10/21/2025

UPDATE

The Skyline school district have completed their investigation into Head Football coach Peyton Pelluer over allegations from parents of not playing certain players. The issue the parents alleged were enough for the District to place Coach Pelluer on a temporary suspension prior to last Friday night’s game against Woodinville.

Here is the official District Statement on the completion of the investigation shared to ESN by Issaquah District Athletic Director Jordan Frost:

Following the Issaquah School District’s review of recent allegations and expectations while they are addressed, Skyline High School Head Football Coach Peyton Pelluer has been reinstated to his coaching duties. Student and staff safety remain the district’s top priority, and all allegations deserve a thorough review to maintain consistency and ensure compliance with district regulations. Head Coach Peyton Pelluer, and the entire coaching staff, are 100% focused on ensuring a safe, positive experience for his student-athletes as he prepares for this Friday’s game, celebrates Skyline’s seniors at Senior Night, and looks ahead to the upcoming playoff games. 

The issue took a turn over the weekend when the entire Skyline coaching staff informed the district they would not coach again until coach Pelluer returned to the sideline fully vindicated. (Below is our original story followed by an update yesterday.)

Due to student privacy concerns and potential litigation the district is limited in what they can release. It is unknown if the complaining parents will seek further action through the courts.

The best news the Spartan team can get is that things are back to normal and they can focus on playing football and preparing for their final regular season home game on Friday night against Mt Si.

10/20/2025

UPDATE

**This is an update on the Skyline coaching staff’s decision to not coach the team until Head Coach Peyton Pelluer’s suspension is lifted and he returns to the sideline.

The Skyline administration met with the Skyline coaches on Monday and provided at least an initial timeline of the process.

Eli Sports Network has confirmed the issue surrounding Coach Pelluer is a claim by parents that he is not playing the correct players. The parents took their concerns to the administration which seems to be what triggered an in-house investigation and the suspension of Pelluer.

ESN does not generally publish additional details that are not official releases from those in charge. However, in fairness to Coach Pelluer we believe at least the complaint of what is being investigated needs to be revealed in this day and age of social media and speculation.

That being said, the complaint is about playing time and who is playing and nothing to do with any physical or other complaint. This challenge has been described strictly to Coach Pelluer’s football decision making ability as the Head Coach.

Pelluer is in his 2nd season as the Spartan head coach. More details below in the original story.

Requests for comment from the school administration has not been answered.

(Sammamish, WA) Skyline grad Peyton Pelluer went on to start and play at WSU and followed that with 4 years of college coaching at USC and Mississippi State. Pelluer came back to take the reins of the highly successful Skyline Spartan program and brought many of his teammates back to help him on his coaching staff.

Pelluer and his staff know how to win as he was part of the last two State Titles the Spartans won in 2011 and 2012. The Spartans have 7 state titles and 3 2nd place trophies. Since 2016 Skyline is 2-6 in postseason play with 2 quarterfinal appearances.

Pelluer’s ambition was to return that Championship mindset back to the Spartan program.

It all came to a screeching halt on Friday when Skyline principal Keith Hennig formally suspended Pelluer on Friday afternoon just hours before their game with Woodinville on Friday night.

Hennig sent the following e-mail to Skyline families dated on Saturday, October 18, 2025:

Message from Skyline Principal Keith Hennig

Spartans take care of business on Friday, but now what?

The Spartan football team played without Pelluer on Friday night and handled their business winning 49-14.

However, will this be the last game for Skyline as the entire assistant coaching staff have walked off the job in support of Pelluer.

The following post has been making the rounds on Facebook and this post was on Skyline Assistant Coach Gino Simone’s page. The post is a letter from the entire Skyline coaching staff.

The Spartan coaching staff includes Head Coach Peyton Pelluer. Assistants Cody Habben, (vol) Sherm Hutcherson, Reggie Long, Adan Lopez, Jonathan Rogers, Gino Simone, Peter Stromgren, Ryan Thorsen, Blake Williams, Kasen Williams, Jackson Dean, Dayan Gust, Troy Kamiya, Thomas Martinez and Tyson Whitfield.

These are the listed coaches on the Skyline roster.

Here is the official position of the Skyline Coaching staff:

Posted on Skyline Assistant Coach Gino Simone’s Facebook page on Sunday, 10/19/2025

Pelluer and the Spartans off to a great start

Skyline came into the Friday night game against Woodinville with a 4-2 record and 2-1 in league play with just a 1 point loss to 3A state runners-up last year Bellevue. Despite Pelluer not on the sidelines, the Spartans beat the Falcons and are now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in league play. Skyline is in a 3-way tie for the KingCo Crown division with Bellevue and Bothell.

What’s the next step?

To be honest…we don’t know. ESN has reached out to many of the people involved in this issue including the coaches and principal. We also believe this is a school and or league issue but we have reached out to the WIAA asking if and when the WIAA may be asked to get involved.

It is Sunday evening when this is being written so we’re not expecting any responses until Monday at the earliest. We will update this story as new information becomes available.

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