Excellence on the Eastside on the gridiron

Published 11:47 am Thursday, October 1, 2015

The 2015 high school football season may just be four games old but all three high schools located along 228th Avenue on the Sammamish plateau are making their presence felt on the field.

The Eastside Catholic Crusaders, Skyline Spartans and Eastlake Wolves have a combined overall record of 11-1 in 12 contests. The Crusaders and Spartans are undefeated while Eastlake’s lone loss came against the Gig Harbor Tides in a non-league game on Sept. 17.

Eastside Catholic has outscored its opponents a mind-boggling 222-32. Skyline won handily in three of its first four games. The signature win for the Spartans thus far was a comeback 31-28 overtime victory against the Issaquah Eagles in the season opener on Sept. 4. Eastlake defeated the Class 4A defending state champion Bothell in the first game of the season and registered a hard-fought 23-20 win against Issaquah on Sept. 25.

Eastlake, on the north end of the Plateau, is just 0.9 miles from Eastside Catholic School and 1.6 miles from Skyline. To have three high school football teams located within two miles of each other is unique in itself, but to have all three schools be contention for the state title in their respective classifications is astounding.

Eastside Catholic is the Class 3A defending state champ and is considered to be one of the favorites to bring home back-to-back titles. Eastside Catholic senior quarterback Harley Kirsch, who is a Cornell commit, is one of the most accurate passers in school history.

Skyline, which didn’t advance to the state playoffs last season, has looked formidable in early season action and boasts two of the best players in Washington in running back Rashaad Boddie and quarterback Blake Gregory.

The Wolves, who are led by big-play quarterback Mark Whitley, have won two close games against top notch competition. That experience bodes well for them in the second half of the season.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see all three squads playing football at the Tacoma Dome in late November for the “final four” state semifinals in their respective divisions.

The next two months are going to be fun for Eastside high school football fans.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@issaquahreporter.com