Taft Native Student Association – Disaster Preparedness event
Oct.30,2014•LincolnCity,Oregon
Photos by Diane Rodriquez
Left: Florieen Hutchinson, Ché Butler, Shawna Gray, Elaine Rilatos-Smith and
others check out items that will be useful during a disaster.
Top left: Trainers from FEMA and NOAA attend the event, along with David
Gray, president of Taft NSA (center, gray and black shirt); Juanita Whitebear,
Taft NSA advisor (center, orange shirt) and Gloria Ingle, Tribal Council member
(center, standing).
Above: Gloria Ingle talks with Monica Valencia, marketing and community
relations manager for Pacific West Ambulance.
wasilla head coach honored; 7 Valley players named all-state
by Jeremiah Bartz,, Mat-Su Valley
Frontiersman, originally published
Oct. 27, 2014
WASILLA — After spending about a
week in the Lower 48, Wasilla head coach
Kent Rilatos was ready to head back to
Alaska Sunday.
Rilatos had a seat on an early-
morning flight scheduled to leave Seattle-
Tacoma International Airport, a flight that
was supposed to place him in Anchorage
in time for Sunday’s Alaska Football
Coaches Association annual all-state
selection meeting.
But as coaches through the 49 th state
gathered in Anchorage Sunday, Rilatos
was stuck in the Seattle-area airport.
Hours later, Rilatos received a flood of
text messages.
He had been named the 2014 Alaska
Coach of the Year.
“I was planning on getting to Anchor-
age, but there was a mechanical issue,”
Rilatos said Monday afternoon. “I got on the
plane at 5:30 a.m. There was a 45-minute
wait on the tarmac. They drove us back
(to the airport) and said we’re not flying.”
Back at the airport, Rilatos said he
was frantically trying to contact people
in Alaska to let them know he’s stuck
in Seattle. Frustrated, Rilatos finally
was able to board a plane that landed in
Anchorage shortly after the noon hour.
When he turned on his cell phone
after the plane landed, the texts started
to come in.
“All the sudden seven came in, then
a whole bunch more,” Rilatos said. “For
as stressed as I was about not making the
meeting, there was some solace.”
It marked the second time Rilatos
earned the state honor as head coach of
the Warriors. He was also named coach of
the year in 2011. In 2014, Rilatos, also the
Railbelt Conference Coach of the Year,
led the Warriors to a 6-3 overall record
and a spot in the large-schools playoffs.
Wasilla senior Dahtlon Wasinkari and
sophomore Mosiah Renk were among
seven Valley players named first-team
all-state. Wasinkari, an offensive tackle,
helped pave the way for a Wasilla offense
that finished with more than 2,200 yards
rushing and 2,800 yards of total offense.
Renk became one of the most electri-
fying players in the state as a sophomore.
Renk finished with 603 yards rushing and
317 yards receiving. He was also among
state leaders with 18 total touchdowns.
“That doesn’t happen often,” Rilatos
said of a sophomore being named first-
team all-state. “There are now two streets
he can go down. He can take the hard road
and work to get better all year, which I
think is where he’s at. Or he can take the
easy road and do just average. But that’s
not what his family’s about. That’s not
what he’s about.”
Rilatos did say he was very disap-
pointed that senior Devin Otto was not a
first-team selection. Otto finished fourth
in the state with 1,095 yards rushing and
second with 16 rushing touchdowns.
Palmer landed three players on the
all-state list, including two who were
named at multiple positions. Senior Ben
Button, the Railbelt Conference Lineman
of the Year, was named first-team at both
offensive guard and defensive tackle.
“We felt like he had a great year on
both sides of the ball,” Palmer head coach
Rod Christiansen said of Button recently.
“He’s an outstanding athlete. Blocking
on the offensive side, he’s real quick. On
defense, he’s quick and tough. He has a
strong lower body and a real good motor.
He keeps going and going and going.”
Button and South standout Justice
Augufa were the only players named
first-team offense and defense.
Senior Adam Christiansen was named
first-team at both linebacker and long
snapper. He caps his career with three
all-state nods. He was all-state at center
as a junior.
Junior Chase Ferris was named first-
team at running back. Despite missing
the final six quarters of the season due
to injury, Ferris led the state with 1,311
yards. Ferris was also among leaders with
16 total touchdowns. He averaged 7.7
yards per carry.
Colony placed a pair of players on the
all-state list. Senior Logan Conway earned
recognition at linebacker. Junior Steven
Bilafer was named first-team punter.
2014 Alaska Coaches Association
All-State Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Justice
Augafa, South
Defensive Player of the Year: Archie
Lemana, Bartlett
Lineman of the Year: Tarini Tosi, East
Coach of the Year: Kent Rilatos,
Wasilla
Assistant Coach of the Year: Richard
Tuck, Lathrop
First-team offense:
Quarterback – Glenn Maiden, Lath-
rop; Zyrelle Jones, Service; Ben Stewart,
Chugiak; Running back – Ethan Falan-
iko, Bartlett; Justice Augafa, South;
Mosiah Renk, Wasilla; Chase Ferris,
Palmer; Travis Phillips, Lathrop; Cen-
ter – Matt Keogh, South; Guard – Ben
Button, Palmer; Trea Samifua, West;
Tackle – Tarini Toni, East; Hekill Fomai,
Service; Dahlton Wasinkari, West; Tight
end – Alain Devoe, South; Wide receiver
– Derryck Snell, Chugiak; Trevon Allen,
Service; Prince Cooks, West Valley.
First-team defense:
Defensive tackle – Isaiah Pili,
Dimond; Ben Button, Palmer; Daniel
Jeong, Lathrop; Defensive end – Jordan
Moore, South; Archie Lemana, Bartlett;
PJ Seui, West; Inside linebacker – Jay
Tito, Bartlett; Chris Lega, Bartlett; JJ
Tanuvasa, Dimond; Dave Tullimu, West;
Marcus Brown, Lathrop; Outside line-
backer – Sam Cook, South; Adam Chris-
tiansen, Palmer; Logan Conway, Colony;
Defensive back – Delonta Love, Bartlett;
Justice Augafa, South; Alani Collins,
East; Nathan Barnett, Lathrop; Jordan
Murchinson, West.
First-team special teams:
Long snapper – Adam Christiansen,
Palmer; Punter – Steven Bilafer, Colony;
Returner – Justice Augafa, South; Kicker
– Oskar Segium, South.
Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@
frontiersman.com, follow him @matsu_
sports and find him by searching Valley
Sports Huddle on Facebook.
December 2014
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