Skyline advances to semifinals by beating Central Valley 52-17

The Spartans regrouped. They decided to cross off the wins one at a time the rest of the season. They made T-shirts to serve as reminders.

After Saturday's 52-17 win over Central Valley of Spokane in the Class 4A quarterfinals, the Spartans can check off one more box, because they're heading to the semifinals for the seventh time in eight years.

"We just did some soul searching after the Eastlake game and just broke it down," Skyline coach Mat Taylor said. "The first week, our goal was to go 1-0, then 2-0. Today is 4-0. Now we get to cross out the 4-0 on the T-shirts the kids made and put 5-0."

Skyline booked another trip to the Tacoma Dome. The Spartans (9-3) will play second-ranked Woodinville (12-0) next week, ensuring a KingCo team will play for the championship.

"It's been a tough year for us, all the adversity, but it feels great, going back to our second home," said senior running back Damian Greene, who scored on screen passes of 57, 80 and 27 yards.

The Spartans were sharp from the start. Quarterback Max Browne completed his first six passes, leading his team to the Central Valley 10 on the game's first drive. His next two attempts were dropped, but it didn't deter the junior, who completed the next one, a 10-yard touchdown to Nic Sblendorio.

Browne completed 15 of 24 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for a 6-yard score.

"We had a huge win against Mead last week and this kind of carried over," Browne said. "The intensity was there. I felt the seniors kind of realized, 'Hey, this is my last game on this field, let's make something of it.' In the back of our minds you know, hey, a win means the Tacoma Dome and that was big for us today."

Skyline's offense was so efficient it needed just three plays to score two touchdowns early in the second quarter, knocking the Bears (9-3) on their heels and into a 21-3 hole.

While the offense was clicking, the defense continued to build on its first-round performance last week against Mead.

"Last week I felt it was our best defensive game and, to put it together, I thought it was awesome," Taylor said. "I am very proud of our kids and our coaches."

Greene finished with four catches for 176 yards and had six carries for 71 yards. His speed helped spark the Spartans.

"We knew our game plan," Greene said. "We just came out and executed. It feels great."