Gridiron Classic schedule
Just as he did 30 years ago, Aaron Williams’ son, Kasen Williams, plays wide receiver for his high school football team. But when Aaron, a 1978 Wilson High graduate and talented athlete who went on to play at the University of Washington, watches Kasen, a Skyline High sophomore, on the field, he rarely is reminded of himself.
“I would like to say we we’re similar,” Aaron, 48, said, “but he’s so much better than I was.”
At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and one day shy of his 16th birthday, Kasen Williams already has size on his old man, who stood 5-11 and 155 pounds his senior season at Wilson.
“I was skinny and could jump and could catch the ball,” Aaron said. “But I didn’t have his hands or his body. He’s much more physical than I was. He’s much more advanced than where I was at that age.”
College coaches have noticed. Kasem Williams has scholarship offers from Boise State, Washington and UCLA, with more sure to follow.
But first, Williams and his teammates are intent on claiming a second consecutive state championship as top-ranked Skyline carries a 27-game winning streak into the Class 4A state championship Friday. The defending 3A champion Spartans (13-0) will face No. 10 Issaquah (11-2) at 7:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.
The dome is where most folks outside the Sammamish plateau were introduced to Williams.
In the 3A state finals against O’Dea last year, Williams made the catch of his life – so far, at least – when on his team’s final possession the freshman held on to a 16-yard pass that gave Skyline a first down at the Irish 13-yard line. A few plays later, the Spartans scored the winning touchdown, lifting them to a 42-35 come-from-behind victory.
Williams had become a sensation almost overnight and that left Skyline’s first-year coach Mat Taylor, who before this season coached the receivers and defensive backs, to wonder if Williams should have been playing all season.
Williams suited up in every varsity game in 2007 and usually played at least one series a game with the first-string. But because he was a freshman, Taylor wanted to ease Williams into the high-intensity atmosphere of a varsity game.
“I’d put him in when it wasn’t a pressure situation,” Taylor said, “when it was early in the game when we wouldn’t be running anything complicated. I wanted to keep his confidence up. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so careful?”
Williams showed he could handle the big games when his team needed him most. When all-state receiver Gino Simone got knocked out of the quarterfinals with a concussion last season, Williams stepped in, caught four passes for 116 yards and has been starting ever since.
“The biggest thing is that he is an extremely hard worker,” Taylor said. “But he has athletic ability and football, in a sense, comes very easy to him.”
That athleticism is something dad can relate to. Aaron Williams held the state triple jump record of 50 feet, 3/4 inch, for 28 years. When the mark was broken in 2005, it was one of the state’s longest-standing track and field records.
“My claim to fame was the 50-foot triple jump,” Aaron said. “And I dazzled the guys on the basketball team with dunks. ... But in Tacoma, a lot of guys were equal to me or better than me. I was just a face in the crowd. (Kasen) stands out in the crowd.”
Kasen Williams has caught 52 passes for 879 yards and 13 touchdowns, earning first-team all-league honors at receiver, as defenses have thrown a variety schemes at the Spartans, trying to slow down the offensive juggernaut.
For his part, Williams knows he can improve, saying he needs “to work on my breakaway speed.” That’s something dad didn’t have, either. But even with “average” speed, Aaron Williams was still able to fill a scrapbook with photographs and newspaper clippings trumpeting his achievements.
“It’s a pretty big book,” Kasen said.
Rhonda Williams, Kasen’s mother, has been clipping articles to make into a scrapbook for her son. The articles have been piling up over the last year, waiting to be glued or taped in an album.
“Hopefully,” Kasen said, “it will be big.”
Get your scissors, Rhonda, because here’s one more article for the fast-growing pile of paper clippings.
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271
blogs.thenewstribune.com/preps
