54-0 on Saturday.
“It’s good to get into Greatland Conference play,” Nikiski coach Ted Riddall said after his team moved to 3-1 overall. “We’ll look to keep the ball rolling in our next game against Eielson.”
Nikiski hosts Eielson on Saturday at 2 p.m., while Seward (0-2, 1-3) travels to Barrow for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.
Stephen Hartley continued to have a big year for the Bulldogs. Hartley had two touchdowns and ran for 128 yards on six carries.
Nikiski actually had two other players score two touchdowns. Christian Riddall scored on a run and an interception return, and Jesse Ross scored on a pass from Seth Carstens and an interception return.
Garrett Feller booted a pair of field goals for Nikiski, which missed four other field goals. Coach Riddall said Nikiski tried a lot of field goals because it did not want to run up the score.
Michael Stangel added a 40-yard touchdown run for Nikiski.
Bulldogs 54, Seahawks 0
Nikiski272700—54
Seward0000—0
1st Quarter
Nik — Hartley 1 run (Stangel kick), 8:40.
Nik — Riddall 1 run (Carstens run), 7:00.
Nik — Ross 24 interception return (run failed), 6:00.
Nik — Ross 14 pass from Carstens (kick failed), 2:00.
2nd Quarter
Nik — Feller 24 field goal, 9:02.
Nik — Hartley 56 run (Stangel kick), 6:57.
Nik — Feller 30 field goal, 6:00.
Nik — Stangel 40 run (Stangel kick), 3:00.
Nik — Riddall 20 interception return (Stangel kick), 2:00.
NikSew
First downs113
Rushes-yards27-27234-(-20)
Passing yards4843
Comp-att-int3-5-02-12-7
Penalties 3-353-15
Fumbles1-03-2
Punts0-04-30.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Hartley 6-128, Riddall 2-16, Stangel 7-78, Carstens 1-6, Castro 2-10, Uhls 3-16, Jackson 4-24, Tauriainen 1-(-6), Hanley 1-0. Seward: 91 5-5, 3 20-(-9), 1 2-1, 99 7-(-17).
Passing — Nikiski: Carstens 2-3-0—33, Anderson 1-2-0—15. Seward: 3 2-10-5—43, 99 0-2-2—0.
Receving — Nikiski — Eide 1-19, Ross 1-4, Carstens 1-15. Seward: 1 2-43.
Missed field goals — Nikiski 4.
