This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Saratoga Springs • Skyline's victory at Westlake did three things Friday night.
It gave the Eagles at least a share of the Region 7 title with one week remaining in the regular season. It extended their winning streak to four games. And it showed them there's plenty of room for improvement.
Skyline recovered from a slow start to defeat the Thunder 28-10 and remain undefeated in region play. The Eagles (5-3, 4-0) will face rival Olympus next week with a chance to win their first region title since 2004.
"This was big," said Skyline receiver Garrett England, who scored two touchdowns in the second quarter. "Our goal is to be region champs, so this was a big win for us."
After they managed just 9 yards in a scoreless first quarter, the Eagles began moving the ball, starting with a 68-yard run by England. The senior capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, then caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Snyder on the Eagles' next drive.
After having to rally from second-half deficits in each of the past two weeks, the Eagles played from ahead most of the night. Snyder found Chris Williams for a 17-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the third quarter, and Snyder scored on a 6-yard run after Westlake fumbled the kickoff return.
"We told the kids that at some point you can't rely on coming back in the fourth quarter," first-year Skyline coach Steve Marlowe said. "It looked a little easier than it was. [Westlake] is a good, young team."
Westlake (3-5, 2-2) was otherwise tough against the run and limited Skyline to 173 yards rushing, including 68 on England's run. But the Thunder hurt themselves with 11 penalties and didn't manage much offense.
Quarterback Gavin Williams passed for 95 yards, and Stockton Renfro rushed 16 times for 58 yards. Renfro caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Williams in the second quarter to tie the score at 7-7.
The Eagles now turn their attention to the rival Titans, who remained one game back with a shutout victory Friday against Hillcrest.
"Next week we want to be the undefeated region champion, not the partial region champion," Marlowe said. —