Skyview’s big plays sink Hawks in conference loss

HOUSTON — After watching his team’s 14-point lead disappear in just about two minutes, Skyview head coach Eric Pomerleau had a message for his players.

“We were like, gentlemen, you’ve got to respond,” Pomerleau said.

Apparently, junior Albert White was listening.

After Houston scored for the second time in a two-minute span in the second quarter, White returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown to spark the Panthers during a 60-38 rout of the Houston Hawks Saturday at Houston High School.

White scored four times and Skyview posted seven touchdowns of 39 or more yards as the Panthers improved to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in Northern Lights Conference play.

White, a junior wide receiver and kick returner, scored three times on special teams and caught one of the four touchdown passes thrown by Skyview quarterback Jordan Jones.

White’s 77-yard return in the second gave the Panthers the 21-14 lead. He added a 15-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the third, a 53-yard touchdown catch at the end of the third and an 86-yard kickoff return for a score midway through the fourth.

“We’re kind of a big-play team,” Pomerleau said. “We’ve got a group of very fast kids.”

While White did his best to fill the Skyview highlight reel, he wasn’t the only Panther to post a big play. Jones connected with senior Nick Symonds on a 39-yard score on the second play of the game. Senior Jordan McNamara hauled in a 50-yard Jones touchdown pass in the second quarter. Junior Jasen Suonvieri returned a fumble 60 yards for a score. Reserve tailback, and the team’s regular kicker, Vlad Ferderer also got in on the action, running for a 73-yard touchdown.

“When we execute our offense, they can come in bunches,” Pomerleau said.

White’s kickoff return was arguably the biggest play of the game, coming just as Houston grabbed some momentum.

“Houston fought really hard and didn’t let up,” Pomerleau said. “Their kids came back, smacked us in the mouth and came right back in the game.”

Trailing 14-0, the Hawks capped an eight-play drive with Beau Frank’s 3-yard touchdown run. Frank connected with junior Russell Ruta on the two-point conversion to cut Skyview’s lead to 14-8. On the ensuing kickoff, Ruta dropped a kick right on the Skyview 30-yard line. The Panthers failed to pick up the kick and senior Brandon Dukes jumped on the live ball, giving possession back to the Hawks.

Houston needed only four plays to cash in. On 4th-and-5, Frank connected with Ruta for a 25-yard touchdown.

White’s kickoff return was the first of six straight Skyview touchdowns. Late in the first half, Suonvieri intercepted a pitch in the Houston backfield and sprinted 60 yards for a score.

“There were a couple freaky plays,” Pomerleau said. “Jasen, intercepting a pitch on an option and taking it to the house was amazing.”

The bizarre play continued in the second half. Early in the third quarter, Houston was forced to punt from its own end zone. Pressure from the Skyview front led to a short line drive punt. White fielded the ball at the 15-yard line and dove into the end zone for a touchdown.

Houston managed to put together three scores in fourth quarter. Dukes, who finished with a game-high 183 yards on 25 carries, scored his 10th touchdown of the year, an 8-yard run, early in the fourth. Later in the final quarter, Dukes tossed a 69-yard touchdown to senior Brett Lapham on the halfback pass.

Lapham finished with a team-high five catches for 98 yards.

Junior fullback Tyler Barron added a 4-yard score late in the game.

Jones, who stands among the top signal callers in the state with 18 touchdowns, finished 10-for-13 for 269 yards and four scores. Symonds snagged four balls for 114 yards and two scores. White finished with three catches for 67 yards.

Skyview moved a step toward clinching on of the NLC’s four postseason berths with the win. The Panthers, who host Kodiak in Week 8, now sit alone in third place of the NLC. Houston now faces an uphill battle in the playoff race and will need back-to-back road wins over Kodiak and Homer to stay alive in the hunt.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Skyview 60, Houston 38

Saturday, Houston High School

First quarter

Skyview — Symonds 39 pass from Jones (Ferderer kick) 11:28.

Skyview — Symonds 10 pass from Jones (Ferderer kick) 3:30.

Second quarter

Houston — Frank 3 run (Ruta pass from Frank) 7:31.

Houston — Ruta 25 pass from Frank (run failed) 5:36.

Skyview — White 77 kickoff return (Ferderder kick) 5:21.

Skyview — McNamara 50 pass from Jones (Ferderer kick) 4:21.

Skyview — Suonvieri 60 fumble recovery (Ferderer kick) 1:41.

Third quarter

Skyview — White 15 punt return (kick failed) 10:08.

Skyview — Ferderer 73 run (Ferderer kick) 5:45.

Skyview — White 53 pass from Jones (run failed) 0:00.

Fourth quarter

Houston — Dukes 8 run (Frank run) 7:28.

Skyview — White 86 kickoff return (run failed) 8:10.

Houston — Lapham 69 pass from Dukes (Lapham pass from Frank) 5:57.

Houston — Barron 4 run (Ruta pass from Frank) 2:51.

Individual statistics:

RUSHING — Skyview: Suonvieri 9-73, Jones 3-28, Ferderer 2-71; Houston: Dukes 25-183, Frank 9-35, Barron 9-32, Ruta 4-26, Ch. Buzby 1-3.

PASSING — Skyview: Jones 10-13-0—269; Houston: Frank 10-19-1—138, Dukes 1-1-0—69.

RECEIVING — Skyview: Symonds 4-114, White 3-67, McNamara 1-50, Reynolds 1-45, Suonvieri 1-9; Houston: Lapham 5-98, Barron 3-71, Ruta 2-28, Richardson 1-10.