Liberty’s Tynan Gilmore shows heart in final conference games
October 30, 2012
Tynan Gilmore, Liberty High School senior quarterback, drags a Mount Si senior defensive back into the end zone with his fourth-quarter punt return Oct. 26. By Greg Farrar
Though the Liberty High School Patriots lost to Mount Si, 35-7, on Oct. 26, to put their record at 3-6, it might be the best team Steve Valach has coached in his 14 years with Liberty.
“I tell you what,” he said. “If all my teams had the heart and courage of this year’s team, I’d coach until I was 100 years old.”
This was a rough season for the Patriots. Two seniors who might have had a shot as football scholarships decided to not even play this year, according to Valach.
The team has been rife with injuries. On Oct. 26, only 30 players suited up. The week before was even worse — 25.
But one of those injuries, a season-ending concussion for the Patriots’ starting quarterback, put one kid in the spotlight that no one in their right mind would want to be.
Issaquah football team heads into playoffs after 20-13 win
October 30, 2012
The Woodinville Falcons came swooping into Gary Moore Stadium on Oct. 26 and nearly ended the Issaquah High School football squad’s 2012 postseason dreams before they began.
Thanks to a suddenly stingy Issaquah defense and Issaquah’s skilled field goal kicker Alex Shane, Issaquah rallied back from a 13-7 halftime deficit and pulled out a 20-13 triumph, to advance to the 32-team KingCo 4A state playoffs.
For Issaquah, the first tournament hurdle will come against a 9-0 Federal Way team out of the South Puget Sound League 4A, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at Federal Way Stadium.
Skyline Spartans blank Issaquah Eagles, 21-0, in battle of rivals
October 23, 2012
Jack Gellatly (5), Issaquah High School junior running back, is shaken up by a late hit from Skyline’s Blake Young (left) while being pulled down by the jersey by Jack Valencia during the third quarter.By Greg Farrar
When you are the No. 1 4A high school football team in the state, used to winning games by 30-point margins, you are able to overcome just about every form of adversity, even if it’s in your imagination.
Nationally ranked Skyline High School Spartans senior quarterback Max Browne experienced a lackluster first half by his undefeated 8-0 Skyline football squad Oct. 19, when it hosted the Issaquah Eagles in a battle for local bragging rights. The game ended in a 21-0, Skyline victory.
Browne did not like the spectacle that unfolded during a mediocre 24 minutes of Spartans’ football in the first half of the annual Issaquah School District rivalry, which saw Skyline holding a scant 7-0 advantage at intermission.
Normally Browne, who leads the KingCo 4A in passing with a 75 percent completion rating and has flung nearly 20 touchdowns this year, lets his actions furnish the inspiration to fire up the troops.
Liberty Patriots fail to stop Bellevue Wolverines
October 23, 2012
It was Liberty High School’s turn to face the juggernaut that is Wolverine football when the Patriots went on the road to play Bellevue on Oct. 19.
While the Patriots fell to Bellevue, 49-11, they were the first team in the state to put up more than 10 points on the Wolverines this season, behind a Josh Johnson field goal and a score by Tynan Gilmore, as well as a 2-point conversion.
Heading into the game, the team knew it was a tough test, going up against a Bellevue team that is ranked among the best in the nation, Liberty coach Steve Valach said.
Liberty football team loses defensive battle to Mercer Island
October 16, 2012
There wasn’t much offense between the Liberty High School football team and Mercer Island when the two battled Oct. 12.
Both teams were able to move the ball, but getting it into the end zone wasn’t so easy, Liberty coach Steve Valach said.
“It wasn’t like there was no offense at all,” he said. “There was some movement of the ball, but then both sides kept getting shutdown and having to punt it or turning it over.”
Ultimately, Mercer Island was the only one to reach the end zone as Liberty fell to the Islanders, 7-3.
Issaquah High School football team rolls over Ballard, 49-28
October 16, 2012
The Issaquah High School had its hands full with a feisty Ballard bunch Oct. 12 before a large Homecoming throng of maniacal yet appreciative Issaquah followers.
After a rocky start, the Eagles took command in the encounter and prevailed, 49-28, over the Beavers, behind the relentless ball-carrying skills of Eagles’ junior tailback Jack Gellatly, who would go on to notch four rushing touchdowns to add to the 10 he had already gleaned before the encounter with the Beavers.
The north-south running stylings of Gellatly undoubtedly spearheaded the fourth Eagles’ triumph of 2012 to give Issaquah a 3-3 league mark and a 4-3 accounting on the year so far, virtually assuring a play-off crossover appointment, probably with 3-0, 6-1 Woodinville (of the KingCo 4A Crest Division).
Issaquah wisely elected to mix a little aerial attack in with its first-half offensive scheme, to keep the Beavers perplexed, guessing and on their heels from the opening kick-off.
Skyline football juggernaut steamrolls Ballard
October 9, 2012
The stars appeared to be in perfect alignment for most of the Issaquah School District’s KingCo football squads last weekend, as Skyline and Liberty won handily Oct. 5. The next night, Issaquah’s Eagles traveled to Memorial Stadium in Seattle to take on Garfield, where they overwhelmed the Bulldogs, 40-0.
Skyline kept its league accounting to an untarnished 3-0, when it hosted Ballard on Oct. 5, demoralizing the visitors, 64-17, to stay abreast of undefeated nemesis Newport in the league standings.
The lopsided triumph over Ballard also elevated the Spartans’ overall record to an unblemished 6-0 as they continued to humiliate their adversaries, as they had in the previous five outings. Skyline is currently averaging a formidable 58 points per contest, while relinquishing one-third that many points to its “competition.”
Liberty High School Patriots pound Sammamish Totems
October 9, 2012
Scott Dean (right), Liberty High School senior defensive back, picks up a block from teammate Max Hill on Sammamish junior quarterback Allen Terrence, who threw the interception to Dean for his 65-yard touchdown as time expired at the half. By Greg Farrar
Coming off of two straight losses and with an injury list that grew longer by the minute, nothing had been easy for the Liberty High School football team.
Still, the Patriots continued to persevere and put in the work during practice, Liberty coach Steve Valach said.
On Oct. 5, the hard work paid off as a determined Liberty team knocked off Sammamish, 50-7, to bring their record to an even 3-3.
The Patriots had the game in hand by the end of the first quarter, when Liberty put up 36 points behind a strong rushing attack.
Tynan Gilmore put Liberty on the board first with a 26-yard rushing touchdown. On Liberty’s next possession, he did it again with a 22-yard score.
Roosevelt trims Issaquah, 21-17, before record crowd
October 2, 2012
The defensive line for Issaquah High School stops Roosevelt junior running back Lianteo Culpepper for no gain on fourth-and-two at the Eagles’ 33 yard line and takes the ball over on downs during the third quarter. By Greg Farrar
The theme of the night was music Sept. 28 when Roosevelt visited the Eagles’ Nest as a record throng of 2,100 fans packed Issaquah High School’s Gary Moore Stadium and was not only treated to a rare appearance by the University of Washington marching band, but also witnessed a nailbiting KingCo 4A encounter in which the Roughriders eventually prevailed, 21-17.
Skyline runs away with home opener against Garfield
October 2, 2012
Skyline High School’s Andrew Giese receives a pass from Max Browne in the first quarter against Garfield on Sept. 28.
Twelve minutes into Skyline’s first home football game Sept. 28, it was clear who would be the victor.
The first quarter was awash in touchdowns and none of them belonged to Garfield. The Skyline High School Spartans went to work right away with Sam Mix, on the punt return, running the ball to Garfield’s 35-yard line. Four plays later, the Spartans had their first touchdown, thanks to Cedric Cooper, who made a successful run for the end zone. Skyline finished it up with a 2-point conversion by kicker Sean McDonald.
Giving up zero turnovers, Skyline continued to score. Peyton Pelluer recovered Garfield’s fumble and ran it over the line; McDonald secured the extra point.
