The Renton High football team will be hard-pressed to find a less familiar opponent than it faced Sept. 10. The Indians took on the Thunder Mountain Falcons out of Juneau, Alaska, at Renton Stadium and fell 36-20.

The Falcons (6-0) took an early lead when Cameron Fronimos ran around the left side for a 38-yard touchdown. Fronimos put Renton (0-2) down 14-0 when he scored again in the quarter from 11 yards out. When Frominos intercepted Renton quarterback Zane Brown on the next drive, it looked like the Falcons might run away with the game.

“We get off to slow starts, slow and sluggish,” said Renton coach Donald Ponds. “It’s something we have to change. That’s going to be our Achilles heal this season.”

Frominos found plenty of room to run and ended the first half with four rushing touchdowns.

But the Renton defense regrouped and came up with a big stop on fourth and goal from their own 6-yard line. Two plays later the Indians flashed their big-play potential when Brown hit Justin Bennett on a deep post route for a 98-yard touchdown.

Brown tossed another touchdown when he connected with P.J. Benedictus on a fade route for 10 yards later in the second quarter.

The Indians had to stick mostly to passing once they fell behind, making the team one-dimensional on offense.

“We don’t want to play from behind,” Ponds said. “We have playmakers and we know we can utilize that. But not if we’re down.”

The Indians pulled to within a score in the third quarter when Brown and Bennett connected again for 59 yards. That was as close as Renton would get as the team’s defense improved during the game, but it wasn’t enough.

“We’ve got to go back to the basics,” Ponds said. “Blocking and tackling, those basic things are what we’re going to emphasize.”

Renton doesn’t have much time to regroup, as it faces Lindbergh Friday night.