The Skyview football team put the final nail into its non-league season with a hammering.
Skyview was impressive in all areas of Friday’s 55-21 win over Rogers of Puyallup at Kiggins Bowl.
The most dominant part? In the trenches.
Skyview’s line paved the way for a group of running backs that gained 266 yards on 30 carries, an average of 8.9 yards per carry. Jalynnee McGee rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
“That was the gameplan, get off the ball, pound the rock, get downfield and score touchdowns,” senior lineman Jack Nitschke said.
Now Skyview heads into 4A Greater St. Helens League play with a 3-1 record. After Friday’s win over Rogers (1-3), the Storm will be high on confidence.
“I like the way we corrected a lot of things, especially on special teams,” Skyview coach Steve Kizer said. “We got a lot of kids into the game and they all played well. Now we’re getting on to Battle Ground.”
Key moments
Skyview ended a dominant second quarter with an exclamation point. A Michael Stromberg interception return gave the Storm the ball at the Rogers’ 35 with 1:05 left. Skyview entered its hurry-up offense and needed just four plays to score on Ahmani Williams’ second TD catch 15 seconds before halftime. It stretched the lead to 35-7 and capped a 28-point quarter for the Storm.
With the score tied 7-7, Rogers set up for a 24-yard field goal attempt. But Jaydin Knapp rushed up the middle and blocked the kick. Skyview then covered 70 yards in less than a minute, taking a 14-7 lead on Payton Bader’s 9-yard TD catch. From there, the rout was on.
Key players
Jake Miller and Cooper Barnum — The linebacker tandem caused havoc on blitzes, often reaching Rogers ballcarriers before they could pass the line of scrimmage. Skyview totaled 10 tackles for loss, several coming from Miller and Barnum.
Michael Stromberg — The junior had two interceptions, both of which led to Skyview touchdowns. He helped with interception returns of 20 and 45 yards.
Yaro Duvalko — The Skyview quarterback was efficient and nearly flawless. He was 9 of 10 for 131 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, connecting with seven different receivers. He finished 10 for 13 for 148 yards after sitting out most of the second half.
Quotable
“Those guys work so hard in practice and get beat up on the scout team. When they get to play in a real game, it’s a team morale builder.” — Skyview coach Steve Kizer on getting backup players into the game.
