Emerald City Kickoff Classic highlights opening week; Olympic's Dixon impresses in opener.
Nick Washburn, Skyline
File photo by Juliann Tallino
Skyline, Washington's top-ranked Class 4A team, beat Jesuit of Portland, Oregon's top-ranked 6A school, 17-0 at the Emerald City Kickoff Classic on Saturday at Qwest Field in Seattle.
The Kickoff Classic is the annual showcase of some of the state's top football talent. It highlights the opening week of the high school season. Skyline, which has won two straight state titles, won its 29th straight game.
The Spartans were a little slow to establish an offensive rhythm. Quarterback Jake Heaps, the nation's No. 1 quarterback, who has committed to BYU, was 18-of-33 for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
"We came out so amped up and ready to go that we were playing out of ourselves," Heaps told the Seattle Times. "We really need to play our game and do what we do best. After the first half, we really got that taken care of."
Skyline has a short week before facing Ballard on Thursday. The next week, Skyline takes on national power Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, Calif., which features Nick Montana, Joe Montanta's son, at quarterback. Montana has committed to Washington.
In other Kickoff Classic games: Bothell avenged a loss to Issaquah in last year's Class 4A state semifinals with a 36-14 win. Issaquah's top running back, Grant Gellatly, missed the game because of a hamstring injury. ... Robert Issa rushed for 230 yards and a touchdown as South Kitsap of Port Orchard beat Kennewick 35-14. ... In a showdown of Class 3A teams, No. 5 O'Dea of Seattle took to the air to rally past No. 9 Capital of Olympia 19-15. ... In a matchup of two of the state's top Class 2A teams, Archbishop Murphy of Everett beat Lynden 34-20. Lynden eliminated ATM in the state semifinals last year en route to the state title.
Dixon impresses in opener
Larry Dixon is one of the top running back prospects in the state. And the senior from Olympic in Bremerton showed why. He rushed for 299 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries as his Trojans upset Eastside Catholic 24-10.
Dixon began the season about 1,100 yards short of West Sound's career rushing record.
Other sports start this week
Volleyball, soccer, cross country and girls swimming all start this week. Those four sports begin practices half a week behind football, which allows action to start a few days earlier.
