Football: Wolves ride second half surge to top Kingston

A defensive switch made at halftime and keeping their cool helped Sequim’s Wolves turns a first half deficit into a happy Homecoming.

Lars Wiker threw three touchdown passes — two in the second half to Toppy Robideau Jr. — as the Wolves outlasted the Kingston Buccaneers 27-14 on Sept. 30.

“We were more disciplined and wanted it,” Sequim coach Erik Wiker said following his squad’s 2022 Homecoming win.

The visiting Buccaneers, fueled by a big rushing attack from quarterback Brooks Arnim (19 carries, 202 yards) and running back Camden Singer (23 rushes, 146 yards), bullied their way to a 14-13 halftime lead.

But a slew of second half penalties — including 11 in the fourth quarter alone, for 140 yards — kept the Bucs’ offense from mounting a comeback. (Kingston wound up with 22 penalties for 210 yards.)

“We switched to man coverage and the linebackers did their job,” Sequim’s Aiden Gockerell said.

After a fumble on their first possession, the Wolves (2-1 in league, 2-3 overall) opened the scoring with a Gockerell two-yard plunge for a 7-0 lead with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.

Kingston responded with a nine-play, 73-yard drive that Arnim capped with a one-yard dive on a fourth down, trimming SHS’s lead to 7-6.

The Bucs forced a Sequim punt, and then drove for another score with 2:55 left in the first half, capped by a 13-yard scamper by Singer. A two-point conversion followed, giving Kingston a 14-7 lead.

Sequim responded quickly, however: After a big kickoff return by Sam Fitzgerald, Wiker found Gockerell on a screen that went 43 yards for a touchdown. A blocked point-after left the score 14-13 Kingston at halftime.

The Wolves opened the second half by forcing a Buccaneer punt, and with 8:04 left in the third quarter Wiker found Robideau from eight yards out, putting Sequim ahead 20-14.

Sequim then forced a turnover on downs, and Wiker led another long drive to give Sequim some insurance. On a third-and-four from the Kingston 10-yard-line, Wiker rolled out and found Robideau again in the end zone for a 27-14 lead.

Kingston had three drives stuffed in the final quarter — one ending in a punt, a second in an interception by Sequim cornerback Charlie Grider, and a final one on downs, after Arnim left the game with an injury.

“[Arnim] was hard to bring down,” Gockerell said.

Wiker finished an efficient seven-of-eight for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Gockerell had 90 yards on 20 carries and a score, and two receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown. Fitzgerald added eight carries for 61 yards.

The Wolves committed eight penalties for 86 yards.

While the Buccaneers racked up 378 rushing yards, they had just 37 through the air. Arnim finished six-of-14 for 32 yards and an interception.

Coming up

The Wolves host Olympic on Oct. 7.

Sequim is at North Mason on Oct. 14 and at North Kitsap on Oct. 21.

Gockerell said Sequim’s offensive and defensive lines need to step up in coming weeks to keep the Wolves in games.

“I also need to work on my aiming points on runs,” he said.

The Wolves finish the regular season on Oct. 28 at home against Bremerton.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Sam Fitzgerald breaks through the Kingston defense for a big gain in the Wolves’ 27-13 Homecoming victory on Sept. 30.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Sam Fitzgerald looks to tackle Kingston’s Hans Reber in the second half of the Wolves’ 27-13 Homecoming win on Sept. 30.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Ayden Holland tries to wrap up Kingston quarterback Brooks Arnim in a Sept. 30 Olympic League match-up. Holland’s Wolves won, 27-13.

Sequim Gazette photo by Michael Dashiell / Sequim’s Aiden Gockerell, center, drives into the end zone for a first quarter touchdown in the Wolves’ 27-13 Homecoming win over Kingston on Sept. 30.