#5 Sports Story of 2012: South Beats Service For State Football Title

Entering the 2012 Alaska high school football season, Service was the pick of many coaches and media members to repeat as large school state champions.  The Cougars had gone undefeated the year before and brought back a slew of weapons, including all-purpose quarterback Amu Aukusitino.  They capped the 2011 season with a 37-23 victory over rival South in the state championship game.  The Wolverines had a score to settle and spent the entire year that followed stewing over that defeat.  Sure enough, the two hooked up in the 2012 finals as well with Service coming into the contest riding a 19-game winning streak against in-state competition, including a 21-14 regular season win over South.  But this time, the Wolverines prevailed in their single-minded mission, upsetting Service, 28-19 to claim the state title.  On a sunny but tremendously windy afternoon, the Wolverines overcame a 19-14 halftime deficit with a pair of second half touchdowns.  Their vengeance was complete, and the championship was theirs as they took down Service for the fist time since 2008, a span of five meetings.