WOLVES LOOK TO MAKE HISTORY

Sequim’s Chris Pruden puts a big hit on Washington quarterback Will Woo as Wolves teammates Joe Hutchison (47) and Kevin Beck look on.

Sequim tops Washington in blowout; No. 2 Tumwater in way of Wolves’ first state win

by Michael Dashiell
Staff writer

The Washington Patriots came in with red, white and blue on their uniforms and left mostly black and blue.

Sequim running backs overcame an early first-quarter deficit to blast their visitors from Tacoma 45-16 on Nov. 3, earning their second-consecutive bid to the class 2A state playoffs.

Chris Riggs had 152 yards rushing and Kincaid Nichols added 147 all-purpose yards and two scores in the rout.
“(The win) is just kids being coachable; they were making great reads,’ Sequim coach Erik Wiker said.

After losing two similar state play-in games in 2004 and 2005, Sequim eked by Eatonville last year. For the final three quarters on Saturday, it wasn’t nearly as close.

After falling behind 8-7 thanks to a long touchdown pass from Patriot quarterback Willy Woo to Brian Freeman, the Wolves (8-2) reeled off 38 consecutive points, mostly by pounding the Patriot interior defense with Riggs, a sturdy senior running back, and the speedy Nichols. Using 340-pound offensive tackle Erik Paden, the Wolves drove 63 yards in just six plays, capping the first quarter with Nichols’ two-yard plunge to take a 14-8 lead.

“He (Paden) can do a lot of things I’ve never seen on a football field,” Wiker said.

After a Washington punt, Keller Batson connected on a 26-yard field goal and, when the Patriots punted once more, the Wolves converted a 76-yard drive in seven plays, highlighted by a pair of first-down passes from Nic Thacker, one to Nichols and another to Brad Woolf. Riggs’ 12-yard scamper made it 24-8 at halftime.

The Wolves didn’t let up in the second half as they recovered a short Batson kickoff, then saw Thacker connect with Alex Gillis from 28 yards out just 14 seconds after the halftime whistle.

It was first career score for Gillis, a top special teams player who preserved a victory at Friday Harbor by blocking a field goal four weeks ago.

On Saturday night, he was just one of many heroes.

Nichols added a 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and, with the game well in hand, backup Joey Hall converted a Patriot turnover for a nine-yard touchdown run, putting Sequim up 45-8.

Soon after, Wiker got a celebratory cold shower when players dumped their water jug on him. That’s the price one pays for four consecutive league titles and a chance to play Tumwater, Washington state’s No. 2 class 2A team, in the state playoffs’ first round.

Success, Wiker said, didn’t come to Sequim from one player or one coach.

“It’s a ton of little things,” he said, naming his assistants. “It couldn’t be just me. It’s the lifting in the weight room Tuesday through Thursday, the team dinners for bonding ? I don’t think many people gave us a chance to go to state this year.”

And so they will. Up next is a Tumwater team that earned a playoff spot after dominating Washougal 52-15 last week. Quarterback Jordan Dowers threw three touchdown passes — two to Brandon Semken — as the Thunderbirds grabbed a 31-0 lead by halftime.

Gillis said the Wolves might not be able to ride their traditionally strong running game all night if they want to advance.
“You’ve got to be able to mix it up,” Gillis said.
Wiker took a more modest approach.

“We have to do the same things (we usually do),” the Sequim coach said. “We have to scout them good. We have to concentrate on us and execute well.”

The game, set for Nov. 10 at Tumwater High School in Tumwater (just south of Olympia), starts at 7 p.m.
The Thunderbirds (9-0) are ranked No. 2 by the Associated Press, just behind similarly undefeated Prosser (9-0).
Game notes:

Batson was perfect on kicks, connecting on all six point-after attempts and his 26-yard field goal ? Riggs opened the scoring with a 28-yard touchdown run less than two minutes into the contest. He now has nine touchdowns this season.

Nichols leads the team with 15 touchdowns ? fans got a halftime “treat” as an unnamed fan semi-streaked across the field (the fan was only partially clothed) ? Sequim and Washington faced each other in 2004 when Sequim, then a 3A school, was a member of the Nisqually League. Sequim beat Washington 20-14.

JV/C-team gets victory, earns 9-game win streak
With a roster boasting 19 freshmen and seven sophomores, Sequim’s junior varsity/C-team showed the school’s football future looks bright as they capped a perfect fall season record by beating Port Townsend’s JV team 41-24 on Oct. 29.
Drew Rickerson and Dalton Thacker each threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Wolves outgained the Redskins in total yardage 405-163.

Rickerson was 5-of-7 for 184 yards while Thacker was 4-of-8 for 106 yards.

Joel Anastasi had four catches for 184 yards and two scores while Gordon Alcafaras had two grabs for 34 yards, both for touchdowns.

Joey Hall led the squad with 82 rushing yards on 10 carries while Jeremie Oliver had 44 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

Oliver, Rickerson, Preston McFarland and John Textor each had interceptions. Kris Goss led the team with six tackles.
The young Wolves dropped a preseason, 12-6 decision to Kingston but then reeled off nine consecutive wins for a 9-0 campaign.


Sequim 45, Washington 16
Players of the game: Sequim’s offensive linemen (Roman Turner, Erik Paden, Thomas Gallagher, Colin Kahler, Jeff Brilhante and Kevin Beck), who simply blew open gaping holes for a number of Sequim backs, leading to easy scores and a path to the state playoffs.

Play of the game: Nic Thacker’s 28-yard bullet to Alex Gillis opened the second-half scoring and gave Sequim a 31-8 lead, effectively ending thoughts of a Washington comeback.

Key stats: Sequim rushed for 357 yards and gained 19 total first downs, controlling the line of scrimmage with ease.

Next week: At Tumwater. Class 2A state playoffs first round game starts at 7 p.m., Nov. 10.

Wolves to take on Tumwater’s Thunderbirds
Sequim travels just south of Olympia to take on Tumwater High in Tumwater.

How to get there: Take U.S. Highway 101 to Highway 104, then south on Highway 3 toward Bremerton. Highway 3 becomes Highway 16. Take I-5 south toward Olympia. Take Tumwater Boulevard (exit 101), turning left. From Tumwater Boulevard, turn left on Linderson Way SW and right on Israel Road SW.

Tickets: $7 for adults; $5 for seniors and students with ID

Winner of game: Advances to state tournament second round, plays winner of Othello/District 7 No. 3 seed game.

Patriots survived tiebreaker to advance
By regular season games played on the field, Sequim should have played Steilacoom’s Sentinels Saturday night. But the Sentinels had to forfeit a 40-20 win against Washington in September because they used an ineligible player, creating a three-way tie for the Nisqually League No. 2 seed.

Thanks to that gaffe, Washington’s Patriots earned a chance at the class 2A state playoffs when they won a three-way tiebreaker with Steilacoom and Eatonville Oct. 30.

With a second chance, the Patriots won a coin toss between Eatonville and Steilacoom, earning a bye in the first of two minigames (four six-minute quarters). In the first game, Eatonville eliminated Steilacoom with a fourth-quarter field goal. Washington did the same to the Cruisers with an 18-7 victory in the final minigame.