Staff Report
MaxPreps.com
TACOMA, Wash. – Forgive many around the state for believing that Friday night’s Class 4A state title game at the Tacoma Dome would be nothing more than a three-hour coronation for Skyline, a program rarely tested this season and ranked No. 9 nationally by MaxPreps.
The Spartans crushed and demoralized their championship game opponent, Issaquah, 50 days ago in a 38-0 drubbing that was much worse than the final score indicated.
But Skyline (14-0) found itself on the ropes in a big way late in the fourth quarter before pulling out a 20-15 victory over KingCo Crest Division rival Issaquah (11-3).
The victory adds to an impressive and expanding football resume at the 11-year old school. The Spartans have already captured four state titles in two different classifications and will begin the 2009 campaign riding a 28-game win streak.
“It’s been a lot of stress since March, a lot of expectations,” first-year Skyline head coach Mat Taylor said. “We have a great group of kids and our coaches did a great job of getting them ready. These kids are unbelievable and took it one week at a time. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
Early on, Friday night’s contest had the look of the Oct. 17 pounding at Issaquah as superstar junior quarterback Jake Heaps threw a pair of touchdown passes to give the Spartans a 14-3 lead. The second was a beautifully thrown ball up the middle to Jake Knecht for a 45-yard scoring strike.
Heaps, one of the top junior signal callers in the country, completed 13-of-21 pass attempts for 201 yards and three touchdown passes.
Issaquah withstood the barrage and in the third quarter began chipping away at the lead while completely dominating the clock. A 17-play, 82-yard drive capped by a Grant Gellatly touchdown run gave the Eagles a 15-14 lead with under nine minutes remaining in the game.
Skyline responded like a team used to playing in tight contests, instead of one that has routinely blown out opponents on a weekly basis. Heaps hooked up with super sophomore Kasen Williams for a 39-yard pass that set up another short touchdown throw to Knecht with 4:29 to go.
“These kids believe so much,” Taylor said. “We had to go back to our pass game. We felt very good about throwing the ball at the end.”
Issaquah had two more possession in the final minutes, but each came up empty and Skyline came away with its second state title in as many years. The Spartans were the champion of the 3A classification a year ago before moving up to the 4A ranks this season.
This Skyline team will likely be remembered as one of the best the state of Washington has ever produced – at least until next year. Heaps and Williams will return with a talented supporting cast, including KingCo defensive player of the year Anthony Dematteo, lineman Jase Butorac and linebacker Cooper Pelluer.
Even with all of that talent returning, it will be difficult to match the level of domination achieved by the Spartans this season, especially early on. Skyline’s first-string defense didn’t allow a touchdown until the ninth game of the regular season and shutout five opponents.
With Heaps under center throwing to Williams and two-way star Gino Simone, Taylor’s team averaged 36.7 points per game, topping the 40-point mark six times. Heaps finished his junior season with 2,941 yards and 38 touchdowns through the air. Even more incredibly, he threw just five interceptions in 312 attempts.
