Skyline claims showdown of Washington's top programs

The five big storylines from the Washington prep football scene this week:

1. Skyline wins clash of the titans: A sophomore quarterback stepped up and became a star in matchup of the state's two best football programs. Quarterback Max Browne rallied Skyline (Sammamish), the two-time defending Class 4A state champ, past two-time defending Class 3A state champ Bellevue (1-1) by a 28-21 score. Browne was 24 of 42 for 241 yards and three touchdowns in just his second start as he led the Spartans (1-1) back from a 14-0 deficit.

2. Issaquah upsets Liberty: A week after showing it was one of the state's top teams, beating Skyline in a classic, Liberty (Renton) lost in another game for the ages. Issaquah beat Class 3A's No. 2 team 27-21 in two overtimes. Nik Landdeck forced a fumble and recovered it in overtime to clinch the win.

3. A national record for Lummi?: Lummi (Bellingham) may have set a national 8-man scoring title with a 119-74 win over Wellpinit. The Blackhawks won the matchup of Native American schools from opposite sides of the state by piling up 938 yards and 17 touchdowns in just 2 1/2 quarters because of the 45-point mercy rule. The Bellingham Herald reports that the 8-man scoring record was 118 points by Almena Northern Valley of Kansas set in 1985. Lummi also scored 118 points two years ago. Lummi's 17 touchdowns is also a record. Ty Jameson passed for 525 yards and nine touchdowns for Lummi.

4. Stewart picks Washington: Rainier Beach (Seattle) guard Hikeem Stewart announced he will continue his basketball career at Washington. The 6-foot-2 guard made himself a highly recruited player over the summer. Hikeem also has a twin brother, Kadeem, who plays for Beach.

5. ATM wins Catholic battle: Class 2A Archbishop Murphy (Everett) beat Class 3A Kennedy (Burien) in a battle of Catholic state powers. No. 1 ATM rushed for 404 yards on 51 carries and used four Kennedy turnovers for the win. Kennedy's Damian Brooks had 402 total yards (160 rushing, 133 receiving, 111 return) in the loss.

TOP 5 PERFORMERS
Zack Berg, Edmonds-Woodway (Edmonds): The running back had 147 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries. He also had a fifth TD on a halfback pass and returned a fumble 49 yards for a sixth score as Edmonds-Woodway beat Marysville-Pilchuck 42-22.

Erin Barber, Puyallup: A week after throwing a school-record seven touchdowns, the senior quarterback added six more TD passes and threw for 267 yards and no interceptions in a 46-17 win against Federal Way.

Zack Baldwin, Centralia: Baldwin rushed for a school-record 336 yards and scored five touchdowns in a 47-0 win over North Kitsap. Baldwin averaged 21 yards per carry.

Tyler Sundberg, Capital (Olympia): The senior running back rushed for a school-record 304 yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries as Capital beat Olympic 49-28 in a rivalry game dubbed the Spaghetti Bowl.

Lawyer Tillman, North Thurston (Lacey): Tillman set another school rushing record, going for 310 yards on just 19 carries in a 42-28 win over Timberline. He had four touchdowns.

UPCOMING EVENTS
The game of the week pits No. 4 Capital hosting No. 5 Lakes (Lakewood) in a south Puget Sound showdown (rankings courtesy of the Tacoma News Tribune). Capital is coming off two impressive blowout wins against state powers O'Dea and Olympia (ranked No. 10 in the 4A).

The 2A classification also has several big games as No. 2 Lynden faces No. 10 Blaine, No. 3 Tumwater plays No. 5 West (Chehalis) and No. 8 Othello battles No. 9 Prosser.

NATE'S NOTES
I'm fascinated with one of the top stories I wrote about above. Rainier Beach's Hikeem Stewart is going to Washington. I covered a few games where his older twin brothers Rodrick and Lodrick Stewart played. The high-flying twins were can't-miss prospects who led Rainier Beach to back-to-back state titles and, at one point, were ranked No. 1 in the nation.

The Twins were hounded by high schoolers seeking their autographs that season. There was even a media report in 2002 that the twins had committed to Washington, which was quickly discounted and they went to USC, angering many sports fan around Seattle. Now, eight years later, their brother commits to Washington.

While all that is interesting, I'm more fascinated that Hikeem has a twin brother. Two sets of twins in the same family that are all highly rated basketball recruits? Fascinating.

Nathan Joyce has covered high school sports in Washington for 13 years. He works at the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton.