4A state football: Woodinville ends Skyview’s season, 34-21

BOTHELL — Amid a season-ending defeat, it took a number of Skyview Storm players a micro-fraction of a second to describe how good the second-seed Woodinville Falcons are.

Did the Storm lose Saturday to a 2018 state championship-caliber team, a program that also played in last year’s 4A state title game?

Absolutely, the Storm did, junior Micah Baylous said.

“They’re really solid,” he said.

Woodinville’s 34-21 win at Pop Keeney Stadium ended the Storm’s season at 6-5 in its 10th state playoff appearance in school history. It came after rolling out to a 21-point first-quarter lead and 24-point halftime lead, but not before Skyview’s comeback made it a two-score game and momentum on the Storm’s side with one quarter remaining.

Four of Skyview’s five losses this season came to teams still playing in the Washington state playoffs, including a Falcons (10-1) team out of the tradition-rich KingCo conference that advances to the 4A state quarterfinals seeking another run at a state title that fell short to Richland last year. The other three losses came to top-seed Union, Mt. Si, and 3A Yelm.

Junior quarterback Yaro Duvalko showed nothing but respect to the Falcons postgame.

“I wish them all the best of luck to win the whole thing,” he said.

As a No. 15 seed, Skyview’s bit at an upset ended when its final three drives led to a turnover on downs, a punt and interception but not before getting within a two-score striking distance entering the fourth quarter.

Skyview held Woodinville without a touchdown in the second half and outscored the Falcons 14-3 in the third quarter to pull within 34-21 in the final minute of the third quarter.

Duvalko found Mason Wheeler for touchdowns of 13 and 35 yards in the third quarter; the latter capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive to make it a 34-21 game. Wheeler had a career-high 172 yards on 10 catches.

Erase the first quarter and it’s a different ballgame.

Before you knew it, Woodinville led 21-0. The dagger came when the Falcons blocked Evan Saftich’s potential 34-yard field-goal attempt. Then Nolan Downs on the recovery scooped it up for Woodinville and ran back for 70 yards for the score.

Heads down? Not the case, senior Joe Gray said.

“It was boom, immediately back to playing Skyview football,” said Gray, who had four catches Saturday. “That’s what this team is about. We play hard-nose football and we’re not going to let this game end like that.”

Skyview didn’t let it ended like that. While trailing 31-7 at halftime, the Storm shut Woodinville out of the end zone the final two quarters, holding the Falcons to just a 36-yard field goal on its final possession of the third quarter. But Skyview was unable to get closer than the Woodinville 22 the rest of the way, even after recovering a Woodinville fumble on the ensuing play following Wheeler’s second touchdown with 42 seconds left in the third.

In August, the talk surrounding Skyview football centered on its lack of varsity experience.

Twenty-one fresh faces saw their first full-time action.

It’s not a surprise to the Storm what they accomplished, they say, it’s what’s expected: getting back to the postseason after snapping last year’s streak of 12 consecutive postseason appearances.

“It’s not the start of something,” Duvalko said, “it’s been in the process. Been behind the blinds for a few years.

He called 2018 a sneak peak of what’s to come.

“It’s going to be a good little shocker for the state,” he said.

WOODINVILLE 34, SKYVIEW 21

Skyview 0 7 14 0 -21

W’ville 21 10 3 0 -34

First quarter

W — Cage Schenck 38 pass from Noah Stifle (Blake Glessner kick)

W — Dylan Lewis 5 pass from Stifle (Glessner kick)

W — Nolan Downs 75 return off blocked FG (Glessner kick)

Second quarter

S — Micah Baylous 6 pass from Yaro Duvalko (Evan McKinney kick)

W — Downs 28 pass from Stifle (Glessner kick)

W — Glessner 33 FG

Third quarter

S — Mason Wheeler 13 pass from Duvalko (McKinney kick)

W — Glessner 36 FG

S — Wheeler 35 pass from Duvalko (McKinney kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Skyview: Gabe Martin 9-15, Yaro Duvalko 5-(minus-1), Tyler DeJong 3-6, Mason Wheeler 1-5; Woodinville: Cage Schenck 2-0, Nolan Downs 6-37, Joey Johnson 19-98, Noah Stifle 10-21

PASSING — Skyview: Yaro Duvalko 26-48-1-316; Woodinville: Noah Stifle 11-15-0-187.

RECEIVING — Skyview: Micah Baylous 5-38, Joe Gray 4-37, Cooper Barnum 2-17, Xavier Owens 4-48, Gabe Martin 1-4, Mason Wheeler 10-172; Woodinville: Nolan Downs 5-67, Jack Diskin 3-57, Cage Schenck 1-38, Dylan Lewis 1-5, Carter Smith 1-20.