A third straight win for the Skyview football team left a sweet taste with a tinge of bitterness.
On one hand, after the Storm won each of their previous two games in nail-biting fashion, they had total command throughout Saturday’s 38-8 win over Puyallup at Kiggins Bowl, a complete, four-quarter performance, according to coach Steve Kizer, who earned his 150th win at Skyview.
Plus, with the return of game-wrecking senior defensive end Riah Tua from a wrist injury that sidelined him for two weeks, the Storm held the Vikings scoreless until late in the fourth quarter and built a sizeable lead in the process.
“The first two weeks we made mistakes that we shouldn’t have been making,” Tua said. “We came into the third week and we kept on going. We were way more consistent.”
But for the final two-and-a-half quarters, Skyview (3-0) was forced to play without senior quarterback Doogie Poindexter. While trying to scramble away from pressure in the red zone, Poindexter injured his ankle as he was tackled and limped off the field with assistance from trainers.
His status is uncertain for next week’s showdown with Oregon Class 6A power West Linn, though Kizer said after the game, “I hope he can come back.”
Already with a 7-0 lead, senior receiver Gavin Packer stepped in as signal-caller and finished the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Packer then led two more scoring drives that sent the Storm to the locker room with a 24-0 halftime lead.
The final sequence of the half included a trick play that saw Packer take a halfback toss and air out a 46-yard pass for Matthew Glaus, then complete a 20-yard pass to Toren Baker, setting up a 2-yard Levi Webb touchdown run. The Storm looked mostly comfortable in their backup plan because, well, they practice it.
“Gavin takes a lot of (quarterback) reps in practice too, but we’re still missing our guy,” Kizer said. “I thought we handled it well. It’s part of the game.”
Though he was unable to play, Poindexter was still able to lead with his voice when he spoke to the team in the locker room at halftime. The Storm continued to battle without him by tacking on two more touchdowns in the second half — an 85-yard Packer run and a 13-yard Rex Allinger run.
“We’re a family here, he’s a brother, he went down and we’re obviously going to be sad about that,” Tua said. “But Doogie is such a competitor, Doogie is such a brother, he said, ‘yo, get out there, ball out for me’ and we did. It’s all for Doogie, brought him the ‘dub and we just hope he’s gonna come back.”
A reigning all-league defensive lineman in the 4A Greater St. Helens League, Tua made an immediate impact with a sack, tackle for loss and several quarterback hurries while sporting a heavily-taped club on his left hand to protect the injured wrist.
“Man, I’d like to say I had the most first-game-back game ever,” Tua said. “I made some mistakes, made some plays, but luckily enough, my teammates and coaches are so good that it makes up for those mistakes. I was happy to be a part of the winning again, you know? See your guys win and you’re like, ‘you know, I want to be a part of that too.’ Today I got to be, and I’m thankful.”
Puyallup (1-2) punted on each of its first seven drives before the Vikings found the end zone on a Keanu Bartolome rushing touchdown with three minutes to play in the fourth.
Skyview’s tough non-league slate to open the season doesn’t get any easier. The Storm will play host to 2022 Oregon 6A state champion West Linn and head coach Jon Eagle, who went 11-2 against Skyview in 17 years as Camas’ head coach.
“They’re really good. We don’t have anybody on our schedule that isn’t really good, and it’s his fault right there,” Kizer said in jest, pointing toward Skyview athletic director and assistant football coach Julian Williams.
SKYVIEW 38, PUYALLUP 8
Puyallup 0 0 0 8—8
Skyview 7 17 7 7—38
First quarter
S — Gavin Packer 47 pass from Doogie Poindexter (Lawrence Tang kick)
Second quarter
S — Packer 10 run (Tang kick)
S — Tang 29 field goal
S — Levi Webb 2 run (Tang kick)
Third quarter
S — Packer 85 run (Tang kick)
Fourth quarter
S — Rex Allinger 13 run (Tang kick)
P — Keanu Bartolome 1 run (J’Isaiah Mitchell pass from Brayden Paulino)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
(Skyview only)
RUSHING — Skyview: Levi Webb 12-49, Rex Allinger 8-30, Gavin Packer 10-130, Doogie Poindexter 1-1, James Allen 3-(minus 4)
PASSING — Skyview: Doogie Poindexter 7-11-0-87, Gavin Packer 3-5-0-71.
RECEIVING — Skyview: Toren Baker 3-42, Micah Robison 4-17, Gavin Packer 1-47, Rex Allinger 1-6, Matthew Glaus 1-46.
