From the start, everything was going Skyline’s way.

On the opening kickoff, the Ballard Beavers tried an onside kick to get the momentum in the favor and get them even the smallest of psychological advantages on the state-favorite Skyline Spartans. After letting the ball roll nine yards (they are eligible to pick it up and take possession after ten), a Beaver jumped on it, officially giving the ball to the Spartans at about midfield.

After that, Skyline laid it to its opponent. On the first offensive play of the game, junior quarterback Jake Heaps aligned with senior WSU-commit Gino Simone for a fifty-plus yard touchdown. Skyline’s #1 Simone simply outran his opponent — who also happened to be wearing #1 — and scored with plenty of room to spare. The crowd was electric, and so was the scoreboard, as the team would score seven more times over the course of the game.

A good next offensive series put the ball in the redzone, where halfback Joey Evans scored on a run play from ten yards out, giving the Spartans a two-score lead that wouldn’t be challenged. Though Evans was held scoreless for the rest of the two quarters he played (starters were pulled before halftime after the team accumulated a 49-point lead), the effort was a solid one following a stud-like performance in Portland against Sheldon.

A series of miscues would lead to Ballard’s demise. Bad snaps were as common as barren trees in winter, and Beaver fumbles would be the catalyst behind at least 21 Skyline points in the first half. Often times from the stands it would look as if some evil, invisible force was in control of the ball, as it seemed to stray from the Beaver players more often than a young child from its mother at a supermarket.

Senior outside linebacker Ryan Somers ran the first fumble 17 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, then Peter Kim would recover an untouched ball in the opponents endzone for a touchdown in the second. Senior special teamer and receiver Jake Knecht was also responsible for tipping a punt deep in Ballard territory which would lead to another seven points.

On the topic of special teams, the Spartans looked phenomenal kicking and punting the ball. Senior kicker Brian Schwartz was lights-out on extra points, knocking through all eight after perfect snaps from Trueblood. The kickoffs, too, were fantastic as junior kickoff specialist Sean Penberthy boomed several into the five yard-line, and one about five yards into the endzone.

As opposed to last week, the emphasis of today’s game came in the air; not on the ground. Though Evans had a decent day, the receivers shone through. Simone grabbed two touchdown balls and put together a nice evening, and William Chandler also made an endzone catch. The most notable player, though, was sophomore Kasen Williams, who used his ultra-soft hands to field two fourth down catches and one near-impossible first down play.

The second half of the game, where Skyline succeeded last week, was mediocre versus Ballard. Then again, the entire second-string team was on the field. Though the team made a valiant stop against a driving Beavers squad in the redzone, nothing in particular stands out. By this time, people weren’t in it for the football — they were, not surprisingly, in it for the social scene.

Everything just seemed to be going in the home team’s favor. Not only did the Spartans play well, they took advantage of inevitable Ballard mistakes. When the first team is taken out of a regular season game within the first half, you know it is a good sign.

I have very few questions about the game. Where some were left a little uneasy about the passing game last week, all of that seems to have been answered. My biggest dilemma: why the heck were the referees using blue penalty flags?

Correction
My question has been answered about the blue flags, partially with the help of anonymous, partially with the help of The Seattle Times’ Tom Wyrwich.