Oh, so close for Issaquah

TACOMA — The Issaquah Eagles said it would be different this time and it was.

Drubbed 38-0 by Skyline on Oct. 17, Issaquah made the top-ranked Spartans come from behind Friday night for a 20-15 triumph in the Class 4A state championship game.

"This is what we thought it would like in October," said Issaquah coach Chris Bennett.

"We just left too many points out there in the first half.

Issaquah trailed 14-3 at halftime, but had been inside the Spartans' 30-yard line five times.

"We were one play away," said quarterback Joey Bradley. "We left 28 points in the first half out there. ... We won the first half but not on the scoreboard."

Bennett said, "We didn't come down here to take second place ... But as we reflect in a few months, we're going to have a lot to be proud of. It's a great group of guys."

Issaquah finished with 330 total yards and 21 first downs while Skyline, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 6 in the nation by USA Today, finished with 206.

The Issaquah defense allowed Skyline junior quarterback Jake Heaps to complete 13 of 21 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once.

Receiver Ross Zuhl was one of the players who missed the October game with an injury.

"We knew this wasn't going to be like the first game," he said. "We had all our players back. We were confident we were going to come out and it was too bad we came up short."

Zuhl, who caught seven passes for 80 yards, said it "hurts more" to lose to Skyline in the title game because the schools are Issaquah School District rivals and the players know each other well. Players from both schools attend the same ninth-grade campus.

"Those are guys you've known since we were 7 or 8," Zuhl said. "It's tough, but life goes on. It was a lot of fun. It is a great year."

Bennett said he didn't know if it was more painful to lose to an archrival "but it doesn't help."

"Just a play here or there," Bennett said, summarizing the night.

Two-way lineman Christian Rennie said the line and then the entire team came together after the first loss to Skyline.

"We played our hearts out tonight," he said.

Issaquah, ranked 10th, finished the season 11-3.

This was Issaquah's second appearance in a state-title game. Issaquah lost to Mount Tahoma of Tacoma 21-3 in the 4A game in 1980.

Skyline coach Mat Taylor gave credit to Issaquah.

"They were unbelievable," he said. "Offensively, they were very, very impressive. Their kids didn't give up."

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com