Top ranked teams clash when Bellevue travels to Skyline | Prep football preview

Bellevue and Skyline are two of the most respected programs in the state and have a rich tradition. The two top ranked squads will add another chapter to the saga tonight at 7 p.m.

September 8, 2011 5:09 pm
Bellevue's Tyler Hasty in last year's 28-21 loss to Skyline.
Bellevue's Tyler Hasty in last year's 28-21 loss to Skyline.

Bellevue’s opening week win over Oaks Christian may have grabbed the nation’s attention, but the Wolverines know it isn’t going to help them tonight when they travel to the plateau to face Skyline, the top ranked team in 4A.

The Spartans struggled out of the gate against Liberty last week and trailed 21-14 in the second quarter, but rebounded behind junior quarterback Max Browne and his cavalcade of pass catchers (nine Spartans caught a pass, though some came in mop-up duty with Browne out of the game), running off 48 points to win going away, 62-27. Browne completed 16 of 28 passes for 190 yards and four scores despite playing his first prep game without All-American wideout Kasen Williams and WSU walk-on Jordan Simone.

The Spartans’ defense matched that effort by  forcing four straight turnovers in a decisive third quarter and also held the Patriots without a first down in the period. Bellevue head coach Butch Goncharoff expects a prepared and diciplined Skyline squad will be waiting when his team arrives on Friday night.

“They [Skyline] are well coached,” Goncharoff said. “There are a lot of teams with great talent but [Skyline coach] Mat [Taylor] does a great job.”

The Wolverines, who did not arrive back in Seattle until late in the day Sunday, will be taxed with a shortened week to prepare, but Goncharoff and his team will not use that as an excuse.”You’ve got to deal with it and move on,” Goncharoff said. “We knew that going in.”

Bellevue holds the all-time edge in the series at 6-5, but Skyline has prevailed each of the last two times the teams have met, winning 28-21 last year in week two and 6-0 back in 2007. But Taylor knows the Wolverines present a unique set of challenges for his group.

“The key to all victories against Bellevue is disciplined defense,” Taylor told the Issaqauh Reporter’s Kevin Endejan. “We have to prepare for Bellevue like no other team we face.”

The two programs have combined to win 13 state titles. Goncharoff said while many on the outside may imagine disdain between the two programs, the reality of the rivalry is far less dramatic.

“We respect them and I think they would say the same thing about us,” Goncharoff said. “Mat and I get along great.”