By Pierre LaBossiere and Michael Carman
Peninsula Daily News
SEQUIM — The Wolves’ Gavin Velarde has been threatening to have a big game all year and he went off in spectacular fashion against Kingston, scoring five touchdowns in a 48-6 romp over Kingston.
Playoff-bound Sequim has been winning all year with a grind-it-out offense, but Friday night against Kingston, the Wolves broke out the big plays they have gained the reputation for in their highest-scoring game of the year.
Velarde had six catches for 229 yards with three touchdown receptions, including an 85-yard catch for a TD. He also ran 12 yards for a touchdown and had a 76-yard interception return for another TD.
Riley Cowan threw for 267 yards on 10 for 15 passing. He also rushed for 27 yards. Hayden Gresli ran for 70 yards on six carries and had a 33-yard catch as the Wolves compiled a total of 405 yards of offense.
Coach Erik Wiker it was good to see his team play well in what was basically a non-essential game.
“We focused pretty well and executed,” he said.
It was Velarde’s biggest game of the year, in part because the Wolves changed some things around and made a point of isolating him in the offense, Wiker said.
Sequim (4-2, 6-3), the No. 3 seed out of the Olympic League 2A Division, will begin its playoff run against Fife next weekend.
Sequim 48, Kingston 6
Kingston 0 0 6 0 — 6
Sequim 8 8 22 10 — 48
First Quarter
Seq — Velarde 65 pass from Cowan (Gresli run) 10:17
Second Quarter
Seq — Velarde 85 pass from Cowan (Wiker run) 5:43
Third Quarter
Seq — Velarde 25 pass from Cowan (Velarde run) 10:44
Seq — Cowan 8 run (Cowan pass from Wiker) 7:43
King — Dixon 77 fumble return (run failed) 4:06
Seq — Velarde 12 run (pass failed) 2:46
Fourth Quarter
Seq — Velarde 76 pass interception return (Rice kick) 11:41
Seq — Rice 34-yard field goal 6:05
Individual Statistics
Rushing — King: Waxon 11-(-3), Hale 10-21, Whalen 19-65, Dixon 2-0, Collins 3-6, Nathan Wright 3-(-15). Seq: Cowan 2-27, Velarde 1-12, Conn 4-24, Gresli 6-70, Ward 4-(-3), Wiker 3-8.
Passing — King: Hale 6-10-46-3INT. Seq: Cowan 10-15-267-3TD-0INT, Wiker 3-5-48.
Receiving — King: Waxon 3-31, Whalen 2-11, Zook 1-4. Seq: Velarde 6-229-3TD, Wiker 1-19, Young 3-14, Gresli 1-33, Newell 2-20.
Hoquiam 28, Forks 0
HOQUIAM — Five Spartans turnovers in a loss to the Grizzlies wrecked Forks’ chance at hosting a district playoff game.
Instead, the Spartans (6-3) will visit Trico League champs LaCenter (7-2) with a shot at a Class 1A state playoff spot on the line for the second straight season.
That game will be at 7 p.m. Friday in LaCenter.
In Friday’s loss, Forks’ Caleb Peters, a battering 220-pound junior fullback, did most of the damage, moving well on the ground and entering Hoquiam territory five times in the first 2 ½ quarters. But the Spartans came away scoreless on each occasion.
Two big defensive penalties on Forks helped prolong a Hoquiam scoring drive in the third quarter and the Spartans threw an interception that was returned for the game’s final score in the fourth quarter.
Olympic 59, Port Angeles 13
BREMERTON — Port Angeles wrapped up its season with a 59-13 loss to Olympic on the road.
The Riders actually were tied 13-13 after the first quarter after receiver Garrett Edwards caught a pair of touchdown passes from Chris Guttormsen, who returned from an ankle injury as the Riders’ quarterback. But, a 28-0 Olympic second quarter was too much for Port Angeles.
“They kind of exploded on us,” said coach Brett Curtis.
Guttormsen threw 6 for 12 for 153 yards and Jarrett Burns added 41 yards through the air as the Roughriders totaled nearly 200 yards passing. Burns also rushed for 60 yards on 14 carries.
Curtis also said senior Bailey White had a good game on defense in his last game for the Roughriders and Marcos Lopez a good game on offense.
The game wrapped up a 3-6 season (2-4 in league) in which the Riders improved immensely from an 0-9 season in 2016. In fact, the Riders were just a touchdown down midway in the fourth quarter to Sequim last week. If Port Angeles could have pulled off a win in that game, they would have been in the driver’s seat for the playoffs.
“Overall, we felt good about our seasons. We still have a ways to go. We want this [season] to be a building block. We feel good about the guys coming back. We’re excited,” said Curtis.
The Roughriders graduate Burns, White, Ian Moan, Easton Joslin, Jake Allen, Ryan and Nathan Adamire, Erik Alvarez and Cyrus Johnson. They return Edwards who will likely make all-league as a receiver, Guttormsen, tight end Anton Kathol, defensive back Tyler Bowen and many others.
Olympic 59, Port Angeles 13
PA 13 0 0 0 — 13
Oly 13 28 13 6 — 59
First Quarter
PA — Edwards 4 pass from Chris Guttormsen (Erik Alvarez kick)
Oly — Quitevis 8 run (Kyle Farrell kick)
PA — Edwards 39 pass from Guttormsen (pass failed)
Oly — White 14 run (kick failed)
Second quarter
Oly — DeWalt 12 run (run failed)
Oly — DeWalt 15 run (Quitevis run)
Oly — White 41 run (Farrell kick)
Oly — Quitevis 5 run (Farrell kick)
Third quarter
Oly — Quitevis 1 run (kick failed)
Oly — Quitevis 2 run (kick failed)
Fourth quarter
Oly — Cameron Bailey 8 run (kick failed)
Individual Statistics
Passing — PA: Guttormsen 6-12, 153 yards; Burns 1-2, 41 yards.
Rushing — PA: Burns 14-60, Jake 1-2.
Receiving — PA: Kathol 1-31, Moan 3-74, Edwards 3-89.
Chimacum 33, Coupeville 27
COUPEVILLE — The Chimacum Cowboys picked up their first Olympic League 1A Division win with a 33-27 win on the road against Coupeville.
“It was a good win for us. It was nice for the guys to get it. It was a hard last two weeks,” said coach Mike Dowling.
Cowling felt Cowboys’ line played particularly well. He said that while Coupeville has a quick strike offense and did make a handful of big plays, Chimacum’s offense dominated much of the game.
Peyton Hundley took over for quarterback and Dowling said he did a great job filling in for Cole Dotson, who was out injured. Dowling also mentioned the two Logans — Shaw and Storm — as playing a good game for the Cowboys.
Chimacum (1-5, 3-6) complete its season at 7 p.m. Friday against Klahowya for Senior Night.
Cascade Christian 55, Port Townsend 14
PORT TOWNSEND — The Redhawks went up against the No. 1 team in the Olympic League 1A/Nisqually League and discovered that Cascade Christian is as good as their hype.
The Cougars, ranked No. 6 in the state at the 1A level and unbeaten in league, won 55-14. Coach Alex Heilig said, “they’re a dominant team and they showed it. They have some pretty skilled players.”
Heilig said Noa Apker-Montoya had a couple of nice runs for the Redhawks and Cole Crawford had some good catches.
The Redhawks (3-3, 3-6) finish their season at 7 p.m. Friday at Charles Wright with a chance to finish in league with a winning record.
Clallam Bay 51, Lummi JV 14
CLALLAM BAY — The Bruins dominated the Blackhawks in a six-man game to wrap up their season. Ryan McCoy and Ryan Strid did much of the work offensively and Kailin Duncan had a fumble recovery in the win.
“I’m real proud of the kids for playing hard and finishing strong,” Clallam Bay coach Cal Ritter said. “I credit all the kids for sticking with it, we didn’t lose a player all season. It can be tough to keep coming out when you aren’t playing for playoffs or a championship, but the kids saw it through.”
Ritter said as long as Clallam Bay kids want to play the sport, he’ll continue to coach
