Football: Wolves howl in season-opener WITH VIDEO

A new season, a new coach, a new starting quarterback and a new offensive approach added up to the start of a new win streak against a familiar foe.

Junior quarterback Zeke Schmadeke rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns and junior running back Liam Wiker added 106 rushing yards and two scores as the Wolves (1-0) overcame some first-game nerves and a slew of first half penalties for a 35-26 over the visiting 1A Forks Spartans (0-1) at Stáʔčəŋ Stadium on Sept. 6.

The non-league victory made a winner of new SHS coach Ian Henley, who leads the Wolves after they spent 20 years under Erik Wiker — now an assistant and offensive coordinator under Henley.

“The kids played hard,” Henley said. “They’ve worked hard all summer and hard in camp. They really earned this win and it’s much more of a testament to them than to me and how much they want to be good.

“We can build on this and continue and there’s lots of things to work on, but overall a pretty good first game.”

Forks built a 14-13 lead by halftime on a pair of scores from quarterback Bubba Hernandez, but the Wolves responded with a big second half, scoring on back-to-back possessions behind a dominating offensive line and capped by a pair of Schmadeke scores for a 27-14 lead.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Malachi Hampton, a transfer from Olympic, breaks free of a tackle by Forks Bubba Hernandez for a big gain in the first half of Sequim’s 35-26 win over the 1A Spartans on Sept. 6.

The Spartans got within a score with 10:14 remaining on a fumble recovery in the end zone, but Sequim marched 60 yards in eight plays with Wiker scoring from seven yards out and 5:11 on the clock, effectively ending the game.

The win ends a three-game Forks win streak; the teams have matched up in either the season-opener or second game of the season in five the past six season.

“The kids did a great job of responding to adversity,” Henley said.

“We’ve talked about that since I got here that bad things are going to happen, nobody’s perfect and things aren’t always going to go the way you planned but just keep plugging away and falling back on the things we know we do well: get the ball to our playmakers and play tough defense.”

Schmadeke steps up

Schmadeke made the transition in the offseason from wide receiver to quarterback, and finished Friday night’s game 5-of-7 for 50 yards.

“It was a little weird [in the new position, but] I like having the ball in my hands,” he said.

Wiker said Schmadeke is adjusting to the new role as he succeed’s Wiker’s brother Lars in the role.

“Zeke’s taking it on like a champ and really stepping up, being a leader,” Wiker said.

The Wolves’ offense is reminiscent of the early 2010s, Wiker said, when his older brother Jack, a running back-turned-quarterback, gave opposing defenses fits trying to stop the mobile signal-caller.

”It’s almost like having two running backs,” Schmadeke said.

Sequim got a boost from Olympic transfer Malachi Hampton, who finished with five receptions for 50 yards and a score, and added a key interception on defense. Schmadeke said Sequim’s offense becomes pretty tough to defend with two threats in the backfield plus Hampton’s speed hitting the corners.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim players celebrate Malachi Hampton’s interception in the second half of the Wolves’ win over Forks on Sept. 6.

Forks got on the scoreboard early after three penalties marred the Wolves’ opening salvo. On the Spartans’ third play, Hernandez broke free and scampered 72 yards for a score and 7-0 lead.

Sequim responded two drives later on a Wiker 10-yard score, set up by a Simon Skribner interception.

Hampton put Sequim up 13-7 with 7:40 in the first half on a five-yard score, but Hernandez found Gage Willenbrink in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown strike to end the first half’s scoring.

Sequim finished with 370 total yards; Forks had 227.

“They outplayed us physically,” Spartans head coach Trevor Highfield. “It was as simple as they were a tougher team than us. Their program rededicated itself to a summer lifting program and it paid off. We struggled with turnout for ours for the first time.”

The Wolves also finished with 14 penalties for 125 yards; the Spartans were penalized 10 times for 72 total yards.

“Coming in we had lots of nerves, kind of shot ourselves in the foot,” Wiker said. “[But] we had a good game plan. It’s working.”

Coming up

Sequim is back in action at home next week against Franklin Pierce (1-0). The Cardinals routed Sammamish 68-6.

In week three, the Wolves play at Elma; the Eagles are, a 1A squad in the Evergreen Conference (southwest Washington). Elma beat Centralia 34-20 at home in week one.

Peninsula Daily News reporter Michael Carman contributed to the story.

Sequim 35, Forks 26

Forks 7 7 0 12 — 26

Sequim 7 6 14 8 — 35

Scoring

1st quarter

F — Hernandez 72 run (Davila kick), 7:44

S — Wiker 10 run (Henninger kick), 3:20

2nd quarter

S— Hampton 5 pass from Schmadeke (two-point failed), 7:40

F — Willenbrink 9 pass from Hernandez (kick good), 4:19

3rd quarter