Skyline more determined than ever | Football preview

There’s no question.

It stung for Skyline when its hopes of a fourth consecutive state football title were crushed by Ferris in last year’s 4A championship.

But the Spartans wasted no time hanging their heads.

“For the first time ever, we started up in January,” said Skyline head coach Mat Taylor, noting optional workouts normally get going in March. “In the evening you saw kids who were basketball players come in after practice and work out with the (football) team.”

All that off-season work, matched with summer team camps and skills tournaments has Taylor feeling strong about the 2011 squad.

“I really like the team chemistry that we have right now,” he said. “They get along really well together. At team camp a lot of the coaches commented it’s the most fun they’ve had with a group of kids.”

The centerpiece of this year’s group of returners is quarterback Max Browne. The 6-foot-5, 196-pound junior is coming off a season where he completed 294 of 432 passes for 4,182 yards, 50 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Browne has already received five offers from major Division I college programs, including Washington, California, Wisconsin, Utah and Clemson.

“I would say our biggest strength right now is obviously having a quarterback back like Max,” Taylor said. “It’s a similar thing that we had with Jake (Heaps) where we have a kid back who got to play 14 games.”

With the graduation of Kasen Williams, a wide receiver regarded by several national publications last year as the best in the nation, Browne lost an obvious target.

Taylor doesn’t see that being an issue.

“Our depth at wide receiver is the best it’s been,” he said.

Nic Sblendorio returns to the team after an impressive sophomore season where he caught 38 passes for 380 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for one.

Senior Mason Gregory backed up Williams last season and presents a large target at 6-5, 210. Seniors Taggart Kreuger (6-2) and Jon deVita (6-5) also provide size, while Trevor Barney, Matt Sinatro and Andrew Giese will line up in the slot.

The Spartans will also be deep at running back, prompting Taylor to suggest his team might look a little different on offense this season.

“We’re not going to do what we did last year, we’re going to do some things different,” he said.

Speedy seniors Damien Greene and Connor Gilchrist, along with juniors Jack Valencia and Chase Premone will all see time in the backfield.

Skyline returns three of its five offensive lineman from last year in seniors Ben Vavra, Joe Beattie and Austin Owen.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Spartans will be led by junior middle linebacker Peyton Pelluer. He had 176 tackles in his sophomore campaign.

Senior Jake Monroe and juniors Peter Stromgren, Devin Benford and Blake Young will also anchor the middle of the field. Senior Adan Lopez, Sblendorio, Krueger and Gregory will play safety, while Greene, Gilchrist, Barney and Premone will play corner.

“We’ve got some really good depth and speed,” Taylor said.

As usual, Skyline will be team everyone is gunning for in the KingCo Crest. But, Taylor likes his chances of competing for the league title and returning to state with the group he brings to the field.

“More and more every year kids are seeing it’s much more important than individual performance,” he said. “It’s about protecting the tradition of Skyline football.”