Gary Moore Stadium at Issaquah High School – 09/27/24
Issaquah Football Outlasts Highline in Seesaw Battle
On Issaquah’s homecoming night at Gary Moore Stadium, an impressive game from star receiver Adam Estrada was not enough for the Highline Pirates to spoil the Issaquah celebration. Four lead changes in the second half results in 27-21 victory for the Issaquah Eagles.
Issaquah won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving Highline the ball to start the game. Highline converted on fourth down with a 30-yard play but fumbled and turned the ball over to Issaquah on the next play.
Issaquah drove down the field, collecting five first downs before running back Micah Seiffert dove into the endzone for the five-yard touchdown run. It was Seiffert doing the heavy lifting on the drive, and he put the finishing touches on it; 7-0 Issaquah.
Highline worked the ball into Issaquah territory once again, but Issaquah defensive back Chase Hanson made a juggling interception at the goal line to keep the Pirates off the board.
Issaquah continued to call on Seiffert and Highline did not have much of an answer until the defense forced a fumble in the redzone, the third turnover combined by both teams in opposing team’s territory.
Highline failed to capitalize, turning the ball over on downs in their own territory. With great field position, it took only three plays for Issaquah to turn it into six points. Quarterback Will Vaughn heaved the rock over the middle to wide receiver Austin Schildt for the touchdown, but the extra point attempt banged off the left upright and was no good to make it a 13-0 game.
The Pirates responded. Running back Tevita Angilau ran through the Eagles defense on the way to the redzone. After an Issaquah penalty gave Highline the first down, quarterback Ronan Rasmussen faked a handoff and tossed a screen pass to running back JB Crawford. Crawford quickly turned up the field, ducking between blockers and defenders going untouched into the endzone with 11 seconds left on the clock in the first half. Extra point made it 13-7 Eagles.
On the squib kickoff, Schildt picked it up, ran towards midfield, change directions towards the Issaquah sideline and burst past Highline. Schildt looked destined for the buzzer-beater touchdown going into the half, but one last Highline defender chased him down and dove full extension to trip up the returner and save a touchdown. 13-7 after two quarters of play.
The second half started with three straight punts, two from Issaquah. On the last of the three, the snap went over the Issaquah punter’s head. Able to grab the ball and get the punt off, the punt only made it to the Issaquah 33-yard line. On a long third down from the 34-yard line, Rasmussen floated the ball over the middle to Estrada in stride for the touchdown. The extra point gave the Pirates their first lead of the game.
With an immediate response on the second play of the next drive, Schildt caught a screen pass, made a defender miss, and took off down the sideline for a 59-yard score. Issaquah tried for a two-point conversion to go up seven points but failed, giving the Eagles a 19-14 lead.
Highline had a golden opportunity to cut into the Issaquah lead or take the lead for themselves after driving into the redzone. When presented with fourth down and 13 yards to go, the Pirates lined up to kick a field goal. But a penalty on the defense made it fourth and eight, enough to put the offensive unit back out to go for the touchdown. The decision led to an interception at the two to keep the deficit at five.
Highline did a good job to force a punt and keep the game within reach with six minutes left on the game clock.
Estrada continued to do for Highline what he has done all season to this point. On first down, Issaquah brought the house. Rasmussen recognized the blitz and fired a bomb downfield. Estrada climbed the ladder and caught the ball at its high point just out of reach of the Issaquah defender for a 35-yard completion. Two plays later, Rasmussen to Estrada worked once more, this one for 33 yards and a Highline touchdown, erupting the Highline crowd and quieting the packed Issaquah stands on homecoming night. Highline retakes the lead 21-19.
In what was a turning point late in the game, Estrada could not reel in a would-be interception on defense. Vaughn kept the ball on the next play and scrambled for 32 yards. Vaughn found Schildt on three of the next four plays, the last being a slant from the three-yard line for an Issaquah touchdown. A crafty two-point conversion call was successful; Vaughn pitches to the running back who throws to a wide-open receiver in the endzone. The homecoming crowd is back in it with a 27-21 lead.
Two chunk plays on the last drive, a 19-yard Crawford run and a 26-yard Estrada catch and run, put the Pirates at the six-yard line with less than a minute left. Run play on first down puts Highline at the five, but two incompletions led to fourth down. Rasmussen looked for RJ Williams on the fade route to the corner of the endzone, but the pass was high and incomplete, turning the ball over to Issaquah with less than 30 seconds left and no timeouts on either side. The Eagles take a knee and Issaquah wins their homecoming game.
The hard-fought battle brings Issaquah to 2-2 and drops Highline to 1-3 on the season. Issaquah travels to Juanita High School next Friday. Highline looks to grab their second win at home against North Creek High School Thursday, October 3 at 6 pm.
