Amid the celebratory chants, cheers and overall craziness, Steve Kizer, at 65 years young, took a deep breath after his team’s epic come-from-behind victory over Graham-Kapowsin and said, with a smile, “I’m wondering if we used up all our good-luck charm.”
The thing is, Skyview’s players didn’t need luck Friday night. Even trailing by 17 points in a turnover-filled game with under 10 minutes to play at Kiggins Bowl, the Storm never stopped believing in themselves.
And on Friday night, just look at what happened because of it.
Skyview rallied to score 21 fourth-quarter points to secure a 21-17 epic come-from-behind win to move to 2-0.
Matt Glaus’ 2-yard touchdown catch from Doogie Poindexter’s pass with 4.4 seconds remaining completed the rally of all rallies.
But what occurred a minute earlier — courtesy of Rex Allinger and Gavin Packer — is what made the frantic finish even possible.
Trailing 17-14 with under 90 seconds remaining, Skyview faced a fourth-and-10 from the GK 35 in what, at the time, looked to be its last-chance on offense. Poindexter rolled to his right and his pass over the middle was intercepted by Dominic Jedidiha-Taape. It was Poindexter’s fourth pick of the night.
Enter Allinger and Packer. Allinger’s hit on Taape seconds later as he raced up field knocked the ball loose. It rolled forward, and was recovered by Packer.
New life for Skyview and a fresh set of downs with 1:14 to go at the 26.
Allinger, who also finished with 81 rushing yards and a touchdown, felt energized by what was happening next: Skyview’s offense staying on the field.
“I refused to give up on the game,” Allinger said. … “We kept continuing to play our hearts out. I knew that game wasn’t over until it hit all zeros, so I wanted to finish that play.”
Consecutive runs by Allinger, then a direct snap to Packer lined up in Wildcat, set up Skyview at the 2 with 8.9 seconds left. On third down, Poindexter took the snap, waited, and fired to Glaus as the senior kept the ball in control. As the officiating crew signaled touchdown, exuberated Skyview teammates celebrated with Glaus as he lay on the ground.
“I had to jump up and I tipped it a little bit,” said Glaus, who had three catches Friday, “and had to catch it right in my chest.”
For much of Friday, Graham-Kapowsin was the team in control, despite committing more than 100 yards in penalties. While it only scored three points off Skyview’s five turnovers (four interceptions, one fumble), its freshman quarterback, AJ Tuivaiave, orchestrated two, 80-yard scoring drives in the final 3 minutes of the first half. The Eagles led 14-0 at halftime.
With GK leading 17-0 entering the fourth quarter, Skyview’s offense found a spark. A nearly 5-minute drive ended in Packer’s 12-yard touchdown reception. On the ensuing GK possession, Jacob Rojas’ interception gave the ball back to Skyview and the Storm needed just four plays for Allinger’s 28-yard touchdown run to pull Skyview within 17-14 with 6:42 to play.
Skyview forced the Eagles to punt their final two possessions.
How Skyview performed, especially defensively in the final number of series, is what impressed Packer and senior linebacker Kadin Hamlin, a returning all-league linebacker and leader of an otherwise young linebacking corp.
“Those guys earned my respect,” Hamlin said. “Today, they really showed they mean business. … We’re fighting to the last second.”
Graham-Kapowsin is the same program that in 2022, ended Skyview’s season in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs. Last year, GK was undefeated when it reached the 4A state title game against eventual champion Lake Stevens.
The Eagles is one of five nonleague games on Skyview’s schedule. Friday’s win — and how Skyview did it — is one of the reasons why the Storm are excited for what’s to come.
“We proved a lot of people wrong,” Allinger said. “We showed the state what we’re all about.”
Said Poindexter: “At the end of the day, we have the same goal. We all fight for each other. You can’t fight like (individual fingers), you’ve got to fight (like a fist).”
SKYVIEW 21, GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN 17
GK 0 14 3 0 – 17
Sky 0 0 0 21 – 21
Second quarter
GK – Mazaia Roberson 30 pass from AJ Tuivaiave (kick good)
GK – Noah Flores-Fox 2 pass from Tuivaiave (kick good)
Third quarter
GK – 25 FG
Fourth quarter
S – Gavin Packer 12 pass from Doogie Poindexter (Lawrence Tang kick)
S – Rex Allinger 28 run (Tang kick)
S – Matt Glaus 2 pass from Poindexter (Tang kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
(Skyview only)
Rushing — Gavin Packer 5-16, Rex Allinger 13-89, Levi Webb 10-44, Doogie Poindexter 1-(minus-3).
Passing — Poindexter 11-26-4-77, Packer 1-1-0-31.
Receiving — Packer 3-22, Toren Baker 3-48, Matt Glaus 3-18, Micah Robison 3-20
