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sports
September 5, 2012
SAMMAMISH REVIEW
Skyline opens with win over Bothell By Jayson Jenks Seattle Times staff reporter
In the moments with the game on the line, when a play here or there could have been decisive, Skyline kept its cool like a team that had been there before. Bothell, on the other hand, looked exactly like the group it is: Rich on talent and upside, but still learning the intricacies that come with beating a top-notch program. And because of that, on the opening Friday night of the football season, top-ranked Skyline held off a potent No. 5 Bothell team for a 33-21 win. “You’ve got a team over there that is used to playing every play with an even-keel,” Bothell coach Tom Bainter said. “They’ve been there. They’ve won championships. They’ve had to come back from a couple scores. We need to become that team to have the character to play it the same way. “We’ve got to get past that in our program. If we’re going to beat a team like this, we have to play them toe-to-toe all the way through.” That wasn’t a problem early. The Cougars jumped to a quick 14-0 lead behind two touchdowns from sophomore quarterback
Ross Bowers. The first one went for 10 yards to Derek Pedersen. The second one was an 85-yard pass to Jared Berry, who found himself alone behind the Skyline secondary. “Ross can sling the rock,” Skyline’s Nic Sblendorio said. Yet Skyline quickly received the big play it needed with a little help from all-everything quarterback Max Browne. Late in the first quarter, Browne delivered a strike to Peter Stromgren for a 32-yard touchdown, cutting Bothell’s lead to 14-8 after a twopoint conversion. Then Sblendorio stepped up, which he had to do in the absence of multiple starters because of injuries or suspensions. On the first play of the second quarter, he returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown. That gave Skyline a 15-14 lead. “I had to have a bigger role,” said Sblendorio, who caught eight passes for 86 yards, had an interception and rushed for a touchdown. Bothell didn’t waver with the help of a fortunate bounce or two. In the middle of the second quarter, Bowers fired a pass across the middle, which at least two players tipped. The ball found Jed Aboulhosn for a
Photo by Greg Farrar
Peter Stromgren (41), Skyline High School senior tight end, escapes Bothell senior safety Derek Pedersen on the way to his 32-yard touchdown run during the first quarter. fortuitous 11-yard touchdown that gave Bothell a 21-15 halftime lead. Bowers finished 15 for 33 for 224 yards, three touchdowns, an interception and two late fumbles. In the first half, he passed for more yards than Browne.
But Browne, the USC commit, remained consistent, looking every bit the collected veteran who had been there, done that. He finished 24 for 35 for 291 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Browne also bruised Bothell with his legs, rushing 11 times for 25 yards,
including a 4-yard touchdown that gave Skyline a 22-21 lead in the third. Skyline held Bothell scoreless after halftime. Capping a defensive performance Skyline coach Mat Taylor described as “awesome,” the Spartans recorded a safety in the final minutes.
Eastlake teams prepare for fall season’s beginning By Lillian O’Rorke
File photo
Last season, Eastlake football celebrated its first victory over Skyline.
With 22 new starters, the Eastlake Wolves are beginning the football season young in terms of varsity experience. But Coach Gene Dales isn’t too worried, and there’s good reason for that. Last year’s junior varsity and sophomore squads went undefeated in their respective seasons. They weren’t enough, however, to prevail in Eastlake’s first game this season. The Wolves dropped their season opener to Lakeridge (Lake Osewgo, Ore.) 42-27. And not all faces are new to the Friday night lights of varsity KingCo Crest football. This year’s starting lineup includes eight seniors. Among the group are James Bradley, DT/OL; Cam Nelson, WR/DB; DK Thornton, WR/DB; Ross McKorkle, G/ LB; Jake Cusak, OL/DL; Dylan Kramp, RB/LB, Eric Harper, TE/ LB and Grant Beahm, QB/DB. The boys are returning from
last year’s 8-1 season, which they topped off with the the Crest Division title and a victory over cross-city rivals Skyline. New to the team are seniors Tyler Ackerman, TE/DE; Liam Doyle, WR/DB; Josh Horton, RB/ LB and Zach Stienburg, K. Other newcomers include juniors Gage Casal, WR/DB; Eric Jagielo, WR/ DB; Brandon Kauffman, G/NG; Cody Sheffels, C/DL and sophomores Richard Thomas, QB/DB and Jeff Fienglass, WR/DB. “We will be an extremely fast team on the perimeter as well as defensively,” wrote Dales in an email. “As we gain game experience our line play will be the key to our season.” The next game for the Wolves kicks off at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 at home against Eastside Catholic. Girls swim and dive Another Eastlake team with a lot of young talent is the girls swim and dive team. The squad is 40-members strong this year
and will be led by captains JoJo Morlidge, senior, and Jasmine Hart, also a senior. The Eastlake girls swim and dive team is set to take on Skyline Sept. 11. Girls soccer After finishing last season with a 7-4-7 record, the Eastlake girls soccer team knows it’s got a battle ahead of it but is not giving up. “KingCo 4A is a beast of a league,” wrote coach Chuck Krieble in an email. “We are rebuilding a bit … Skyline and Issaquah just reload.” Starting for the team are captains Samantha Smith, MF; Rebecca Priestley, D; and goalie Emily Suter. They are joined by defenders Gabrielle Grinslade and Madison Barr as well as Marisa Katagiri, MF/F; Jodi Ulkekul, MF/F; Allie Garrett, MF. The girls are set to take on Holy Names in a non-conference match at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8 at Eastlake High School Stadium.