Browne's Six TD's Help Skyline Avoid Upset Against Jackson

For two-and-a-half quarters against Jackson, looked lost and like it might be headed for the programs' biggest upset loss in recent memory.

But, just like it has during much of its four-game winning streak, Skyline turned it on in the second half to come away with a homecoming victory.

Max Browne threw six touchdown passes and the Spartans scored the final 28 points of the game to overcome Jackson 49-24 in a non-league matchup on Friday night at Skyline High School in Sammamish.

Skyline (5-2) had to overcome a record-setting night from Jackson quarterback Sam Brown, who threw for 486 yards in the loss.

"Skyline just wore us down," Jackson (4-3) head coach Joel Vincent said. "We're not as deep and we got worn down."

After entering halftime tied at 21, Jackson took a 24-21 lead early in the third quarter on a Trevor Hodge 41-yard field goal. The lead would be short lived and it would turn out to be the final points the Timberwolves would score, as Skyline would score touchdowns on its next four possessions to turn a close game into a blowout.

"We were kind of beating ourselves out there," Browne said. "We knew we needed to fix our mistakes on defense, but on offense too. We didn't really change much, just kind of went with our game plan and it went well."

The two teams combined for over 1,000 yards of offense, but perhaps the biggest play was on defense. Jackson was still in the game, trailing 35-24 late in the third quarter when it got inside the Skyline 20-yard line. But Brown's attempted pass bounced off John-Robert Wooley's hands and Nick Sblendorio made a diving interception at the 8-yard line to help the Spartans keep their double-digit lead.

Browne then dug Skyline out of a third-and-21 hole on its ensuing drive, hitting Andrew Giese with a 42-yard completion. Browne completed three straight passes for 90 yards on the drive, culminating with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Matt Sinatro to push the game out of reach. Browne finished 19 of 25 with 336 yards and six touchdown passes.

The win was the fourth in a row for Skyline after starting the season 1-2. The fourth-ranked Spartans have made a habit of pulling away in the third quarter of games this year, a trend Browne said the team is hoping to fix.

"It's probably not a good thing, we'd like to start out fast," Browne said.

Perhaps the most crucial players for the Spartans in the win combined for only 18 touches in the game. Running back Damian Greene rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries and wide receiver Taggart Krueger caught four passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns. Taggart had three 39-yard-plus receptions, all seemingly when the Skyline offense was struggling.

"He's big," Browne said of the 6'2" Krueger. "He's a guy who's busted his butt all offseason, it's good to see him succeed. He had great catches, great runs, it's big for us. Especially going forward, he's a big receiver for us."

Skyline took an early 14-0 lead in the game, only to see Jackson outscore it 21-7 the rest of the half. Brown, who finished 34 of 50 with 486 yards and a touchdown, was a big reason for the comeback, completing 19 of 27 passes for 314 yards in the first half alone. Brown tortured the Skyline defense all night with short passes mixed in with deep bombs that had the Spartans off-balance until the fourth quarter.

"That's a school record," Vincent said. "And we've had pretty good quarterbacks over the years. Sam can flat throw it."

Skyline has now won four in a row heading into its KingCo-deciding game with next week. Eastlake is 7-0 on the season after defeating Issaquah on Friday night.

Notes: Jackson receiver Andrew Dodd caught 12 passes for 263 yards...Jackson lineman Christine Enriquiez suffered a lower leg injury in the first half that his coach said "appears season-ending." The game was delayed for 20 minutes as Enriquiez was taken off on a backboard...Jackson scored a touchdown on the final play of the first half after Skyline was called for pass interference in the end zone. The two teams combined for 10 penalties in the first half.