Football notebook: Liberty refocused for quarterfinals

When trying to get his team to refocus after its 38-35 come-from-behind victory over O'Dea last week, Liberty coach Steve Valach looked to Steve Sarkisian.

The Huskies' first-year head coach has a "24-hour rule" for celebrating wins and, even after Friday's exciting finish, Valach's goal was to get his Patriots (10-1) looking ahead to their Class 3A quarterfinal game against Lindbergh Friday night.

Throughout Liberty's feverish fourth-quarter rally — the Patriots trailed O'Dea 35-17 with 10:46 left — Valach told his players to play in the moment.

"I think the same thing applies now as we move forward," he said. "It's a similar idea."

No player better fits that live-in-the-moment spirit than running back Chandler Jenkins. He fumbled several times against O'Dea before finishing with 22 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns. He also had eight catches for 126 yards.

"Chandler's been huge, and he's tough for a little guy," Valach said. "He's strong and he works hard."

Jenkins injured an ankle in the game, but Valach said he will be ready to go against Lindbergh (10-1). Also, all-purpose Liberty standout Jake Bainton is expected to be back. The junior missed the second half against O'Dea with a right-foot injury.

One week after a win they will never forget, the Patriots look to extend their season. Valach thinks his team is prepared.

"They're ready to go and I don't think you make it to this point in the season if your kids aren't able to focus on Monday after a great win or a tough loss," Valach said. "That's part of what the good teams do."

Plucky Lindy not backing down

They were underdogs before the season even started.

So the Lindbergh Eagles aren't flinching at the thought of playing third-ranked Liberty.

In a preseason coaches' poll, Lindbergh was picked to finish fourth in the nine-team Seamount League.

"We put that up on the board," Eagles coach Pat O'Grady said. "We said, 'We've got something to prove.' The kids used it as motivation."

Lindbergh, which starts freshman Matt Stuart at quarterback, won the Seamount title and reached the state playoffs for the first time. Some didn't give the Renton team much of a chance against Ferndale last week, but the Eagles won 52-21.

Liberty presents an even bigger challenge.

"We expect an absolute dogfight," O'Grady said. "It's going to take our best performance to get it done."

College-level test for Vancouver team

Steve Kizer has seen his share of gigantic offensive lines during his coaching career, like the one his Skyview (Vancouver) team faces in Friday's 4A quarterfinal against Auburn.

But not at the high-school level.

"They're more like Auburn University," Kizer said. "I coached at Eastern [Washington] and this is like playing against Montana or Oregon State. They're huge."

It will be a contrast of styles as Auburn (11-0) prefers to keep the ball on the ground and Skyview (9-2) features a no-huddle spread offense.

"We play at a ferocious pace and like to throw it all over the place," Kizer said. "We have about 11 or 12 guys who carry or catch the ball. It's a lot of fun."

When Skyview eliminated Federal Way two weeks ago, Storm QB Austin Dodge completed 15 of 16 passes for 424 yards and six touchdowns.

"He's as good as any quarterback we've faced, and that includes [Jake] Heaps," said Federal Way coach John Meagher, whose team played Heaps' Skyline team last year.

Meagher believes Auburn's ball-control running game is the answer.

"They've got kind of the antidote with their style of play," he said of the Trojans. "The key is keeping the ball away from [Skyview's] prolific offense."

Second-year Grizzlies get second chance

Glacier Peak has used a playoff debacle last year as motivation this season.

The Grizzlies (9-2), trounced by O'Dea 47-14 in a state-qualifying game a year ago, get another crack at a storied program Saturday night. The Snohomish school hosts top-ranked Bellevue (9-2) at Veterans Memorial Stadium in the 3A quarterfinals.

The 2008 loss to O'Dea spoiled an otherwise successful debut season for the first-year school, which finished 5-5.

"That score was up in the locker room during the offseason, just reminding them," said Glacier Peak coach Rory Rosenbach. "So we were actually pretty disappointed when [O'Dea] got beat [by Liberty last week]. We were like, 'Wait a minute'. We were trying to get a shot at them."

Instead, the Grizzlies face the Wolverines, who have six state titles this decade and haven't lost to an in-state opponent since a semifinal loss to O'Dea in 2007.

"I hope it's a raucous environment and a packed house. If it's not, there's something wrong," said Rosenbach. "This is a big game for the community. I mean, you've got the defending state champions coming into your house for the quarterfinals."

The Grizzlies won road games against Peninsula and Timberline to reach the quarterfinals.

"Most teams that have to go on the road two times don't get to that third game [at home]" said Rosenbach, a 1994 Snohomish High graduate. "We were very fortunate."

Peak time of season for Issaquah

This is not the same Issaquah team that Bothell beat 36-14 in the Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest Field in September.

When the teams meet Friday night at Bothell (11-0), the Eagles expect to more closely resemble the group that took out the Cougars twice in 2008.

"We're still alive," said Issaquah coach Chris Bennett.

With a healthy Grant Gellatly in the backfield, the Eagles (8-3) are playing with the kind of confidence that allowed them to recover from an early 21-0 deficit against Jackson last week.

"It was definitely a crazy game, but I'm very proud of our kids for never wavering from the game plan," Bennett said. "They were confident. Even down 21, it sounds silly, they were confident they could come back and win."

To derail the Blue Train's perfect season, the Eagles need to keep that confidence. Avoiding an early hole would go a long way toward making that happen.

Interlake coach leaving for WSU

Interlake coach Sheldon Cross is making the jump to college football after accepting an offensive graduate-assistant position with Washington State.

Cross, 28, said he was offered the position on Sunday and told his team of the move on Monday.

"I'm excited," said Cross, in his third year as Saints head coach. "I want to go over there and learn from that staff. I have a great deal of respect for coach [Todd] Sturdy their offensive coordinator. Their whole coaching staff is great. I'm excited to go over there and learn and help out wherever needed."

The Saints' season ended with a 35-21 loss to Mark Morris in the 2A playoffs last week.

"I was fortunate enough to coach a great group of players, and be a part of some fun victories," Cross said. "I really, really enjoyed my time at Interlake and will always remember the great memories and the very special people."

Notes

• Bellevue RB David Nguyen returned to the lineup during the Wolverines' 49-17 first-round victory over Mount Si last week. The senior, who is recovering from a foot fracture, carried four times and should see more action Saturday against Glacier Peak.

• Skyline QB Jake Heaps was named U.S. Army Player of the Week after completing 20 of 27 passes for 303 yards and seven TDs in the first half of the Spartans' 63-14 victory over South Kitsap.

• Talk about red-zone production! Auburn has scored 19 of 20 times when the Trojans were inside the opponent's 20-yard line. The exception was in the preliminary playoff game with Kamiak, when they fumbled.

• Jackson has gone undefeated in league three times (2003, 2008, 2009) in its 15 years, but the school is still without a state-playoff win. Last week's 48-28 home loss to unranked Issaquah followed a first-round loss last year at Ferris. In 2003, the Johnie Kirton-led Timberwolves lost a first-round game at Lake Washington.

Times staff reporter Sandy Ringer and freelancer Darren Fessenden contributed to this report.