SEQUIM FOOTBALL ROUGHS UP ROUGHRIDERS

Sequim’s Chris Morgan tracks down Nathan Cristion after a hand off from Colby Adamich. Sequim beat Port Angeles 42-7 on Friday evening. Photo by Jim Heintz




Play of the game:

For all the great plays he made in the second half — a blocked punt, two touchdown catches, numerous quarterback pressures — Clancy Catelli’s biggest play came in the second quarter, picking off a Cody Adamich pass for 60 yards and a touchdown. The theft gave the Wolves a 16-0 lead and sparked a string of four Sequim touchdowns in less than 10 minutes of game time.


By MICHAEL DASHIELL
Gazette sports editor


For a quarter and a half, Sequim’s Wolves were so hyped for their biggest rivals they couldn’t hold on to the ball.

Unfortunately for Port Angeles’ Roughriders, Sequim managed to calm their nerves and run away with a 42-7 win Friday night.

Travis Decker ran for more than 100 yards in the first quarter while quarterback Drew Rickerson threw four touchdown passes — three in the third quarter alone — in what may be Sequim’s biggest rout of their cross-peninsula rivals ever.

“Jitters, that’s what is was for me,” said Rickerson, the junior signal-caller who missed his first four passes — but finished 10-of-15 for 220 yards.

The Wolves had four dropped passes and two fumbles as they held an 8-0 lead going into the second quarter. Port Angeles looked to gain all the momentum when Sequim linebacker Clancy Catelli picked off an errant Roughrider throw and ran for 60 yards and a score. With a minute left in the half, Sequim got the ball back and Rickerson found John Textor for a 59-yard touchdown throw and 22-0 halftime lead.

Catelli added two touchdown catches and a blocked punt in the second half to complete the blowout.

“As impressive as the offense is, the defense is even more (impressive),” Sequim coach Erik Wiker said. “It’s a good win for the community and it’s bragging rights all year.”

The win gives Wiker a 4-2 record against Port Angeles since the two schools revived the rivalry in 2004.


Nerves give Sequim the slips

From the first play of scrimmage, this Sequim-Port Angeles game looked like the mismatch it did on paper.

But following Decker’s 67-yard run from scrimmage, few things went right for the Wolves’ offense. Two plays following the big run, Sequim fumbled the ball away on the 4-yard-line. After a Port Angeles three-downs-and-out, Sequim receivers dropped a pair of passes and the Wolves turned it over on downs.

The Roughriders couldn’t manage a first-quarter drive, though, and Sequim finally capitalized with a five-minute, 11-play drive punctuated by Decker’s 12-yard jaunt into the end zone. Sequim led 8-0 after one quarter.

The teams traded possessions with both teams hunkering down to stop the running attacks. Port Angeles looked to take advantage of a Sequim fumble on a punt, but two plays later, Clancy Catelli stepped in front of a Cody Adamich pass and raced 60 yards for the score and 16-0 Sequim lead.

The Wolves’ defense held the Roughriders to another three-and-out and on the next play Rickerson found John Textor on a curl underneath the Port Angeles secondary; the long, lanky receiver simply outran the entire Roughrider defense to the end zone, giving Sequim a 22-0 halftime lead.

The Wolves didn’t let up in the second half. After holding Port Angeles’ offense to another three-and-out, Rickerson found Textor on a curl route that the senior receiver took 54 yards for his second long touchdown and a 28-0 Sequim advantage.

Catelli, a linebacker and tight end, put on a show from there, taking a short pass from Rickerson on Sequim’s next possession 45 yards for another Wolves score.

The 6-foot 2-inch senior then blocked a Port Angeles punt on the next Roughrider possession and caught Rickerson’s fourth touchdown, a five-yard strike, just four plays later for a 42-0 Sequim lead.

Keenen Walker engineered Port Angeles’ only scoring drive of the night, a 10-play, 85-yard drive capped by the sophomore quarterback’s one-yard plunge.


Cougars on tap

The Wolves play their first road game of the season when they travel to Puyallup to take on Cascade Christian.

The Cougars (2-0) are coming off a 34-15 win at Eatonville and beat Fife 28-20 to open the 2009 campaign.

Cascade Christian, a 1A school, gave the Wolves a hard-fought game in Sequim last season before falling 17-14. The Cougars were ranked in the top five in their classification at the time and went on to the state 1A championship game, where they lost 10-9 to Cashmere.

Despite the smaller-school status, Wiker said he expects good competition from Cascade.

“They have a good program,” Wiker said. “They’re very well coached. They’re going to come out and play hard.”

Sequim at Cascade Christian Cougars

When: 7 p.m. Sept. 19 (Saturday)
Where: Sunset Chevrolet Stadium, Puyallup
Series: Sequim leads 1-0
2008 result: Sequim 17, Cascade Christian 14


Friday's box score:

• Sept. 11

Sequim 42, Port Angeles 7

Port Angeles    0    0    0  7  —    7
Sequim            8  14  20  0  —   42

Scoring
• First quarter
S — Decker 12 run (Rickerson pass from C. Catelli), 2:25
• Second quarter
S — C. Catelli 60 interception return (Rickerson run), 3:18
S — Textor 59 pass from Rickerson (run failed), 1:08
• Third quarter
S — Textor 54 pass from Rickerson (run failed), 8:52
S — C. Catelli 45 pass from Rickerson (F. Catelli kick), 5:35
S — C. Catelli 5 pass from Rickerson (F. Catelli kick), 2:16
• Fourth quarter
PA — Walker 1 run (Hurd kick), 10:01

Sequim stats
First downs: 12
Total yards: 395 (175 rushing, 220 passing)
Third down: 4-7
Fourth down: 0-2
Rushing: Travis Decker 13-125, TD; Joey Hall 4-26; Frank Catelli 2-13; Tyler Forshaw 1-11; Isaac Yamamoto 1-2; Drew Rickerson 1-(-2)
Passing: Rickerson 10-15, 220 yards, 4 TDs; F. Catelli 0-3
Receiving: John Textor 4-128, 2 TDs; Clancy Catelli 4-76, 2TDs; Decker 1-11; Yamamoto 1-11; Alex Gillis 1-8; Joel Anastasi 1-7
Leading tacklers: Yamamoto 12, C. Catelli 10, Gillis 9, Jeremie Oliver 9, Decker 7, Hall 7, Preston McFarlen 7, Chris Morgan 7
Interceptions: C. Catelli
Fumble recoveries: McFarlen
Sacks: Yamamoto, Andrew Schaumberg
Penalties/yards: 4-25

Port Angeles stats
First downs: 7
Total yards: 158 (148 rushing, 10 passing)
Third down: 2-12
Fourth down: 2-3
Rushing: Nathan Cristion 13-88; Kenny Sewell 2-28; Cameron Moon 12-16; Nathan Hofer 4-15; Cody Sullivan 3-7; Ben Wetzler 3-4; Colby Adamich 2-1; Keenan Walker 3-(-7), TD
Passing: Adamich 1-3, 10 yards, Int; Walker 0-2
Receiving: Colin Wheeler 1-10
Penalties/yards: 4-45

Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.