Washington’s high-school football heartland starts in downtown Bellevue and stretches to the

Washington’s high-school football heartland starts in downtown Bellevue and stretches to the Sammamish Plateau. It’s no West Texas, but you’ll still find wealthy boosters, high-profile coaches, star recruits, and standing-room-only crowds under the Friday-night lights. And last season, quarterback Max Browne was the undisputed star of the show. Browne led Skyline High to a 14-0 record and a second straight state championship. Though none of his receivers were top college prospects, the 6´5˝, strong-armed Browne completed a ludicrous 73 percent of his passes for an insane 49 touchdowns. Browne was so good that Skyline’s coaches would take him out as early as the second quarter to avoid running up the score on lesser teams. In December, Browne won the Gatorade National Player of the Year award—the Heisman of high-school football. Browne enrolled early at USC so he could participate in spring practice, and could be the starting QB for the Trojans this fall.