Skyline ends Gig Harbor’s season with 17-15 win in first round of 4A state playoffs

Something happened to the Gig Harbor High School receivers on Saturday afternoon against Skyline that hadn’t happened all year: They started dropping passes.

A steady downpour of rain likely contributed to some of the drops as host Skyline rode a steady running game to a 17-15 upset of the previously undefeated Tides in the first round of the Class 4A state football playoffs.

But no matter what role the weather played, if any, in the underwhelming offensive performance, Gig Harbor coach Aaron Chantler didn’t want to make any excuses.

“We don’t want to make excuses — obviously, it’s wet,” he said. “We had a lot of balls in our hands and a lot of guys open. The last group we’re going put blame on is the receiving corps after the year they put up. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough night just with the weather. We dropped some balls; you’re not going to catch everything in the rain. They did everything they could to catch the ball. It bounced away from us a few times.”

Skyline was content to keep the game on the ground, feeding the ball to bruising senior running back Rashaad Boddie, who gashed the Tides for touchdowns of 56 yards and 80 yards.

“In a way, I knew I was going to have to carry the team,” Boddie said. “Everyone was supporting me. Coach told me we were going to run the ball 75 percent of the time and that’s what happened. No matter what the weather condition is, we just stay positive about it and move on.”

Chantler will have to say goodbye to a talented group of seniors, including 2015 Narrows 4A MVP Davis Alexander, who broke numerous quarterback records for the Tides.

“It’s going to be tough,” Chantler said. “I couldn’t ask anything more of these guys. They battled their (butts) off for four years. They really worked hard to change the culture of this program. We talk a lot about, it’s the kind of person that comes out of this program, not the wins and losses. They’ve embodied that. I feel confident in saying that all 27 men that are leaving this program are better because of it. I love these guys.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 9:43 PM with the headline "Skyline ends Gig Harbor’s season with 17-15 win in first round of 4A state playoffs."