High School Sports Blog

They thought they were good enough to beat Skyview down here in Vancouver, even without star RB/DB Chris Young, the Washington recruit who was one of three players suspended at the end of the regular season for an athletic code violation.

They did just fine without him in their first two playoff games and led 14-6 early Friday night against Skyview.

But the Storm stormed back and continued to rain on the South Puget Sound League's parade to earn its first semifinal berth. Along the way, Skyview eliminated Federal Way, then Bethel, and now Auburn, 34-21.

The Trojans lost despite the 268-yard effort of junior Alphonse Wade, who had a pair of 62-yard TD runs. They saw the early lead slip away and trailed 21-14 at halftime before Wade broke that second long scoring jaunt early in the third quarter.

It was 21-21 and surely the potent Trojans would find the end zone once or twice again. Instead, it was Skyview making the plays down the stretch. And for the second straight year, Auburn's title hopes ended in the quarterfinals. The team lost at this juncture last year to another Sky-high team, Skyline.

Coach Gordon Elliott gathered his dejected players around him and reminded them they had a great season, which they indeed did at 11-1. He congratulated the seniors and challenged the juniors and sophomores to learn from the experience and take the next step in 2010.

They should have the talent to do just that with backs like Wade and Austin Embody as well as gigantic lineman Danny Shelton (6-2, 320), who could be one of the top recruits in the country.

But the wait is over for Skyview, which has a nice offensive run/pass package and great chemistry. And the Storm just might not be over yet.

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November 20, 2009 at 11:39 PM

Final thoughts on Friday night football

Posted by Mason Kelley

Bothell took care of business.

After Friday night's quarterfinal action, half of the matchup many expect to see next week in the Tacoma Dome is set.

Now all Skyline has to do is beat Curtis on Saturday.

"We just have the utmost respect for Skyline and their players and their coaching staff," Bothell coach Tom Bainter said after his team's 30-9 victory over Issaquah in the quarterfinals on Friday night. "Mat Taylor and I are really good friends and he e-mailed me said good luck and, you know what, he meant it from the bottom of his heart. I wish them good luck too and it will be a great rematch and what high-school football is all about. It will be a great thing for the fans to see."

Obviously, the Vikings could have something to say about that and there is no guarantee the Spartans win, but it's exciting to think about a rematch.

I caught Jake Heaps and few of his teammates walking around Pop Keeney.

Bainter also made a point to praise the play of Issaquah running back Grant Gellatly, who struggled against Bothell, but really played well in his two previous playoff games.

"For him to not just play offense, but he played defense too tonight, that's a tough kid," Bainter said. "I'm glad he's a senior."

After starting 0-2 this season, Issaquah turned it on late and finished the year 8-4. It was a strong run and helped show just how much talent KingCo 4A boasted this season.

Now, here is a look at the rest of Friday night's action.

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