"Blazers open up their offense...Timberline rolls past River Ridge, 55-6" -- Sept. 2, 2006

BY CALEB BREAKEY
THE OLYMPIAN

Timberline junior quarterback Dylan Maxwell's pass sailed toward the sideline of the green and gold Blazers, a perfect spiral falling quickly to the ground in front of wide receiver Bobby Barnes.

The 5-foot-8, 165-pound senior leaped diagonally to the ball as the backside of his No. 1 jersey faced the dusk that had settled upon South Sound Stadium.

Barnes' two hands, each snug in black, padded gloves, seized the spin of the ball and he rammed into the ground with a 26-yard catch.

"We were told to run a fly, and Maxwell just threw a great pass and I went down to get it," Barnes said.

His gritty play in the first half routinely carried the Blazers to River Ridge's goal line, where his teammates took over in a 55-6 blowout over the Hawks on Friday.

The Blazers turned to senior running back Rosario Parascondola after Barnes, who finished the game with 83 total yards, shouldered the team to the end zone.

Parascondola scored three touchdowns on six carries for a game-high 109 yards.

"Bobby may have opened up my game, with River Ridge maybe focusing on the pass," he said. "Tonight I had the hot hand. It was a long time coming."

Parascondola, who played JV last season, is just one part of the Blazers' stable of running backs, head coach Kevin Young said. The Blazers also ran seniors Undray Bailey for 54 yards and Darnell Hurd for 63 yards.

"It's not really a No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 thing," Young said. "It's fun that way, not having to rely on one guy."

The Hawks' lone scoring drive came late in the fourth quarter. Backup sophomore quarterback Josh Rood ran twice for 82 yards and a touchdown with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Joey DeLuca passed for 79 yards on 16 attempts and threw one interception before being replaced in the fourth quarter.

"We played tonight like we haven't had a whole lot of experience on Friday nights," Hawks head coach Steve Schultz said. "When you play a really good team like Timberline, a small mistake turns into a big mistake."

Maxwell started in place of junior quarterback Mike Jones for eligibility reasons. He rushed for a touchdown with 3:02 left in the first quarter and finished the game with 94 passing yards, completing eight of 10 passes.

"I'm really proud of Maxwell; I'm sure the whole team is proud of Maxwell," Barnes said. "He really impressed the team. He came out here and proved a point, showing that he could play."