Senior captain Jase Butorac turned to his Skyline teammates following Thursday’s 25-20 loss to Bothell and let out a frustrated yell.
“We’ve learned the hard way twice now,” he said, referring to an earlier loss to Oaks Christian. “Come Monday things are going to be different.”
The nationally-ranked Spartans, who were vying for their second straight KingCo 4A title and a No. 1 seed in the state qualifying round of the 4A playoffs, were left stunned — in large part because of their season-high four turnovers.
There was one miscue, however, that weighed heavy on the mind of Skyline quarterback Jake Heaps after the loss. Driving deep into Bothell territory, with a 20-19 lead, and 6:24 left in the contest, Heaps bobbled a snap on first down, and turned it over at the Cougar 28.
“I take full responsibility of what happened tonight,” Heaps said. “There’s really no excuse for that. You can say there are a lot of different situations, but we had that game, we had that moment, and until I had that mistake, it looked like we were going to win that ball game.”
Bothell answered on its ensuing possession, driving the ball 72 yards on 15 plays. Running back Luke Proulx capped a 5 minute, 20 second series off, taking a handoff left for a 5-yard touchdown.
After fielding the kickoff at its own 35, Skyline had 1:02 to try and win. A series of mishaps, however, including a fumble, a false start, and one last heave from Heaps, fell short.
“That last play, he throws it off his back foot and luckily we had some guys back there, luckily it was a 4th and 24 play,” Bothell head coach Tom Bainter said.
While Heaps’ fourth-quarter fumble might have led to Skyline’s demise, it was early mistakes that got the Spartans in trouble. A first-quarter fumble from running back Nick Beauchamp at the Skyline 19 bit the Spartans just moments later when Cougar quarterback Mitchell Muller found Michael Hartvigson for a 16-yard TD pass. The score put Bothell up 13-0 with 2:24 left in the quarter. Muller found Proulx on a 70-yard screen pass for a TD earlier in the game.
Skyline’s potent offense finally struck with 9 seconds remaining in the first half when Heaps found a leaping Kasen Williams in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard TD. The score capped 16-play, 96-yard drive that started after Skyline forced a Bothell fumble inside the Spartan 5.
Skyline took its first lead at the 1:38 mark of the third quarter, 14-13, when Heaps found a wide open tight end Cooper Pelluer for a 22-yard TD.
Like a pair of prize fighters, Bothell countered on the first play of the fourth quarter when Muller connected with John Sullivan 46-yard slant for a TD, and a 19-14 advantage.
Heaps, who finished the game completing 19 of 34 passes for 229 yards, found Pelluer again for an 11-yard TD and a 20-19 lead with 8:28 left in the contest.
The Spartans out-gained the Cougars 341 to 297 yards. They also forced Bothell into four turnovers, including three interceptions.
“I loved our effort, just like the Oaks Christian game,” Skyline head coach Mat Taylor said. “Our kids are warriors, but we’ve got to get some things figured out.”
Bothell improved to 9-0 with the victory. They will host the No. 3 WesCo North team next week in the qualifying round of state.
“This is what this team has done since the spring,” Bainter said. “They just get better every day.”
Skyline fell to 7-2 overall, earning the KingCo 4A No. 2 seed. They will host the No. 3 team from the South Puget Sound League North (Federal Way or Kentridge) next week in the state-qualifying round of the 4A playoffs.
“We’re going to come back and we’re going to practice harder than we ever have, we’re going to want it more than we ever have,” Heaps said. “I think you’ll see the true Skyline team — like we have been the past few years.”
