The Falcons win their 14th consecutive Kingco 4A game by cooling off the hot Spartans 38-20 behind an inspired defensive effort.
The Woodinville High School football team wasn’t going to give an inch in its KingCo 4A regular-season title defense.
The Falcons were downright stingy about it for 3½ quarters in Sammamish.
The third-ranked Falcons left nothing to chance with stout defense, and once the offense got rolling they were unstoppable with a 38-20 triumph over ninth-ranked Skyline to clinch the Kingo 4A title outright for the second season in a row.
Woodinville (8-0, 7-0 Kingco) registered six sacks and dictated the flow of the game most of the evening. Quarterback Jaden Sheffey led the Falcons with 93 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just five carries, including a 65-yard touchdown burst down the right sideline with 1:22 left in the game.
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The Falcons limited Skyline’s offense to minus-3 yards rushing and it was junior middle linebacker Miles Mustarde’s pick-six late in the first quarter that swung the tide.
“I feel that interception really brought the momentum for our team, defensively and offensively,” said Mustarde about his 53-yard interception return. “At least on defense, it was just excitement and the energy that it brought us. Because their offense wanted to outscore the defense, and I really thought that brought the momentum.
“We played so good in the first half and third quarter because of it. That got us flying around.”
Matt Jones added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown on 21 carries for the Falcons, and Brett Accimus added 72 yards rushing and a TD on 10 totes.
The Falcons won their 14th consecutive conference game, spoiling Skyline’s Senior Night and homecoming game. Woodinville’s defense stymied the high-powered Spartans’ offense until it backed off into prevent mode in the fourth quarter.
“Those guys are amazing,” Sheffey said of the Falcons’ defensive unit. “Coach (Wayne) Maxwell, he does a great job, he’s got a defensive mind and he just coaches our guys really well. The athletes are on the field and they just make plays.”
Skyline (5-3, 4-3) did manage to cut the gap to 31-14 on an 8-yard touchdown run up the middle by quarterback Joe Green with time expiring in the third quarter. Green found Evan Alexander on a slant for a 21-yard TD pass play with 5:59 left in the game to trim the gap to 31-20.
The Falcons beat Skyline 42-35 in overtime last season and has won three of last four meetings with the Spartans, who saw their four-game win streak end.
“We’re hard-working,” Sheffey said. “We really take pride in that, offseason and during the season. It’s just the culture we have at Woodinville. Our goal as a team is to be the most physical team in the state, and you saw that out there tonight. We don’t want anyone have control of the game, and we want to take control ourselves.
“This is an experienced group of guys. I couldn’t be any more happier for this group.”