It appeared the magic Skyline fans and players have become accustomed to the last two seasons – including a 21-point comeback against O’Dea to win the 2007 3A state championship, and 16-12 come-from-behind victory over Bothell in the 2008 KingCo title game – was going to reappear Friday night.

Instead of completing another Hollywood-like ending, the Spartans experienced something they haven’t in 30 games — a 28-25 loss to California powerhouse Oaks Christian.

“We felt that this game was going to be decided in the fourth quarter … and it almost worked out like that,” Spartan head coach Mat Taylor said.

Trailing 28-17 with just over 5 minutes remaining, the Spartans faced what seemed like the impossible.

But as opponents have learned the last two seasons, there’s no counting Skyline out — no matter what the circumstance.

Michael Ford’s interception of University of Washington-bound quarterback Nick Montana with 5:24 left on the clock set Skyline up at the Oaks Christian 47 yard line. Six plays later, senior running back Nick Washburn powered his way into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion pass from quarterback Jake Heaps to Kasen Williams cut the score to 28-25 with 3:31 left.

The Spartan defense then responded, forcing the Lions to punt on their next possession.

With the ball at their own 23 and 1:56 remaining, the stage was set for the dramatic. Heaps, who had never lost a varsity game, worked his Spartans down the field with ease, completing passes of 17 and 23 yards.

That’s when a silence of disbelief spread over the dozens of players in green, and the thousands of white-clad fans in the stands.

Dropping back from the Oaks Christian 30-yard line, Heaps was blindsided by defender Austin Carey just as he released the ball. The pass wobbled from the future BYU quarterback’s hands directly into the arms of defensive back Max Napolitano, sealing the defeat with just over a minute to go.

“We’re not a team that’s going to give up, we’re not a team that’s going to back down,” said Heaps, who came down with a case of the flu Thursday night. “We’re going to claw and fight all the way through. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at the end of the game, and it was costly.”

The interception resulted in the first Skyline loss since Nov. 3, 2006, and first home loss since Oct. 13, 2006.

“It’s not the end of the world, and we’re going to get better and these kids are going to be motivated,” Taylor said.

The game certainly didn’t get off to the start Skyline had hoped. The Spartans, who punted on the game’s first possession, allowed the Lions to march 48 yards on five plays, scoring on a 12-yard TD pass from Montana to Trey Smith.

It was the first varsity TD for Smith, who had a team-high 10 catches for 83 yards.

“I just came from JV, so me and Nick don’t really have that great of a connection, but we’re building our relationship,” said Smith, the son of actor Will Smith, who watched his son from the Oaks Christian sideline.

On the Spartans’ next possession Heaps, who finished the game 12 for 30 with 241 yards passing, threw his first of three interceptions. Two plays later Montana, who finished 21 for 33 with 259 yards, found tight end Alani Fua for a 24-yard TD. The score gave Oaks Christian a 14-0 lead at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter.

“We started out in a groove,” Montana said. “Our offense was moving. It’s all about big plays and we had guys making big plays tonight.”

Skyline finally found an answer in the second quarter. Heaps completed a short out to Williams, who broke free up the left sideline, then cut back toward the middle of the field breaking tackles. He was stripped of the ball near the 20, but chased it into the end zone, recovering it for a touchdown. After forcing Oaks to punt on its next possession, Skyline struck quickly again, when Heaps found Williams on a 38-yard bomb to the right front corner of the end zone.

The Spartans took their first and only lead of the game at the 4:25 mark of the second quarter when Sean Penberthy connected on a 30-yard field goal, for a 17-14 lead. Montana rallied his team before the half, however, going 80 yards on a five-plays, capping off the drive with a 25-yard TD pass to Fua. Running back Malcom Jones, who will attend either UCLA or Stanford gave the Lions a 28-17 advantage, breaking free for a 48-yard TD on the first play of the fourth quarter. He ended the game with 18 carries for 83 yards.

Washburn had a game-high 20 carries for 85 yards, while Williams led all receivers with five catches for 157 yards.

The win was significant an Oaks Christian team, ranked sixth in the nation by ESPN RISE. They needed the victory to improve their chances of getting an invitation to a California Division II state title game.

“It was a lot of fun to come out and play the ninth-ranked team in the nation and win that,” Lion coach Bill Redell said. “We get criticized by people saying we don’t play anyone. Now they’ll probably say Skyline isn’t any good, but that’s a bunch of baloney.”

On the other hand, suffering a tough loss in front of a national audience on ESPNU has the Spartans eager to take the field next Friday against league opponent Newport where they hope to start a new win streak.

“We don’t feel want to feel this anger again,” Williams said. “We don’t want to be in this position ever again, so what we’re going to do now is go back to the drawing board and we’re going to figure things out and get ready for next week.”

Reporter Joel Willits contributed to this story