Alaska High School Football Elite 12 State Rankings (Sept. 28, 2026)

Lathrop remains unbeaten atop the rankings, while West Anchorage, Soldotna and South Anchorage are among the upper-division teams that have sewed up playoff positions.

Kenai Central suffered a stunning 24-19 loss to Redington after defeating the Huskies earlier in the season by 50 points in a 68-18 blowout. | Kenai Central Football

The regular season concludes this weekend in Alaska, and while No. 1 Lathrop has put itself in position to finish the job with a perfect record, the rest of the state's top teams still have plenty to settle. The Malemutes remain the only unbeaten team in Alaska, but the possibility of a championship rematch with Soldotna is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

No. 2 West Anchorage has quietly put together the state's best record outside of Lathrop, entering the final weekend at 6-1 and already having secured the top seed in the upcoming Division I playoffs. No. 3 Soldotna and No. 4 South Anchorage, meanwhile, have regained their footing after rough stretches earlier in the season, and they will be the No. 2 seeds in the Division II and Division I playoffs, respectively.

The biggest drama this week comes in the middle of the rankings, where Friday's Palmer-Wasilla showdown will determine the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in Division II. Division I has its own subplot, with Colony and Juneau-Douglas battling for the No. 3 seed and, more importantly, a chance to avoid a semifinal matchup with top-seeded West Anchorage.

And then there's the fascinating three-team race involving Barrow, Kenai Central and Redington. Kenai Central's stunning loss to Redington last weekend reshuffled that portion of the rankings and opened the door for Barrow to move up despite the Whalers' own loss to the Kardinals. With the regular season nearly complete, every result carries extra weight — and the latest Elite 12 reflects just how much can change in the final week.

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1. Lathrop

Record: 7-0

Previous Rank: 1

Last Week: Lathrop 41, Wasilla 14

Loss(es): None

Lathrop remains the only unbeaten team in Alaska, and with only a 1-6 West Valley left on the regular season schedule, it seems improbable that the Malemutes won't run the table. Either way, they're headed to the postseason where a rematch with Soldotna in the title game is starting to feel inevitable.

2. West Anchorage

Record: 6-1

Previous Rank: 2

Last Week: West Anchorage 39, Bettye Davis East Anchorage 0

Loss(es): Heritage (Colo.), 38-16

Beyond Lathrop's unblemished record, West Anchorage's 6-1 mark is the best in the state. The Eagles head into the regular-season finale at Colony with first place in the Cook Inlet Conference already sewn up at 4-0, thanks to their head-to-head advantage over second-place South Anchorage.

3. Soldotna

Record: 5-2

Previous Rank: 3

Last Week: Soldotna 47, Palmer 14

Loss(es): Star Valley (Wyo.), 35-28; Lathrop, 23-20

Soldotna has looked more like itself during a three-game winning streak after suffering back-to-back losses as the calendar changed from August to September. Friday's visit to Chugiak is the final game of the regular season for the Stars, and they should emerge unscathed to head into the postseason riding a four-game winning streak.

4. South Anchorage

Record: 5-2

Previous Rank: 4

Last Week: South Anchorage 24, Service 0

Loss(es): Lathrop, 27-16; West Anchorage, 21-14

Similar to Soldotna, South Anchorage suffered consecutive losses in late August and early September before righting the ship with a three-game winning streak. And like the Stars, the Wolverines enter their regular-season finale Saturday at home as solid favorites against Bettye Davis East Anchorage.

5. Palmer

Record: 5-2

Previous Rank: 5

Last Week: Soldotna 47, Palmer 14

Loss(es): Lathrop, 42-26; Soldotna, 47-14

Palmer and Wasilla have navigated nearly identical schedules to reach the regular-season finale, and Friday's matchup will decide the final playoff seeding for Alaska's Division II playoffs. Both teams are 5-2 with losses to Lathrop and Soldotna, so the winner will earn the No. 3 seed and hit the road to face Soldotna in the semifinals, while the loser will head north to Fairbanks to take on No. 1 Lathrop. It really is a case of "pick your poison" for both these squads.

6. Juneau-Douglas

Record: 4-3

Previous Rank: 6

Last Week: Dimond 28, Juneau-Douglas 27

Loss(es): South Anchorage, 16-6; West Anchorage, 21-9; Dimond, 28-27

Juneau-Douglas’ unexpected loss to Dimond last weekend won’t cost the Crimson Bears a spot in the playoffs, but it did put them in a position where they need to beat Bartlett Saturday afternoon to have a chance at the No. 3 seed.

A loss would leave Juneau-Douglas in fourth place and set up a Division I semifinal against No. 1 West Anchorage. Meanwhile, No. 3 Colony enters the final weekend one game ahead of the Crimson Bears and faces that same West Anchorage team Friday night at home.

So, for Juneau-Douglas to move into the No. 3 spot, the Crimson Bears need to beat Bartlett and hope Colony can’t pull off the upset against West Anchorage. Otherwise, Juneau-Douglas will finish fourth and face West Anchorage in the semifinals.

In short, both Colony and Juneau-Douglas would prefer to avoid West Anchorage in the semifinals. For Juneau-Douglas, that means taking care of business against Bartlett — and getting a little help from West Anchorage against Colony.

7. Colony

Record: 4-3

Previous Rank: 7

Last Week: Colony 35, Bartlett 14

Loss(es): Palmer, 14-7; Juneau-Douglas, 41-27; South Anchorage, 20-0

We outlined the scenarios for both teams above, and the bottom line is this: Colony can’t count on Bartlett going into Juneau-Douglas and winning on the road. Unfortunately for the Knights, that means they have to find a way to beat West Anchorage Friday night or risk playing the Eagles again the following week as the No. 4 seed in the Division I semifinals.

8. Wasilla

Record: 5-2

Previous Rank: 8

Last Week: Lathrop 41, Wasilla 14

Loss(es): Soldotna, 49-14; Lathrop, 41-14

We also outlined Wasilla’s scenario in the Palmer blurb above, and there might not be a true winner in this game beyond the fact that the victor will get to make a shorter road trip to No. 2 Soldotna (under 200 miles) in the Division II semifinals. The loser will be the No. 4 seed, meaning a more than three-hour trek north to Fairbanks to face No. 1 Lathrop.

9. Service

Record: 3-4

Previous Rank: 9

Last Week: South Anchorage 24, Service 0

Loss(es): Colony, 26-10; Juneau-Douglas, 47-12; West Anchorage, 20-0; South Anchorage, 24-0

The Division I playoff field is set, with only the order of the Nos. 3-4 seeds still to be determined. Unfortunately for Service, the Cougars have no scenario that will allow them to make the postseason. At 3-4, they have only one goal left to play for: avoiding a losing record by defending their home field Friday night against Dimond.

10. Barrow

Record: 5-1

Previous Rank: 11

Last Week: Barrow 62, Houston 6

Loss(es): Kenai Central, 20-18

Barrow moves up a spot by virtue of Kenai Central’s stunning loss to Redington last weekend. Kenai Central had beaten Redington 68-18 on Aug. 21, but in the rematch, the Huskies improbably turned the tables, handing the Kardinals a shocking 24-19 loss.

So even though Barrow lost to Kenai Central at home, the Whalers also beat Redington 40-6 in the only matchup between those two teams. It all adds up to this: Barrow is 5-1, Kenai Central is 4-2 and Redington is 3-3. Since Barrow’s regular season has concluded, the Whalers are guaranteed to finish with the best overall record of the three.

11. Kenai Central

Record: 4-2

Previous Rank: 10

Last Week: Redington 24, Kenai Central 19

Loss(es): Wasilla, 21-14; Redington, 24-19

We broke down the logic for our rankings above, and suffice it to say, Kenai Central's loss last weekend to the Redington Huskies — a team the Barrow Whalers defeated 40-6 — is a worse loss than Barrow’s own 20-18 loss at home to these Kardinals. But because Kenai Central also has a win over Redington — and a better overall record — we’re leaving the Kardinals ahead of the Huskies heading into Saturday afternoon’s road trip to Homer.

12. Redington

Record: 3-3

Previous Rank: Unranked

Last Week: Redington 24, Kenai Central 19

Loss(es): Kenai Central, 68-18; Chugiak, 28-7; Barrow, 40-6

It’s hard to even process how these Huskies defeated Kenai Central after losing to the Kardinals earlier in the season by 50 points. But they did, and it earned them a spot in these rankings, albeit at the bottom of the Barrow-Kenai Central-Redington pyramid described in the two previous blurbs.

Final Analysis

With the regular season nearly in the books, Alaska's championship picture is beginning to take shape, but there are still enough unanswered questions to keep the final weekend interesting. Lathrop has positioned itself as the team everyone else will have to chase, while West Anchorage, Soldotna and South Anchorage are heading into the postseason with plenty of momentum. Meanwhile, the Palmer-Wasilla matchup and the Colony-Juneau-Douglas race will determine how the playoff brackets take shape. By next week's rankings, the field will be set — and the various roads Alaska's three division state championships will finally be clear.