Kenai Central’s Garrett McCanna scores a touchdown during the Kardinals’ 28-13 win over Homer Saturday in the ASAA/Alaska First National Bank Division III State Football Championship game at Wasilla High. McCanna scored three touchdowns for the Kardinals, which claimed their eighth state championship. (Photo by Matt Tunseth)
WASILLA — They’ve come a long way, baby.
The Kenai Central Kardinals traveled a difficult road to the ASAA/First National Bank Division III football championship game, but ultimately walked away with another state title.
“You’re champions now, you’re champions for life,” Kardinals coach Jake Brand told his squad after Kenai defeated Homer 28-13 Saturday at Veterans Memorial Field in Wasilla.
It marked the Kardinals’ eighth overall small-schools/DIII state football title. They last won the championship in 2023.
But it wasn’t easy. Missing players early in the season, key injuries midway through and a pair of lengthy road trips north of the Arctic Circle made for a long, trying season for the Kards.
“We’ve been through a lot of adversity,” Brand said of his squad, which avenged a 7-6 loss to Homer in the final game of the regular season.
Kenai star Snowdon Williams ran for 226 yards and threw three touchdown passes. A 6-foot-1, 195-pound multisport athlete who moved to Alaska from Nevada over the summer, Williams said the Kenai community embraced him from his first day in town. He was happy to help deliver a title to his new home.
“They were definitely welcoming from the start,” said Williams, a versatile senior who lined up at quarterback and running back on offense and played defensive back on defense.
Garrett McCanna caught two touchdown passes and ran for another for Kenai, which also got a touchdown reception from Donte Bolton.
Joaquin Jackson ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries for Homer, which was attempting to win its third straight DIII title. Justus Grimes also ran for a score for the Mariners, winners of championships in 2022, 2024 and 2025.
Williams — whose middle name is Bear — was a beast all day for Kenai, making big plays on both sides of the ball. He hit Bolton with a 4-yard touchdown pass to cap an opening drive that took more than nine minutes off the clock. Homer answered with an 8-yard touchdown run by Jackson, but the Kardinals took the lead into halftime when Williams hit a wide-open McCanna in stride for a 20-yard strike.
The duo hooked up again late in the third quarter on a similar play, with McCanna breaking a tackle and finding the end zone for a 16-yard score.
The Mariners cut the lead to 20-13 midway through the fourth quarter, but McCanna’s 7-yard scoring run provided the final margin.
Homer finished the season just 3-6 but improved massively throughout. The Mariners lost to the Kardinals 52-6 in the season opener before downing the Kards two weeks ago to reach the playoffs and defeating Redington 6-0 last week to make the final.
Kenai racked up 349 yards of offense while holding Homer to 246. Senior tackles Jackson Taliesin and Blake Morris anchored the interior line. Taliesin had a crucial sack and controlled the line of scrimmage, while Morris nabbed his second interception in two games. He also picked off a pass in Kenai’s semifinal win over Barrow.
The Kardinals traveled to Barrow twice this season, losing to the Whalers in the regular season before beating the 2025 runners-up in the state semifinals. The long road trips didn’t faze the Kards, who also overcame a midseason injury to Williams.
“Everyone pushes each other on this team,” Morris said.
Brand said winning the title showed his team’s ability to pull together.
“Now they’re going to hang a banner and it’s never going to go away.”
Matt Tunseth is a freelance writer from Southcentral Alaska who has covered sports for a variety of Alaska publications, including the ADN, the Peninsula Clarion and the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
KARDINALS 28, MARINERS 13
Kenai 6 6 8 8 – 28
Homer 6 0 0 7 – 13
1st Quarter
Ken – Bolton 4 pass from Williams (run failed), 5:45
Hom – Jackson 8 run (pass failed), 1:21
2nd Quarter
Ken – McCanna 20 pass from Williams (run failed), 7:07
3rd Quarter
Ken – McCanna 16 pass from Williams (McCanna pass to Williams), 1:03
4th Quarter
Hom – Grimes 4 run (Kincaid kick), 7:39
Ken – McCanna 7 run (Williams run), 1:15
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Kenai: Williams 34-226, McCanna 13-55, Schyler 1-9, Stanley 1-3. Homer: Jackson 14-123, Grimes 12-43, Weisser 7-(-5).
PASSING – Kenai: Williams 5-9-0–53, McCanna 1-5-0–3. Homer: Weisser 5-10-1–88, Grimes 1-2-0–(-3).
RECEIVING – Kenai: McCanna 4-49, Bolton 1-4, Barnes 1-3. Homer: Grimes 2-37, Pearson 2-15, Kincaid 1-7, Smith 1-3, Jackson 0-23.
Team Stats
Kenai Homer
First downs 22 12
Rushes-yds 49-293 33-161
Passing yds 56 85
Comp-att-int 6-14-0 6-12-1
Punts-avg 1-37.0 3-28.3
Return yards 5 0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yds 5-44 8-75
