Olympic League standings

Team Lg. Over.

Olympic 1-0 2-1

North Kitsap 1-0 2-1

Kingston 1-0 2-0

Bremerton 0-0 2-1

Sequim 0-1 2-1

Port Angeles 0-1 0-3

North Mason 0-1 2-1

Turnovers and penalties sank the Wolves as Sequim lost 16-8 to the North Kitsap Vikings in Poulsbo on Sept. 20, in their first Olympic League game of the season.

After the Wolves blocked a field goal on North Kitsap’s opening drive, the Vikings scored on their second drive on a 1-yard Josh Fisher run.

The second and third quarters were marred by a series of miscues from Sequim, with several fumbled snaps turning into turnovers deep in the Wolves’ territory. The Vikings turned two of those into field goals in the second quarter before Sequim could get on the board, capitalizing on a muffed punt to take over deep in NK territory before Taig Wiker found Hayden Eaton for a 20-yard touchdown pass, closing the gap to 13-6.

The third quarter saw another Wolves’ fumble deep in their own territory turn into a Vikings field goal, though Sequim finally started to get some momentum going their way.

Their defense held strong against the Vikings’ best attempts, and Wiker and Walker Ward got the running game rolling while Hosel and Isaiah Moore made several key receptions to keep drives moving.

The Wolves struggled in the red zone, twice turning the ball over on downs deep in Vikings territory. One of those turnovers, however, turned into a safety after multiple Sequim linebackers sniffed out a run from the 2-yard-line and combined to haul down Vikings running back Taylor Jackson in the end zone.

Despite the turnovers and a hostile crowd, Sequim had a chance to tie the game in the last minute. The Wolves marched down to the Viking 5-yard-line and even had their drive extended by a pass interference call in the end zone. But Sequim couldn’t punch the ball in and turned the ball over on downs with less than 30 seconds left in the game.

“We had to deal with a lot of adversity tonight,” Sequim head coach Erik Wiker said after the game.

“Despite what we had to deal with, the self-inflicted wounds are what hurt. I’m still proud of how they responded, though. They played hard, they played with emotion, and they should be proud of how they played.

“If we can cut out the mistakes and be a little more consistent, we’re still a good enough team to be in the hunt for the league championship.”

Looking ahead

The Wolves play the third of three consecutive road games at North Mason on Sept. 27.

Last season, Sequim shut out the Bulldogs 20-0 in Sequim.

North Mason lost badly at Olympic on Sept. 20, falling 46-6.

Sequim is back at home on Oct. 4 to take on the Kingston Buccaneers and Oct. 11 against Olympic.

Sequim running back Walker Ward tries to escape the grasp of North Kitsap’s Nathan Simms. Ward carried the ball 13 times for 65 yards. Photo courtesy of Mark Krulish/Olympic Peninsula Newsgroup