Skyline, Eastside Catholic after state titles in Tacoma Dome | Prep football news
Published 12:46 pm Thursday, November 29, 2012
Spartans prepared for final act Skyline faces one more test on historic run atop 4A
For the past three years, since he became the full-time starter, Skyline senior quarterback Max Browne’s career has played out in a flurry of touchdowns, passing records, wins and championships.
When his Spartans meets Bellarmine Prep in the Tacoma Dome on Saturday (1 p.m., ROOT Sports TV) for the Class 4A state football championship, the curtain will come down on the final act in Browne’s historic prep career.
For the nation’s top-ranked signal caller, nothing but another piece of hardware will make for a fitting ending.
The Spartans are in a state title game for the sixth consecutive year and eighth time since 2004 and will face a Lions squad that represents the final hurdle for the 2013 Skyline seniors that have known little else besides wins and trophies.
Browne, who was named one of the six finalists for the national U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, has made the most of his final postseason run thus far, tossing 20 touchdowns in wins over Bothell, Puyallup, Lake Stevens, Roosevelt and Camas against only one interception.
Transfer running back Cedric Cooper and his 11 rushing scores have given the offense balance and a host of receiving targets including Nic Sblendorio, Trevor Barney, Matt Sinatro and Andrew Giese make the Spartans a difficult matchup for opposing defenses. In all, 12 players have caught at least one touchdown pass this season the offense’s ability to force defenses to account for multiple playmaking threats has been key.
Skyline is averaging better than 51 points per game in 2012 and has scored fewer than 42 only once during the postseason, a 34-7 win over Bothell in the 4A KingCo title game.
The defense has been nearly as impressive down the stretch and has allowed only six first-half touchdowns in the past six games combined.
Bellarmine Prep brings a 12-1 record into the game after winning its last two games by a combined five points over Gonzaga Prep and Auburn. But a week after facing the same Bothell squad Skyline dispatched in the league title game, the Lions escaped with only a 35-30 win.
Crusaders hoping the first time’s the charm in 3A title game
For Eastside Catholic, the 2012 football season has been anything but average.
The Crusaders dropped conference foe O’Dea for only the second time in decades, won the Metro League championship and will make the school’s first state title game appearance on Friday against four-time defending champ and nationally ranked Bellevue (7:30 p.m., ROOT Sports TV and KJR Radio 950 AM, 102.9 FM) in the Tacoma Dome.
For those inside the program, a win would be the final stamp on a historic season and perhaps, a sign of the new normal in Sammamish.
Bellevue unceremoniously ended coach Jeremy Thielbahr’s inaugural campaign last year in the first round of the state tournament with a 42-0 blowout en route to yet another title.
But the Eastside Catholic offense will be one of the most explosive the Wolverines have seen all year.
The continued development of Reynolds has been perhaps the biggest key to that turnaround, as the senior has thrown for nearly 1,800 yards and rushed for 769 more. He has 22 touchdowns through the air and eight more on the ground against only three interceptions.
Hard-nosed junior running back Henry Jarvis has been the counterpunch to Reynolds and has added nearly 900 more yards rushing and 12 scores on the ground.
The Crusaders know they too will face a challenge unlike anything they have seen thus far when they take the field against a Bellevue defense that until last week’s 37-7 win over Mount Si, had not allowed a touchdown to an in-state opponent all year. Linebacker Sean Constantine is a University of Washington commit and one of the top defensive players in the state. Behind him is Budda Baker, a do-everything junior safety that has blossomed on both sides of the ball after exploding onto the scene last year in the special teams game.
Add that to facing a Bellevue offense that has asserted its will with a mix of its patented Wing-T and Spread elements and the task for Thielbahr and the Crusaders becomes clearly defined.
