2026 (ASAA) Alaska High School Football Playoff Brackets: Breaking Down the Division I, II and III

Alaska's road to three high school football state championships begins this weekend.

The 2026 ASAA First National Bowl Series opens Friday, Oct. 9, with playoff games across the state, with Division I beginning its eight-team tournament and Divisions II and III jumping directly into the semifinals.

There are three very different championship races.

In Division I, West Anchorage and defending champion South Anchorage separated themselves from the rest of the field during the regular season and could be headed toward a championship showdown.

Division II features the state's only unbeaten team, Lathrop, but the Malemutes will have to get through a bracket that includes three-time defending state champion Soldotna.

Division III might be the most unpredictable of all. Barrow earned the No. 1 seed, but all four semifinalists have reason to believe they can win the championship.

Here is a look at all three brackets.

Division I

Quarterfinals

Friday, Oct. 9

No. 8 Dimond (2-6) at No. 1 West Anchorage (7-1)
No. 5 Service (4-4) at No. 4 Colony (4-4)

Saturday, Oct. 10

No. 7 Bartlett (2-6) at No. 2 South Anchorage (6-2)
No. 6 Bettye Davis East Anchorage (2-6) at No. 3 Juneau-Douglas (5-3)

VIEW THE COMPLETE DIVISION I BRACKET

The favorite: West Anchorage

West Anchorage enters the postseason as the No. 1 seed and the highest-ranked Division I team in the latest High School On SI Alaska Elite 12.

The Eagles are 7-1 and have won six consecutive games since a 38-16 loss to Heritage of Colorado. They have been particularly dominant down the stretch, shutting out Service 20-0, beating Juneau-Douglas 21-9 and East Anchorage 39-0 before hammering Colony 45-7 in the regular-season finale.

That gives West an interesting quarterfinal draw against Dimond.

The Lynx are only 2-6, but one of those victories was a 28-27 upset of third-seeded Juneau-Douglas. Still, knocking off West would require by far their biggest upset of the season.

The defending champion: South Anchorage

Don't forget about the Wolverines.

South won the 2025 Division I championship and appears capable of defending it. The Wolverines enter the playoffs 6-2 and have won four straight, outscoring opponents 140-27 during that stretch.

Their only losses came against two of the state's best teams — unbeaten Lathrop, 27-16, and West Anchorage, 21-14.

That seven-point loss to West is also one of the biggest reasons a potential championship rematch between the teams would be so intriguing.

South opens against Bartlett, which enters the postseason on a four-game losing streak but has been competitive recently. The Golden Bears lost 21-19 to Colony and 33-28 to Juneau-Douglas in their final two games.

Quarterfinal to watch: Service at Colony

The 4-5 matchup is the obvious choice.

Colony beat Service 26-10 during the regular season, but the Knights stumbled into the playoffs with back-to-back losses, including a 45-7 defeat against West.

Service went the opposite direction in its finale, exploding for a 54-26 victory over Dimond.

The winner advances to face West or Dimond in the semifinals.

On the other side, Juneau-Douglas shouldn't be overlooked. The Crimson Bears are 5-3 and own victories over both Colony and Service. They would likely have to get through South and then potentially West to win the title, however.

Division I semifinals: Oct. 16-17 at the higher-seeded team's home field.

Division I championship: Friday, Oct. 23, 7 p.m. at Colony High School.

Division II

Semifinals

Saturday, Oct. 10

No. 4 Palmer (5-3) at No. 1 Lathrop (8-0)
No. 3 Wasilla (6-2) at No. 2 Soldotna (6-2)

VIEW THE COMPLETE DIVISION II BRACKET

The favorite: Lathrop

Nobody in Alaska had a better regular season than Lathrop.

The Malemutes finished 8-0 and enter the postseason ranked No. 1 in the High School On SI Alaska Elite 12. They scored at least 41 points six times, including a 70-14 victory over West Valley in their regular-season finale.

Most importantly, Lathrop has already beaten the biggest obstacle standing between it and a championship.

The Malemutes defeated Soldotna 23-20 on Sept. 4.

They also own victories over South Anchorage, Palmer and Wasilla, giving them wins against three other playoff teams across Divisions I and II.

First comes a semifinal rematch against Palmer. Lathrop won the regular-season meeting 42-26.

The champion is still here

For all Lathrop accomplished, Soldotna isn't going anywhere quietly.

The Stars have won the last three Division II state championships and enter this tournament on a four-game winning streak.

Their two losses also require some context. One was the three-point defeat against Lathrop. The other was a 35-28 loss to Star Valley of Wyoming.

Since falling to Lathrop, Soldotna has ripped off four consecutive victories, including a 49-14 win over semifinal opponent Wasilla and a 53-15 victory over Chugiak in the regular-season finale.

That makes the Stars a dangerous No. 2 seed.

Can anyone prevent the rematch?

Wasilla gets the first opportunity.

The Warriors finished 6-2 and closed the regular season by beating Palmer 41-33. Their only two losses came against the two teams seeded ahead of them — Lathrop and Soldotna.

Palmer faces an even more difficult assignment against undefeated Lathrop.

If the top two seeds survive, Alaska gets the championship matchup that has been building all season: undefeated Lathrop against the program that has owned Division II for the last three years.

Division II championship: Saturday, Oct. 17, 4 p.m. at Wasilla High School.

Division III

Semifinals

Friday, Oct. 9

No. 3 Homer (2-5) at No. 2 Redington (4-3)

Saturday, Oct. 10

No. 4 Kenai Central (4-3) at No. 1 Barrow

VIEW THE COMPLETE DIVISION III BRACKET

The favorite: Barrow

Barrow earned the No. 1 seed after a 5-1 regular season that included a 40-6 victory over Redington and a 36-6 win against defending Division III champion Homer.

The Whalers' lone defeat, however, is particularly relevant now.

It came against Kenai Central.

The Kardinals traveled north and escaped with a 20-18 victory over Barrow, making Saturday's semifinal much more compelling than a typical 1-vs.-4 matchup.

Kenai Central appeared headed toward the top seed before stumbling late in the season, including a 24-19 loss to Redington and a 7-6 defeat against Homer.

Now the Kardinals must return to Utqiaġvik and try to beat Barrow for a second time.

Defending champion Homer is still alive

Homer's record isn't intimidating, but its postseason history is.

The Mariners won the 2025 Division III championship, beating Barrow 20-0 in the title game, and kept their hopes of repeating alive by edging Kenai Central 7-6 in the regular-season finale.

Their semifinal opponent is familiar.

Redington beat Homer 16-0 during the regular season and enters the playoffs having won three straight, including victories over Homer, Kenai Central and Houston.

The Huskies' biggest concern is their earlier matchup with Barrow. The Whalers dominated that game 40-6.

Still, Division III produced enough conflicting results during the regular season to make this the hardest bracket to predict.

Kenai beat Barrow. Barrow beat Redington. Redington beat Homer and Kenai. Homer beat Kenai.

Now they get to settle it in the postseason.

Division III championship: Saturday, Oct. 17, noon at Wasilla High School.

Three Storylines to Watch

Can West finish the job?

West Anchorage has looked like Division I's best team for much of the season, but South Anchorage is the defending champion and played the Eagles to a 21-14 game earlier this year. A rematch with a state championship at stake would be a fitting finish.

Is this finally Lathrop's year?

The Malemutes couldn't have done much more during the regular season. They're 8-0 and already own a victory over Soldotna. But beating the three-time defending champions twice in one season would be the ultimate test.

Who survives Division III?

Forget the seeds. Every team in this bracket has either beaten another semifinalist or suffered a loss that suggests nothing is guaranteed. Barrow has the No. 1 seed, but Kenai Central already proved the Whalers can be beaten.

By the end of Oct. 23, Alaska will have crowned three state champions.

The chase begins Friday.

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