Alaska High School Football Playoffs Kick Off This Weekend

Nation's first postseason sees Barrow (D-III), Soldotna (D-II) and West Anchorage (D-I) as the top seeds.

Cathy Parker Field in Utqiagvik, Alaska, will host Saturday's Division III semifinal between Barrow and Kenai Central. / CFBCampustour/ X

We’ve reached the high school football playoff season in Alaska, and High School on SI Alaska will have all the scores you need in one place.

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2025 Alaska High School Football Playoff Brackets

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Dimond (Division I), Soldotna (Division II) and Homer (Division III) are the defending champions looking to return to the First National Bowl championship games.

As we head into the weekend, here are the first-round and semifinals matchups.

Division III

No. 4 Kenai Central (3-5) at No. 1 Barrow (6-2), Saturday

These teams met just a week ago, with the Whalers winning 16-0 in Kenai to complete an undefeated Mid-Alaska League season. Junior RB Malu Lauvao leads Barrow with 699 rushing yards and seven touchdowns as it seeks to avoid last year’s fate, when it lost 6-0 to Homer as the No. 1 seed in the semifinals, and capture the program’s first championship since 2017.

No. 3 Redington (5-3) at No. 2 Homer (7-1), Saturday

The Mariners’ only loss was at Barrow three weeks ago, and they’re hoping for a shot at winning a rematch next weekend at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in Wasilla. These teams met on Sept. 5, with Homer winning 26-0. The Mariners have given up just 52 points in eight games. The Huskies, who secured their playoff spot with a 44-20 win over Houston last week, are seeking their first state final appearance since winning the 2021 title.

Division II

No. 4 West Valley (3-5) at No. 1 Soldotna (8-0), Saturday

The Wolf Pack of Fairbanks are back in the playoffs after a one-year absence looking for their first appearance in a state championship game. To do so, they’ll have to beat a Stars team that only beat them 28-21 a few weeks ago but has a championship pedigree, winning the last two D-II titles and 10 of the last 12. 

Junior RB Chase Hall ran for 148 yards and a touchdown for Soldotna in that game and has a team-high 764 yards and nine scores.

No. 3 Lathrop (5-3) at No. 2 Palmer (7-1), Friday

The Moose won at home 40-24 over the Malemutes on Sept. 19, and after missing the playoffs a year ago, they’re hungry to get back to their first state final since 2017.  However, Lathrop is looking to extend its streak of title game appearances to six straight (winning titles in 2021-22), and the Malemutes are led by senior dual-threat QB Luke Skinner (1,470 total yards, 19 touchdowns).

Division I

No. 8 Colony (2-6) at No. 1 West Anchorage (7-1), Friday

It’s been a month since these teams met during the Cook Inlet League season, with the Eagles winning 35-16 en route to the title. Senior QB Baylor Wasson leads West, throwing for 1,244 yards and 13 touchdowns, with senior WR David Sanders (45 catches for 641 yards and six TDs) his top target. 

No. 5 Juneau-Douglas (3-5) at No. 4 South Anchorage (6-2), Saturday

The Wolverines pulled out a 29-28 victory in Juneau a month ago that meant the difference between this game being played in the capital city or on the south side of Anchorage. 

The Crimson Bears have lost in the first round each of the past two seasons and are winless on the road this season. They’ll need to find a way to stop South’s junior RB Ethan Yarrington, the top rusher in Division I (852 yards, 14 TDs), as they did in their first meeting, when they held him to 63 yards and one score.

No. 7 Dimond (1-7) at No. 2 Bartlett (5-2), Saturday

It’s been a hard fall for the defending state champion Lynx, whose only win came in Week 5 at Colony and lost 12-0 to the Golden Bears in the season opener. However, they can point to hard luck, with three of their losses coming by single digits, to offer hope for their first–round matchup.

Bartlett hasn’t reached a state final since winning the D-I title in 2017. The Golden Bears don’t score a lot of points, averaging just 14.1 per game, but they are also the division’s stingiest allowing them, giving up just six per game, led by senior DT Deuce Alaiefaleula (81 tackles, 19 for loss, 10 sacks, four blocked field goals). 

No. 6 Bettye Davis East Anchorage (2-6) at No. 3 Service (6-2), Saturday

Their first meeting was a taut affair, with the Cougars escaping with a 6-3 victory that helped them right the ship after back-to-back narrow defeats to clinch a first-round home playoff game.

Service hasn’t won a state title since 2011 or reached the final since 2019, but it has been able to survive close games all year — only wins over Colony and Dimond were by double-digits. The Thunderbirds started the year 0-5 but upset Bartlett in Week 6 and are riding a bit of momentum coming into the postseason.