State playoff quarterfinal football preview: Skyview vs. Bellarmine Prep

When, where: 4 p.m. Saturday at Kiggins Bowl (4A state playoff). Radio/Webcast: None.

Last meeting: First meeting.

At stake: Berth in state semifinals against Lake Stevens/Eastlake winner

BELLARMINE PREP (11-0)

Last week: beat Edmonds-Woodway 42-7 in state first round.

Players to watch: QB Sefo Liufau (127-200, 2117 passing, 22 TDs); RB Isaiah Flynn (150-1196 rushing, 16 TDs); WR Michael Rector (40-878 receiving, 12 TDs); WR Calvin Chandler (39-656 receiving, 6 TDs).

Notes: The Lions from Tacoma won the Narrows League with a 7-0 record. … BellPrep averages 194 yards passing and 218 yards rushing per game. Also average 40.7 points per game. … Lions’ two non-league regular-season games were against 3A teams that did not make playoffs. … Two playoff opponents (d. Graham-Kapowsin 37-19) and Edmonds-Woodway finished with 5-5 and 6-5 records. … Only ranked foe was Olympia, who the Lions beat 15-14. … Liufau was nearly perfect against E-W last week, completing 13 of 15 passes for 194 yards and 2 TDs in less-than-ideal conditions before checking out with 9 minutes left in the third quarter. … The Lions played very well last week, giving up just 79 yards of total offense.

SKYVIEW (9-2)

Last week: beat Kentwood 34-7 in 4A state first round.

Players to watch: QB Kieran McDonagh (126-182, 2017 passing, 19 TDs); RB Parker Henry (194-1848 rushing, 26 TDs); WR Reiley Henderson 43-679 receiving, 8 TDs); WR Forrest Russell (35-635 receiving, 6 TDs).

Notes: The two teams that beat Skyview back in September are still playing. Coeur d’Alene is playing for a second straight Idaho 5A title on Friday. Sherwood is in the Oregon 5A quarterfinals. … QB Kieran McDonagh has passed for 300+ yards in each of the two playoff games, giving him more than 2,000 for the years. McDonagh misses significant portions of two games this season with an injury. … McDonagh suffered a bruised right shoulder last week. … Henry needs 152 yards to break the 2,000-yard plateau for rushing. … Henry was the 4A GSHL offensive player of the year. … In the playoffs, Skyview’s defense has been more bend-but-don’t-break than shut-down. But the Storm have also created turnovers.

Bottom line: Bellarmine Prep is ranked No. 1 in the state by the Seattle Times because of its 11-0 record. The Lions were one of five unbeaten 4A teams through 10 games. Two of those teams are out of the playoffs. If Skyview had taken BellPrep’s scheduling approach and played the likes of Kelso and Prairie, the Storm would be 11-0 and may well be No. 1, instead of No. 9.

ScoreCzar.com prediction: Bellarmine Prep 30, Skyview 27

Columbian’s pick: Skyview.

Fans’ pick: TBA (50-50 percent)