WHAT A CRAZY couple of weeks.
The FIFA World Cup arrived in all its horn-blowing glory.
The NBA Finals played out between the Association’s two most storied franchises.
And, of course, the dream that was the PAC-16 came and went faster than a Hollywood marriage.
I feel a little dizzy just thinking about it, especially since I still haven’t totally moved on from the 2009-10 prep sports season.
That’s because the last couple of weeks at the PDN sports desk, as is the case with the end of every prep sports season, has been dominated by one theme: All-Peninsula sports.
The triennial special sports sections — which highlight athletes for fall, winter and spring sports — are our way of honoring individual accomplishments throughout the year.
Readers soon will find the All-Peninsula Spring 2010 section tucked neatly into their papers.
It will contain the MVPs from each of the major spring sports our teams compete in — girls and boys track and field, girls and boys tennis, girls and boys golf, boys soccer, baseball and softball — as well as various All-Peninsula teams and the area’s prep athlete of the year.
The one problem with these sections: Team accomplishments tend to get lost in the margins.
So as a precursor to the insert, I’ve decided to bring back some other awards for this year’s prep sports year.
Without further ado, here they are:
The Schubies (Part Deux)
• Top team performance — This has to go to the Chimacum baseball team.
Not only did the Cowboys reach the Class 1A state semifinals for the second year in a row (a school first), they also came within a couple breaks of winning their second state title in four years, losing 5-4 to Cashmere on a walk-off single.
This team never seems to let the moment get too big for them, as noted by its 6-2 record in state games the last two years.
With several players coming back — including a group of six super-talented sophomores — they aren’t done yet either.
Runner up (Tie): Crescent boys track and field team taking second at the 1B state meet; the Sequim girls track and field team winning its first state trophy (fourth in 2A).
• Game of the year: I’m a bit torn on this one.
The second Port Angeles-Sequim boys basketball game was an absolute classic
It had a dramatic comeback (Justin Williams’ back-to-back 3s to tie the game for Port Angeles) and a finish few will soon forget (Sequim’s John Textor grabbing a loose ball, dribbling it the length of the court and sinking a game-winning layup as time expired).
Yet because it was a regular season game, it just doesn’t seem right to hand it the mantle.
Instead, that must go to the Class 1A state football playoff between Sequim and Burlington-Edison.
Sequim entered the game with a giant monkey on its back, having gone 0-4 in state playoff games that included three straight losses from 2007-09.
Yet with a new-look spread offense, the Wolves were able to jump out to a 34-12 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Burlington-Edison then answered with three touchdowns in 11 minutes to give itself a chance to tie the game on a two-point conversion.
(Side note: Since I forgot to visit the facilities during halftime, I spent most of this time fidgeting like a 5-year-old. Needless to say, this picked up the intensity a notch.)
Of course, Sequim’s big defensive line, led by future Georgetown product Thomas Gallagher, stuffed the Tigers’ run attempt up the middle.
For once, the Wolves  – plagued by heart-breaking playoff losses under head coach Erik Wiker — were finally able to hold on.
(And I was finally able to relieve myself.)
• Most surprising team — In general, the biggest determinant to winning football games is depth.
That’s what made the Port Townsend football team’s run to within one win of the 1A state playoffs so surprising.
The Redskins’ 33-man roster managed to finish second in the 1A Nisqually League.
Then, because of a three-way tie, they were forced to play a Kansas City tie-breaker that included state power Orting and Vashon Island just three days after their final regular season game.
Port Townsend came out on top in both two-quarter mini playoff contests, putting it in a preliminary playoff against Meridian three days after that.
Had the Redskins had more time to rest before that one, which they eventually lost, perhaps they may have reached the round of 16 as well.
Runner-up: The Chimacum football team, which went from 2-18 from 2008-09 to 5-5 in 2010 under first-year coach Shawn Meacham.
• Top individual performance — We’re going to chalk this one up to a tie between Sequim track stars Anna LaBeaume and Allison Cutting.
LaBeaume became the first Sequim track athlete to win two state titles when she claimed the 2A shot put crown earlier this spring.
After finishing second to Steilacoom’s Shreese Gotel twice in the events leading up to state, LaBeaume popped off her two best throws of the year to win going away.
Her last throw, which went 43 feet, 10 ½ inches, even broke her previous school record.
Cutting, the 2A cross country champion in 2008, came back from a series of injuries and illnesses that included a bout with the swine flu to win the 2A 3,200 meter run by nearly nine seconds.
Runner-up: Crescent running back Dylen Heaward’s record-breaking 10-touchdown performance against Lopez in a 84-68 eight-man football win.
• Best reminder of why I love Peninsula prep sports — The Neah Bay-Tulalip Heritage 1B Tri-District playoff game.
The atmosphere at the packed Crescent High School gymnasium that night was as good as it gets for a basketball junky like me.
Both fan bases not only loved the game, but they recognized special moments and responded with the requisite cheers to acknowledge them.
One play in particular sticks out in my mind: A patented Red Devils fastbreak in which the ball didn’t touch the floor once as they advanced it from rim to rim for a layup.
The Neah Bay faithful, as fond of up-tempo basketball as I am, went absolutely bonkers.
It was a fantastic moment, and one I felt lucky to witness.
Runner-up: The Salt Creek Invitational cross country race.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.