Jake Heaps and Kasen Williams rewrote the record book — in just one half.
File photo by Todd Shurtleff
Jake Heaps, Skyline
Heaps, the Skyline quarterback, threw seven touchdowns passes in a 63-14 Class 4A state football opening win against South Kitsap. Kasen caught four of the touchdowns. Both totals were school records.
Heaps, a BYU commit rated as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, was 20-of-27 for 303 yards. He led the second-ranked Spartans (9-2) to a 56-7 lead at halftime and didn't play the second half. Williams, the reigning state high-jump champ, had eight catches for 108 yards in the first half against the No. 6 Wolves (10-1).
"Individually this was best I've played, and it's not only me; this was the best team effort we've had the entire year," Williams told the Seattle Times. "We needed that, so we can get that momentum going for the games after this. They were a 10-0 team for a reason, so we weren't going to take them lightly.
"We wanted to come out and put the lumber to them. We wanted to have a big blowout game and this was perfect for us."
Skyline plays No. 5 Curtis (11-0) in the quarterfinals.
2. Smith picks UCLA: Kentwood's Joshua Smith (6-foot-10), rated by some as the top center in the nation, picked UCLA over Washington to play his college basketball.
3. Another volleyball title for Mead: The Mead Panthers (32-2) won their sixth Class 4A state volleyball title in the last seven years, beating the Curtis Vikings (23-4) 23-25, 25-27, 26-24, 25-23, 15-12 in the title match. It's the seventh straight Class 4A state volleyball title for a team from Spokane. Alexis Olgard had 33 kills, 13 digs and 10 blocks in the title match. Another volleyball team in the Mead School District, top-ranked Mount Spokane (30-5), lost in the Class 3A state title game, falling to Blanchet of Seattle 15-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-14. Summer Nash had 28 kills as the Braves (28-5) won their first title since 2006. They finished third the previous two years. For the complete volleyball results, click
here.
4. Taylor sparks Skyline dominance: Andie Taylor was named swimmer of the meet after winning four titles and led Skyline to its first-ever state swimming title at the Class 4A meet. Taylor broke her own state record (1 minute, 46.55 seconds) in the 200 freestyle, and her 500 free time (4:45.47) was the second-fastest by a Washington swimmer. She also anchored the 200 and 400 free relay teams to state titles. Mercer Island won the Class 3A state title. For complete state swimming results, click
here.
5. State soccer wraps up this weekend: The final four in each classification have been set in the state soccer tournaments. The semifinals are Friday and the title games are Saturday. In 4A classification, KingCo rivals Issaquah (16-2) and Skyline (16-4), the defending state champs, seem destined for a title clash. Those two schools met for the state football title in 2008. For complete brackets, click
here.
Top performers
Rahmel Dockey (Curtis football): The elusive speedster returned a kickoff 97 yards for the decisive score as Curtis won its state opener vs. Central Kitsap, 21-16.
Emily Cotter (Curtis volleyball): The senior had 26 kills in the Class 4A state title match.
Emilie Kaufman (Juanita swimming): The Rutgers-bound senior was named Class 3A swimmer of the state meet after winning the 100 breaststroke (1:03.21, the third-fastest 3A time ever) and the 50 freestyle. She also swam on the 200 and 400 free relay teams, which won state.
Grant Gellatly (Issaquah football): The senior running back 249 and three touchdowns on 40 carries as Issaquah upset No. 4 Jackson 48-28.
Top tickets, state football version (for complete brackets, click
here)
Skyline (9-2) at Curtis (11-0): This Saturday game pits two of the state's top athletes. Skyline's Kasen Wiliams and Curtis' Rahmel Dockery are both fast, ellusive and two of the state's top high jumpers. Skyline has Heaps to get Williams the ball.
Issaquah (8-3) at Bothell (11-0): Issaquah is playing the hot hand, and Bothell is the top team in the state. Both hail from the KingCo Conference.
Lindbergh (10-1) at Liberty (10-1): Both are coming off big first-round wins. Lindbergh stomped traditional power Ferndale, while Liberty had a big rally to knock off perennial power O'Dea.
Lake (10-0) at Mount Spokane (10-1): The Class 3A's top-ranked team has to travel across the state to meet the powerful Wildcats in Spokane.
Nathan Joyce has been a sports writer in Washington for 12 years. He currently works at the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton.