SEQUIM — The Port Angeles and Sequim football teams appeared to be on a collision course toward the Olympic League championship two weeks ago.
In a very roundabout way, they are.
Thanks to Kingston’s improbable 27-20 upset of North Kitsap on Thursday night, tonight’s annual rivalry game could once again determine an outright league champion.
The Vikings loss puts the 10th-ranked Wolves (5-1 in league, 7-1 overall) all alone on top of the Olympic League standings with one game to go.
That means Sequim, which appeared out of the running for an outright league title after falling at North Kitsap a week ago, can claim the Olympic’s top playoff seed if it can knock off an injury-riddled Port Angeles team.
Meanwhile, the Roughriders (4-2, 6-2) can win a share of the league crown and force a four-way tie atop the standings with a win themselves.
In other words, the sizzle that seemed to have left this game just a few days ago is now coming back just in time for today’s 7 p.m. kickoff
“You always want to take care of business and win, but yeah I’m excited about that,” said Sequim head coach Erik Wiker, whose Wolves will be going for their third straight league crown.
“There’s a definitely a different mentality that will go into he game, and that’s one thing that will change. No doubt about it whatsoever. Same thing for Port Angeles. I think it goes both ways. It builds up the game a little bit more.”
Unfortunately for fans, there will still likely be a decrease in star power.
Both teams lost marquee players to injuries midway through last week’s upset losses on the Kitsap Peninsula.
While Frank Catelli tweaked a groin injury in Sequim’s 33-13 setback at North Kitsap, Keenen Walker broke his arm in the second quarter of Port Angeles’ 26-7 loss at Klahowya.
Given that each player is his team’s starting quarterback, as well a key member defensive contributor, those aren’t insignificant losses.
Wiker said Catelli is all but ruled out of tonight’s game, but Walker may very well line up at running back and safety for the Roughriders wearing a restrictive hard cast.
Despite that, the Riders will be missing several other high impact starters in skill positions and on the line.
All of that has made for a challenging lead-in to tonight’s game, Rider head coach Tom Wahl said.
“I get a pretty good pulse check from my son [junior Eric Wahl] at home, and I can tell that they feel like they’ve lost a little confidence because they don’t have those guys in there and are not sure how many are going to be in there,” Wahl said.
“Everybody starts feeling like, gosh, second-guessing ourselves and thinking, ‘Are we really a very good team?’ That’s been a real challenge this week to try and get people excited and encouraged and enthusiastic.
“One would think you wouldn’t have to do that on the Sequim game, but none the less, that’s the challenge I’m seeing.”
It’s easy to understand the Riders’ frustrations.
Not only is Port Angeles coming off two straight losses — a 35-14 setback at home against North Kitsap, and last week’s stunner at last-place Klahowya — but its roster is a virtual mash unit.
Senior skill position players Cameron Braithwaite (knee), Skylar Gray (respiratory issue) and Eli Fiscalini (concussion) will all miss tonight’s game with injuries, while running back Dylan Brewer (possible hernia) is a question mark.
All-league lineman Nick Ioffrida is also not expected to suit up (deep thigh bruise).
And with Walker playing out of position, sophomore Larsson Chapman must make his first varsity start under center.
Due to all of the carnage, Port Angeles coaches have been forced to shuffle available players around the field and experiment with new looks on offense to utilize what’s left.
“Generally I would say as much as you think it looks OK in practice, when you get out there in a game against a good team, it’s going to blow up,” Wahl said of PA’s new offensive looks.
“Even if you did it with your best varsity group it’s going to have problems because it’s just not what we’ve been doing all season.
“But it’s what we’re trying to do that we think we’ve got the best chance of doing anything with.”
The Riders aren’t the only ones who could come out with a little different offensive look tonight.
With Catelli likely sidelined, Wiker said he will likely go with a two-headed quarterback setup utilizing his son, Jack Wiker, and Cody Field.
Both saw time at the position in the second half of last week’s loss at North Kitsap, with each contributing positive yardage on the Wolves’ lone scoring drive of the half.
The duo also split time during a win over North Mason earlier this season when Catelli was suspended for one week.
“We’ll try to run the stuff we have,” Wiker said, “and try to utilize both of them at quarterback so we can use Jack at running back too.”
As is the hallmark of any good rivalry, there’s little trust on either side concerning rumors about who is playing where.
Thus, both teams have spent time preparing for the other’s best look at quarterback much of the week.
That could make things pretty interesting once each team lays its cards on the table come kickoff.
“I always tell the kids until they haven’t entered in the first quarter,” we will assume they are playing, Wiker said.
“Role players can step up and have big games also. [North Kitsap’s Conner McCorkle] had two carries before us [then gained 223 yards against the Wolves].
“He was never a player to stop, but evidently we didn’t stop them.”
Sequim has won three straight against Port Angeles and 5 of 7 since the rivalry was renewed in 2004.
If the Wolves make it four in a row tonight, they will lock up the league’s top seed and a “home” Class 2A state preliminary playoff against the 2A SPSL’s fourth-place team in Poulsbo.
Port Angeles would drop to fourth with a loss and be forced into a loser-out pigtail playoff at the Seamount No. 3 on Tuesday.
A Port Angeles win would force a four-way tie between the Riders, Sequim, Kingston and North Kitsap.
Playoff seeding would be determined by a points for, points against tie-breaker.
