Olympic League standings
Team Lg. Over.
Olympic 4-0 7-0
North Kitsap 4-0 5-2
Sequim 3-1 5-1
Kingston 2-3 2-5
Bremerton 1-3 1-6
North Mason 1-4 1-6
Port Angeles 0-4 1-6
by MICHAEL DASHIELL
Sequim Gazette
Sequim High senior Arnold Black and brother Joe, who plays for rival Port Angeles, had some friendly smack talking before the teams squared off Friday night.
Arnold and company had the last laugh, and now they have their trophy back.
Black ran for three scores and SHS freshman Riley Cowan overcame four interceptions with a pair of touchdown passes as Sequim routed PA’s Roughriders 49-6 Friday night.
“Definitely a rivalry game (but) also a championship game,” Black said following Sequim’s big win.
“We came in way too confident but our line started blocking better,” Black said, after Sequim piled up 195 rushing yards. “We made each other look good.”
The blowout not only highlighted SHS’s Homecoming but also returned the Rainshadow Rumble trophy — the prize the teams play for in each year’s cross-peninsula game — after two years resting in Port Angeles’ trophy case.
The Roughriders revamped their offense for the affair, using a multi-receiver, zone-read shotgun ploy and 6-foot 5-inch junior quarterback Tyrus Beckett, and it caught Sequim off guard after the Riders took a 6-0 lead five minutes in.
“They did a good job coming out with something different (but we) bounced back well,” Sequim coach Erik Wiker said.
After that, however, it was all Sequim.
“We came out flat-footed but we put it together,” Sequim linebacker James Thayer said. Thayer, who picked off an errant Beckett pass for a touchdown in the third quarter, aided a Sequim defense that didn’t allow a third-down conversion down past the first quarter and gave up just eight first downs and 35 passing yards.
“It feels great; overall, just a good game,” Thayer said. “Our line stepped it up.”
Riders score first, Sequim scores most
Port Angeles opened the scoring, driving 52 yards on eight plays and capped by Taylor Millsap’s one-yard plunge.
Sequim sophomore Gavin Velarde looked to give Sequim a lead after a spectacular punt return for a score, but one of Sequim’s 13 penalties on the night negated the effort.
The Roughriders stymied two Sequim drives with interceptions, but Matthew Schock recovered a Beckett fumble and ran it to the Port Angeles 7-yard-line. Black took it in two plays later to put Sequim up 7-6 — a lead they’d never relinquish — with 1:44 to go in the first quarter.
Following a Port Angeles punt, Velarde got a bit of revenge when he took a short pass from Cowan, spun out of three tackles and raced down the sideline for a 63-yard score and 14-6 SHS lead.
Brandon Stamper provided a special teams highlight with a blocked punt on the next possession. After the teams traded interceptions, Black raced in from eight yards out for a 21-6 Sequim advantage with 7:50 remaining in the half.
Sequim added another score — Black’s third rushing score of the night — soon thereafter, a nine-play, 52-yard drive to give Sequim a 28-6 lead.
Sequim looked to add yet another score before halftime, but Port Angeles’ Garrett Edwards picked off Cowan for the young Sequim QB’s fourth interception of the half.
“(Riley is a) really good competitor — he takes it to heart and he wants to be good,” Wiker said. “Not all of those were on him.”
Dispelling any thought of a comeback, Sequim drove 50 yards on six plays and scored when Cowan found a streaking Noah Christiansen in the corner of the end zone, giving Sequim a 35-6 lead with 8:34 in the quarter.
Thayer’s “pick-six” with 1:50 in the third quarter made it 42-6 and Mark Feeney, who led the team with 70 rushing yards, added a 13-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
Stats, stats
Cowan finished 9-of-19 passing for 195 yards, the two scores and four interceptions. Black had 50 yards rushing and Stamper added another 40. Velarde (63 yards) and Ian Dennis (57 yard) paced the Sequim receiving corps.
Beckett led Port Angeles ball carriers with 58 yards on 14 carries, but 46 of those came in one fourth quarter rumble when the game was decided. He was 7-of-14 for 35 yards and a pair of interceptions.
Looking ahead
Sequim gets a matchup with a big opponent from Silverdale.
The Wolves host the Olympic Trojans — ranked No. 7 in last week’s Associated Press high school football poll — on Oct. 23.
Olympic is coming off a 42-0 home win against North Mason.
“They have a good, solid team,” Wiker said. “We have a good, solid team. We have to have a solid week of practice. We are expecting to compete with them.”
Senior quarterback Matt Becker leads the Trojans, tossing nine touchdowns and zero interceptions, to go along with 154 rushing yards and six scores. Junior Logan Madison and freshman Darelle White lead the rushing attack. Madison has 480 yards and five touchdowns while White adds 309 yards and three scores, including a team-high 8.4 yards per carry. Colton Wade is Olympic’s top receiver, snagging 21 receptions for 315 yards and five touchdowns. (Note: Olympic stats through six games.)
The Trojans have outscored opponents 239-13 coming into Friday’s game.
Black said one key for a good game against the Trojans comes down to one thing: penalties.
“The last few games, penalties have been killing us,” Black said.
• Oct. 23
at Sequim 49, Port Angeles 6
Port Angeles 6 0 0 0 — 6
Sequim 7 21 14 7 — 49
• Scoring
First quarter
PA – Millsap 1 run (kick failed), 7:45
S – Black 1 run (Winfield kick), 1:44
Second quarter
S – Velarde 63 pass from Cowan (Winfield kick), 9:53
S – Black 8 run (Winfield kick), 7:50
S – Black 1 run (Winfield kick), 2:36
Third quarter
S – Christiansen 23 pass from Cowan (Winfield kick), 8:34
S – Thayer 16 interception return (Winfield kick), 1:50
Fourth quarter
S – Feeney 13 run (Winfield kick), 8:44
• Team stats:
Total yards — Sequim 390 (Sequim 195 rushing, 195 passing); Port Angeles 174 (139 rushing, 35 passing)
First downs: Sequim 15, Port Angeles 8
Third down: Sequim 2-6, Port Angeles 1-7
Fourth down: Sequim 0-1, Port Angeles 0-0
• Individual stats:
Passing — Sequim: Riley Cowan 9-19, 195 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INTs; Johnnie Young 0-1. Port Angeles: Tyrus Beckett 7-14, 35 yards, 2 INTs
Rushing — Sequim: Mark Feeney 7-70, TD; Arnold Black 9-50, 3 TDs; Brandon Stamper 5-40; Cowan 5-14; Gavin Velarde 3-12; Noah Christiansen 1-10; Johnnie Young 1-2; Austin Hilliard 1-0; Tyler Conn 2-(-3). Port Angeles: Beckett 14-58; Rudy Valdez 2-45; Kellen Landry 9-24; Jace Bohman 4-13; Taylor Millsap 1-1, TD; Ryan Rodocker 2-(-2)
Receiving — Sequim: Velarde 2-63, TD; Ian Dennis 3-57; Nick Faunce 1-30; Christiansen 1-23, TD; Ben Hughes 1-14; Rudy Whitehead 1-8. Port Angeles: Bailey White 1-21; Landry 3-7; Bohman 1-7; Millsap 1-2; Rodocker 1-(-2)
Interceptions — Sequim: James Thayer (TD), Black, Michael Shimer; Port Angeles: Landry 2, Rodocker, Garrett Edwards
Blocked punt: Sequim, Stamper
Sacks: Sequim, Thayer
Penalties: Sequim 13-90, Port Angeles 4-20.
