Gonzaga Prep Captures 4A Crown in Convincing Fashion
By Steve Dion

In a classic battle of east against west, the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups traveled 300 miles over the mountains to take on the Skyline Spartans from the Sammamish Plateau. Sparty was fresh off a shootout at the Tacoma Dome a week ago against Lake Stevens which tested them from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. They busted through the gauntlet that was the bottom half of the 4A bracket taking down Gig Harbor, Camas, and the Vikings. The Bullpups used their staunch defense and efficient offensive attack to navigate to the title game including a grinder in the Tri Cities during semifinal week against the Richland Bombers. A packed Woodshed was set to close out a fantastic Gridiron Classic.

The first few minutes featured a pair of turnovers when an early Bullpup drive ended with a fumble into the Spartan endzone; a big momentum swing that erased what was nearly a quick 7-0 lead. However, the second play from scrimmage following the fumble was picked off by the Pups giving them the ball back in good field position. Later in the first, GPrep struck when Coach McKenna’s trickery caught the Spartans off guard, a double reverse to Devin Culp who glide to the goal line. On the ensuing kickoff, Conor McKenna knocked the ball loose from the Skyline kick returner to give his team the ball back in great scoring position. They walked away with three points off the foot of Jared Kutsch. Skyline’s enemic offense continued throughout the first half as they were limited to 102 total yards; the Bullpups had 358 in the same time frame. Before the teams entered halftime, Culp busted loose for a 59 yard rumble to the endzone. Also, the big running back/defensive end combo Evan Weaver capped off a late Bullpup drive to punch it in from a yard out. Many knew Gonzaga Prep had a tough defense, but limiting Skyline to three points in the first two quarters drove that point home on the biggest stage.

Trailing by three touchdowns entering the second half, Mat Taylor needed to rally the troops and craft a gameplan to score quickly before a comeback was out of reach. After failing to move the ball into Bullpup territory on their first drive, SHS caught a break by forcing a fumble after they punted. Unfortunately, they turned it right back over on the next play. The ball must have been covered in butter because Skyline forced another turnover two plays later. In 45 second and five plays, there were 3 fumbles! The Spartans took advantage of their gift by setting up Jake Pendergrast for a quick slant route for a touchdown. The Spartans were very much alive!

In a series that put a stamp on the contest, Gonzaga Prep drove down the field on a 15 play, 80 yard drive that culminated in a Weaver touchdown to put the Pups up 31-9. Skyline would find paydirt only one more time in the game; a fantastic one-handed grab by Danny Sinatro (see highlight video above). However, this was not enough to overcome the massive lead the Bullpups built early on. When the dust settled, GPHS outrushed their counterpart by 500 yards! Additionally, they dominated the time of possession game by controlling the ball over twice as long as Skyline. A stellar defensive effort by Gonzaga Prep neutralized Skyline’s running attack to only 22 yards. In his postgame comments, Coach McKenna said, “We faced adversity all year long, so when we had to travel over here against a great Skyline team, our kids came out firing.” The 4A crown will head east for until the first week of December in 2016!

The Final Score:
Gonzaga Prep 34, Skyline 16
Top Performer

Gonzaga Prep
Evan Weaver- 24 rush, 133 yards, 2 TDs
Devin Culp- 4 rush, 79 yards, 2 TDs

Skyline
Jake Pendergast- 9 rec, 98 yards, TD