Walking out of the Tacoma Dome on November 30, 2007, it wouldn’t be hard to hold optimism for the following year. Two of the game’s stars, quarterback Jake Heaps and wide receiver Kasen Williams, have multiple seasons left in the green and white.
The biggest problem the following year are the most forgettable players: the linemen. The offensive line will be losing much of their beef, including leader Nathaniel Willingham and Boise State recruit Tom Swanson.
And the next most forgettable: the defensive backfield, who will be losing a safety (Chavez) and two elite cornerbacks (Lusuegro and Gottschalk). The team will be losing a lot of the experience it has gained in the past two seasons.
But the biggest problem for Skyline fans might not be the roster, but the schedule itself.
By moving up to the KingCo 4A division, many of the annual competitors will not stand in Skyline’s way. That might be a blessing for the playoff dreams, but it certainly takes away from the romantic’s view of another season like we had in 2007. There won’t be a showdown versus Bellevue, nor will there be a playoff matchup versus Kennedy, or O’Dea.
In place of the Wolverines, the Redmond Mustangs, the Eastlake Wolverines, and the Garfield… whatever they are. Not exactly a hard-hitting competitor for the state strength of schedule title. Oh and did I forget Ballard. The only carry-overs, Issaquah High School and Newport. As much as I would doubt this team going undefeated in the KingCo 3A season schedule, Skyline might go lossless into the playoffs.
Many of the students that attend Skyline games are not there primarily for the football. They are there for the atmosphere, for the Friday night occasion, for the chance to show school pride. As disappointed as fans were after the 2006 Forget The Record season, this job was still completed.
And the atmosphere hit all-time highs in the 2007 season. I have never been at a game like the first of this past season at Bellevue High School. The tension of the final minutes, the collective wish for a better year, the defeat of the defending state champion. It was awesome.
Or the Lakes game. The midday battle of one versus two, the hometown Schmidtke connection, the second (but first true) playoff game; all the contributing factors to a tremendous crowd vibe were there. The chances of that happening in 2008 are minimal.
Maybe a rivalry will develop with Eastlake, but in reality, we don’t care. “The 228th Tangle” is unlikely. The only hope is Issaquah, which seems forced anyway.
There won’t be a “Friday Night Lights” or “Rudy” story this season. But, undoubtedly many would be willing to trade that in for another playoff run, which would be less-stable in the team’s former division.
Comments
I don’t know Bill, Bothell Eastlake and Issaquah are three good teams and good rivals. I don’t know whether or not you attended most of the games in 2004 and 2005, but the atmosphere against Eastlake was just as electric as the Bellevue game has ever been. And I would also argue that Issaquah has been a bigger rival over the last ten years. (they’ve been closer in skill whereas Bellevue has normally been pretty dominant against Skyline). Plus I think Kingco 4a will be significantly more difficult than Kingco 3a. While 3a may still have Bellevue, after that the talent drops off significantly. Newport Skyline and Issaquah and Bellevue, have always been the 4 best KingCo 3a teams.Unless you think Mt. Si and Liberty are gunna step up in a big way KingCo 3a should be very weak. In 4a on the other hand, Skyline, Issaquah, Bothell, Eastlake and Redmond are all getting very strong consideration as top 10 teams. Competition should be stiff. Even teams such as Garfield boast amazing talents such as Deandre Coleman who help level the playing field. Once the playoffs hit we also have the chance to go toe to toe with annual powerhouses such as Ferris, Lake Mead, Pasco and Edmonds-Woodway. Overall games should be more competitive as a whole. As far as the line Rob Tramonte, Jayce Butorac, and Grant Engel are considered 3 of the best lineman in the state. Our O-Line is widely considered the biggest, strongest and most athletic in the state. I do agree that the secondary is a worry, but Simone returns, Williams should prove an effective safety, Knecht adds depth and apparently Jon “The Showstopper” Davidson has been quite dominant during preseason (We’ll see how it transfers into regular season). Overall I think we see a more talented team in a far superior division. Just my opinion
Disagree with you bill. kingco 3a will be weak this year with only bellevue and not enough teams to even fill out a schedule without 3 non conference games. rivalry games with both issaquah and eastlake in one year has never been seen. also a conference championship game between the crown and crest divisions of kingco will prove to be crazy. last a game vs sheldon in oregon is an event that has never before been seen. skyline has never been able to play a team from a different state and that will be exciting as any game we have been involved in of late. and our line is great dont be dumb
haha Forget The Record, thats a good one i havent heard
I think nothing beats the meat like the loss of me in the student section. And Keegan at K-Fit. Also skyline lost Michael Clark who was a very big threat for other teams.