Low numbers, inexperience and COVID protocols combined to take a lot of the air out of Sequim’s 2021 season last fall.
“Last year going into the North Kitsap jamboree, we had multiple people starting on varsity that had never played football before,” SHS head coach Erik Wiker said.
“We couldn’t run plays from our wristbands and we’ve been using those for well over a decade. We had to show pictures of our plays like a scout team.
“And [today at the Vikings’ 2022 Jamboree] we could run 15 different plays and a variety of options off the wristband. That in itself is a huge difference. Overall, the kids are much more excited, practices are much more functional, we are able to get in more individual work to get better and that leads to better team sessions.”
With more athletes, more playing time and more of a true offseason, the Wolves are embracing the challenges this fall head on.
“We are more than double the numbers we had to start last year; we are up over 45,” Wiker said. “We had zero offseason program at all last year, and this time we held a very regular summer. We didn’t go to team camp, but we used our spring football practices wisely and had a good scrimmage with Port Angeles to close that out.
“There’s just so much more continuity than last year.”
Wiker, the dean of North Olympic Peninsula football coaches, is entering his 19th season as Sequim head coach.
“I’ve been able to coach more already this preseason than I did all of last year,” Wiker said. “It felt like I was putting out fires all the time the last two years.”
Sequim is still a young squad, but has experienced leaders to carry much of the burden, Wiker noted.
“We have our upperclassmen wear purple jerseys at practice and our underclassmen wear gold,” he said. “There’s a plethora of gold jerseys out there at practice.”
Sequim struggled at times against stiff competition in 2021, going 3-4 in league play and 3-5 overall. Among the Wolves’ wins were a come-from-behind, 29-28 Homecoming victory over North Mason and a 17-12 win in the Rainshadow Rumble series over rival Port Angeles.
Lars Wiker at QB
Junior quarterback Lars Wiker returns to lead the Wolves.
“Having Lars back that helps us a tremendous amount,” Wiker said. “He’s as smart and knowledgeable as he is in the classroom and because of his knowledge of our system, we can implement a lot of tweaks because he’s the only one that has to know.”
As a sophomore in 2021, Lars Wiker threw for 1,245 yards and 11 touchdowns against six interceptions in seven games to earn all-Olympic League first team honors. He added 182 rushing yards and a pair of scores.
Erik Wiker compared the signal-caller’s football IQ with former Sequim standout Riley Cowan.
“There’s a Riley factor there, his biggest talents were his smarts and his knowledge,” Wiker said. “Lars gets after it and works hard. He’s not going to be the fastest QB or have the best arm, but he has the intangibles, the leadership, being able to run an offense and confuse a defense and that makes us better.”
Senior Aiden Gockerell will return at running back and on defense. He earned all-Olympic League second team honors at linebacker as a junior.
“Aiden had never played the position and was really a running back by default last year,” Wiker said. “He does run hard and he did get some good experience. With his receiving skills, we could go to empty [backfield] to utilize him and also throw him some passes out of the backfield.”
Sam Fitzgerald “worked really hard” this offseason and will be in the skill position mix with Ricky Jennings, Wiker said.
At 6 feet and 3 inches, senior Isaiah Moore will be Lars Wiker’s top target at wide out and also will play secondary and potentially linebacker, depending on the opposition’s personnel.
Moore, who racked up 381 yards on 25 receptions and a score in 2021.
Faas Christianson, a senior tight end and linebacker, also will see plenty of playing time.
Junior Ayden Holland is a third-year starter on a young offensive line that saw three freshmen start last season. Holland was named a first-team offensive lineman last fall.
“He’s a great leader for us on the line right now, he’s one of the guys the others that look up to,” Erik Wiker said of Holland. “He was an all-league o-lineman last season and he will be a force on defense, too.”
Sophomore Dylan Bowen, last season’s starter at center, returns, along with sophomore right tackle Paul Burrows. Sophomore Nick Jaggar also has starting experience on the line.
Kelso transfer Nehemiah Guzman looks to be in position at left tackle and along the defensive line.
The Wolves lost top receiver Kobe Applegate to graduation; the former starting quarterback amassed 432 yards on 24 receptions for seven touchdowns (earning all-league second team kudos), and added 113 yards and two scores on the ground. Also graduated is Brandon Wagner, who had 25 catches for 381 yards and a score for last year’s Wolves team, and earned all-Olympic League team honor as punter and kicker. The Wolves lost Pryce Glasser to graduation as well; the defensive lineman racked up four sacks, 16 tackles for a loss and 42 total tackles to earn all-league first team honors.
Open versus Forks
Sequim opens the 2022 campaign at home against Forks on Friday, Sept. 2; kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.
Last season, the 1A Spartans topped the Wolves 56-28 in Forks, their first win over Sequim since 2008 to end a five-game SHS series streak.
Sequim then travels to Tenino on Sept. 9 for the first-ever meeting between the Wolves and the Beavers, a 1A school between Olympic and Centralia playing in the Evergreen League.
The Wolves open the 2022 Olympic League schedule at home on Friday, Sept. 16, against Bainbridge. Prior to the game (4:45 p.m.), the school will celebrate the naming the stadium for a S’Klallam word pronounced “stah-chung” and meaning “wolf,” and the field to Myron Teterud’s Field, after the longtime, late SHS sports fanatic.
Wiker said he thinks much of the Olympic League is at a similar talent level.
“North Kitsap, and Olympic if they return their linemen are at the top,” Wiker said. “But after that, I don’t see a whole lot of separation between the other teams. Kingston put in so much work this offseason that I don’t think they will be at the bottom. I think we are all in for a lot of close games.”
Sequim Gazette editor Michael Dashiell contributed to this story.
Fall sports preview: Sequim High School Football
2021 record: 3-6 (3-4 in Olympic League)
Head coach: Erik Wiker (19th season)
Key returning players: Lars Wiker (jr.), Aiden Gockerell (sr.), Sam Fitzgerald (sr.), Isaiah Moore (sr.), Ricky Jennings (sr.), Faas Christensen (sr.), Ayden Holland (jr.)
SHS football 2022 schedule
Date Opponent Time
Sept. 2 Forks 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 9 at Tenino 7 p.m.
Sept. 16 Bainbridge 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 at Port Angeles 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 30 Kingston 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 7 Olympic 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 14 at North Mason 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 at North Kitsap 7 p.m.
Sequim Gazette file photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Aiden Gockerell tries to break free of a tackle in a 2021 Olympic League game at Bremerton.
