The round of 16 kicks off today in the high school football playoffs.  Let’s look at a few story lines to keep an eye on as this weekend’s slate of games progress.

Myles Gaskin picks up UW offer: Will O’Dea’s star running back have any extra motivation to prove his worth after the UW, according to this Northwest Elite Index story, offered him a scholarship on Sunday. The story goes on to say that Gaskin has received interest from Oregon and Oregon State, as well. Of course, most athletes will say that playoffs are motivation enough.

Gaskins will be part of The Seattle Times high-school football game of the week, as No. 5 Mount Si and No. 2 O’Dea face off at Memorial Stadium on Friday night. O’Dea (10-0), which will look to keep its perfect season alive, had the opportunity to sit many of its starters during the second half of a 49-7 drubbing of Kelso last weekend. That means the Irish’s other weapon out of the backfield, Jack Flor, should be well rested.

Mount Si, of course, has a talented roster as well. Sandy Ringer wrote about quarterback Nick Mitchell in Thursday’s paper. You can read the full story, but here’s an excerpt that shows what kind of numbers the senior is putting up:

“Mitchell has completed better than 60 percent of his passes this season while throwing for 1,962 yards with 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions.”

Sam McPherson vs. Teague James: Bothell’s Sam McPherson has been the do-it-all star this season in KingCo, leading the league in all-purpose yards. Graham-Kapowsin boasts tailback Teague James, owner of three four-touchdown games this year.

Graham-Kapowsin has not scored less than 34 points since mid-September and has yet to lose this season. That being said, their closest game on record was a 34-33 win over Puyallup on Oct. 17. Last week, Bothell destroyed Puyallup, 54-14. Of course, that could tell us very little about how the Bothell-Puyallup matchup will play out. Or it could tell us lots.

It is important to note that Bothell’s two losses this year have come against state championship favorites — Skyline (4A) and Bothell (3A).

Stay tuned for more this weekend as the games unfold.