Service High Football Team Wins Inaugural South Side Anchorage Cup with First Win of Season

Updated: 27 a few minutes ago Published: 47 a few minutes ago

The rivalry between the two South Side Anchorage high school football programs has been simmering ever since South Anchorage High opened in 2004.

The Service Cougars no longer needed fuel to keep the fire going. But before their game against South on Saturday, the Cougars found out that the new South Side Cup would be awarded to the winning team after the game.

The Cougars dominated from start to finish on both sides of the ball en route to a 34-7 win and are now the proud owners of the inaugural South Side Cup.

“We just found out today that there was a cut and we just decided to go for it,” quarterback Jonathon Tautua said.

Both teams entered their annual regular season game on the hillside looking for their first win of the 2022 season after a tough few weeks to start the season.

“It feels good to win, to play service football, to flip the switch,” Tautua said. “We will try to win every game.”

The serve capitalized on host South’s mistakes for most of the afternoon and started early collecting the first of what would be several failed transfers on routine Wolverines plays. A few plays later, running back RJ Fine found the end zone on a short touchdown run for the game’s first points.

It was the first of a pair of rushing scores for him that day. His second came at 1:57 in the fourth quarter for the game’s final points when the two-point conversion failed.

Service’s offensive line not only paved the way for Fine to cross the goal line twice and earn big wins throughout the game, but it also gave Tautua plenty of time to shoot.

“O-line played well, that’s the game here,” Tautua said. “During practice, they work on their details, fix everything through the game and watch a movie.”

He used his ever-clean pocket to attack the Wolverines defense in the middle and back of the pitch. His favorite target on the perimeter was Chris Thompson, who he connected with on long touchdowns of 25 and 55 yards.

The only serve touchdown that didn’t come because of Tautua’s arm or Fine’s legs was a 30-yard run from Mason Crosby, who sprinted past the second and third tiers of South’s defense.

His explosive scoring and successful two-point conversion run extended Service’s lead to 28-7 and killed the momentum the Wolverines were beginning to build late in the third quarter after Aaron Concepcion scored on a 35-yard rush for the team’s first home game. and only game points.

“Our ball carriers were just going down, and that’s how we teach in training,” Tautua said.

He believes this victory over their rivals will serve as a springboard of confidence and momentum that will carry the Cougars through the season.

“We needed this win, we got this win, and we’re just going to try to move on,” Tautua said.