The long faces said it all for the Skyline Spartans football team as the final seconds trickled off the clock against the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups in the Class 4A state championship game.
Gonzaga Prep ended Skyline’s storybook season with a 34-16 win in the title game on Dec. 5 at the Tacoma Dome. Skyline finished the 2015 season with a 12-2 record. Gonzaga Prep running back Evan Weaver rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Bullpups’ quarterback Liam Bell rushed for 115 yards on 18 carries as well in the victory. The Bullpups got on the board early after sophomore wide receiver Devin Culp’s 16-yard touchdown run on a reverse gave Gonzaga Prep a 7-0 lead with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Culp sliced through the Skyline defense on 59-yard touchdown on the same exact reverse play, extending Gonzaga Prep’s lead to 17-0 with 10:35 remaining in the second quarter. Skyline kicker Jack Crane connected on a 33-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the first half but Skyline still trailed Gonzaga Prep 24-3 at halftime. Jake Pendergast and Danny Sinatro each caught a touchdown pass from Skyline quarterback Blake Gregory in the second half but it wasn’t enough to register a win against the Bullpups and their potent rushing attack. Gonzaga Prep rushed for 521 yards in the game on 83 rushing attempts.
Sinatro, who finished the game with nine catches for 80 yards, said 6-foot, 4-inch, 245-pound Weaver was the real deal on the field. Weaver has already committed to the University of California (Berkeley) football program.
“He was a big physical guy,” Sinatro said. “It was tough. He was so physical.”
Despite the loss in the title game, Sinatro said he had the time of his life on the gridiron with his teammates and coaches this fall.
“The guys right here to the left of me and to the right of me, I will remember them until my dying days. The journey was great. You can’t hang your head right now but it’s tough,” he said.
The Spartans senior signal caller agreed wholeheartedly with Sinatro following the final game of his high school career. Gregory went 26-for-38 for 316 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
“The thing I’m going to remember the most is just my teammates and the love we share for each other. Skyline has given me everything. I couldn’t be more thankful for the people that have been in my life and who have been with me here on this journey,” Gregory said. “You can never take away those memories.”
Skyline head coach Mat Taylor said mistakes cost his team against Gonzaga Prep.
“Our recipe all season is that we haven’t turned the ball over and we hadn’t turned the ball over in the playoffs,” Taylor said. “I think we were plus 34 in the turnover ratio this year. Tonight we had five turnovers. It just wasn’t our night.”
Skyline lost three fumbles and had two interceptions against Gonzaga Prep. Taylor said he throughly enjoyed coaching the 2015 Spartans football squad.
“Who would have thought we would have been here? The kids continued to move forward each and every day. They were so much fun to coach. I’m just very proud of these guys,” he said.
