Like a bolt of lightning, Skyline’s Gino Simone broke through a wall of Lake Washington tacklers and shot up the right sideline, returning the opening kickoff for a 93-yard touchdown.
The quick strike was the senior’s second career kickoff return for a touchdown and one of four first-quarter scores that led the Spartans to a 55-0 victory over the Kangaroos last Friday.
“Any time you can start the game and set a tone like that, it’s a big deal,” Simone said.
Skyline’s defense played a key role in setting up the early points, forcing three consecutive Lake Washington punt attempts in the first quarter. Two of the snaps to punter Eric Folkers were botched and covered up deep in Kangaroo territory. Spartan quarterback Jake Heaps, who was 7-for-8 on first-quarter pass attempts, converted the mistakes into quick points with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jake Knecht and a 31-yard strike to Kasen Williams. Lake Washington’s one successful punt was also turned into quick points. Starting at the Spartan 26, Heaps connected on two passes, before lobbing a perfect ball down the left sideline to a wide open Simone down for a 49-yard TD.
“He did exactly what we asked him to do,” said Skyline head coach Mat Taylor of Heaps. “They put seven guys in the box, and we only have one resort. That’s to throw the football.”
Skyline blocked two punts in the second quarter and had interceptions from William Chandler and Jack Carlson. Spartan kicker Brian Schwartz added his first two field goals of the season, hitting from 22 and 29 yards, and helping Skyline to a 34-0 halftime advantage.
The Spartans got two more offensive touchdowns in the second half, one on a 35-yard run from Joey Evans and another on a 1-yard run from Kai Jandoc. Skyline pushed its streak of games with defensive touchdowns to three when Matt Trueblood returned a fourth-quarter fumble 22 yards for a score.
“Coach (Chad) Barrett has got these guys dialed in,” Taylor said, of the defense. “He does such a great job on defense and getting the kids disciplined and understanding their assignments and really taking away what the other teams do well.”
Friday’s win marked the second shutout of the season for the Spartans, who have outscored opponents 132-6.
“We take a lot of pride in that,” Simone said of the shutout. “Not just our first team, but our second team because they have to hold it all the way through.”
Rob Tramonte led the defense with six and a half tackles, including three for loss and one sack. Michael Abboud added five and a half tackles.
Heaps, who didn’t play the majority of the second half, finished 9 for 15 passing for 133 yards, three TDs and had his first interception of the season. Evans had five rushes for 47 yards and one TD.
Skyline improved to 3-0 in non-league play with the victory. The Spartans kick the league season off at 7 p.m. today at Newport.
Skyline at Newport
Kickoff: 7 p.m. tonight
Quick look: The young Newport Knights are 2-1 with non-league wins over Mercer Island and Ballard. Newport relies heavily on the run, behind senior Ian Case, who has more than 300 yards rushing and seven TDs.
Prediction: Newport has gotten off to slow starts, allowing 40 first-quarter points in three games. Skyline has scored 69 first quarter points this season. Expect another quick start. Final score: 45-7 Skyline.
