When Riley Artis removes his helmet, a flashy hairstyle emerges that complements his wide smile.
“I like to be different,” the Skyview High senior receiver said.
That can be said for his play on the field, too, such as in the Storm’s 21-7 nonleague football victory Friday over Bothell in a battle of two top-10 teams in Class 4A. The senior’s 122 yards on four catches and two touchdowns all came in the second half, as the Storm scored 21 unanswered points to move to 3-0.
“We’re a bunch of dogs,” Artis said. “When we faced adversity, we took care of business. At the end of the day, we started slow, so there’s always room for improvement.”
By the time the Storm student section ran onto the field to celebrate with a postgame serenade, almost all was forgotten of a scoreless first half that wasn’t the cleanest half on offense for Skyview. It had four fumbles (lost two) and also had an 18-play scoring drive that ended with a turnover on downs at the Bothell 21.
Good thing there’s 48 minutes in a high school football game.
Through 12 quarters of football this season, Skyview’s defense has allowed just one touchdown. It came Friday when Cole Brooke capped a 7-minute scoring drive with a 4-yard touchdown run that gave Bothell a 7-0 lead with 4:52 left in the third quarter. A roughing the kicker penalty by Skyview on a Bothell 25-yard field-goal attempt gave Bothell an automatic first down, leading to the Brooke touchdown three plays later.
From there, Skyview went to work — on offense and defense.
“It took a lot,” defensive back Cameron Crooks said. “We all had to work together.”
Quarterback Jake Kennedy finished 18 of 24 for 243 yards and two touchdowns — both to Artis. He hit Artis for a 6-yard strike that tied the game at 7-all (set up four plays earlier with a Kennedy 44-yard run) and a 77-yarder over the middle for a catch and sprint to the end zone for the 21-7 lead with 8:41 to play that gave Skyview some breathing room.
Don’t forget about the defense. Skyview has now reached double digits in defensive takeaways through three games behind interceptions from Micah Robison and Crooks, plus a fumble recovery by Crooks immediately following Artis’ second touchdown.
“We’ve been working really hard and trying to be perfect,” Crooks said. “We still have a long way to go.
Skyview has outscored its three opponents 98-7 in three victories — all at home at the friendly turf at Kiggins Bowl. In fact, Friday was the final home game for Skyview until Oct. 20 when it hosts Battle Ground in the second-to-final regular-season game. Skyview starts a four-game road trip next week at Kamiak.
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SKYVIEW 21, BOTHELL 7
Both 0 0 7 0 – 7
Sky 0 0 7 14 – 21
Third quarter
B – Cole Brooke 4 run (Diego Palmoera Curiel kick)
S – Riley Artis 6 pass from Jake Kennedy (Ethan McClinton kick)
Fourth quarter
S – Trey Jacob 1 run (McClinton kick)
S – Artis 77 pass from Kennedy (McClinton kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Bothell: Cole Brooke 16-78, Jaylen Viars 4-2, Soren Block 2-14, Tyson Brown 2-2; Skyview: Jacob 17-74, Kennedy 10-67, Eric Botnen 1-3.
Passing — Bothell: Viars 6-12-1-71; Skyview — Jake Kennedy 16-22-0-253.
Receiving — Bothell: Brooke 1-3, Eliandry Olmo Ozun 1-7, Brown 2-45, Mingo Lemley 1-3, Calen Dunnett 1-13; Skyview: Jerrid Secor 2-15, Gavin Poffenroth 4-49, Jacob 3-25, Gavin Packer 5-42, Artis 4-122.
