FORKS — The Forks faithful turned out in full force and throat for last Friday’s season-opening win against the Vashon Pirates.
There’s nothing unusual in that statement, as the Quillayute Valley edition of Friday night lights typically draws large crowds year-in and year-out, regardless of win-loss record.
But there was a difference if you looked closely. The Spartans have relocated their bench this season and the home sideline is now located back where it belongs — the home side of the field.
Fans packed the grandstand, complete with a large and loud student section, to take in the first game played on the stadium’s new FieldTurf playing surface, according to Spartans head coach Emil West.
“Maybe it was because we moved our sideline back to right in front of the crowd but I definitely thought we had a great home-field advantage,” West said.
“It was nice to be over there and nice to hear them. And that big student section didn’t hurt.”
West was an assistant on last season’s team, and as soon as he took over head coaching duties he knew he wanted to get back “home.”
“We moved back to the town side, that was something I wanted to do,” West said.
“Without the town and without the fans supporting us there’s no Forks football. I wanted the town to have their kids right behind them. And to have the kids know they have that support.”
West wasn’t sure why the Spartans pulled up roots and swapped sides in the first place.
He speculated that it may have had something to do with some rowdy fans in the past.
Longtime Forks photographer Lonnie Archibald thought it may have had something to do with the coaches’ headsets not working properly on the stadium side of the field.
The visitors’ side of the field does house Forks’ coaching tower, so that theory may hold water — like the old Spartan Stadium grass field on a rainy day.
West said his team had lots of work to do after its first game, but he was proud of the team for making its way through what he called “the toughest two-a-days [preseason practices] I’ve been a part of.”
“There’s been a buzz around because of the two-a-days, and getting back to a running offense,” West said.
“I’ve been preaching to the team practice isn’t going to be fun, and that this may not be for everyone. But I also tell them the juice is worth the squeeze.
“And if you looked around on Friday night during the game, and after when we got to enjoy a victory, they start to understand that.”
Helmet logos a plus
Your author may lean heavily in the direction of the disheveled, rumpled Oscar Madison character, coincidentally enough also a sports reporter, from the classic televison show “The Odd Couple.”
But I have a keen and appraising eye for uniforms and sports equipment.
And changes to the helmets of three North Olympic Peninsula football teams did not go unnoticed.
Port Townsend, Sequim and Chimacum have all made changes to their lids this season.
Port Townsend’s formerly plain red helmets now sport the traditional interlocking “PT” logo on one side and the player’s number in black on the other.
The interlocking PT logo was originally designed by longtime basketball and football coach and Port Townsend alum, Tim Black.
It’s also a much cleaner design than the Redhawks logo adopted when the school switched mascots back in 2014. That logo … I could go on all day.
Sequim’s matte purple helmets sported player numbers on one side last year in an upgrade from the purple/gold mismash helmets of years prior.
They were a big step forward.
This year, a gold wolf logo graces the left side of the team’s helmets. It’s a similar design to Boise State’s Broncos helmet logo.
It’s a sharp design. The new wolf is showing a little fang, a more aggressive approach than the more goofy, fun-loving wolf found on the team’s uniforms.
Maybe the big, bad wolf will make its way to Sequim’s uniforms … whenever those have outlasted their useful life and need to be upgraded (hopefully soon).
Chimacum didn’t add its official athletics logo, a silhoutte of a Cowboy riding a bucking bronco designed in 2014 by then-student Holly Taylor, to its helmets. That logo is found on the players jerseys and pants.
But the Cowboys have added silver player numbers to one side of their new matte blue helmets, which makes for a clean, crisp look.
Maybe the Cowboy can be placed on the other side of the helmet? That would make for an even better upgrade.
As for the other North Olympic Peninsula schools, Neah Bay (red), Quilcene (purple) and Clallam Bay (black) all sport plain helmets.
It’s a mixed bag for Port Angeles. Some players have a “PA” logo on one side, the other plain green. Others have the logo on both sides. I’d appreciate some uniformity with the uniforms, and add some numbers to the helmets too, as it aids in identifying players.
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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News Port Townsend’s Detritus Kelsall fights off five Sequim defenders for a short gain. The Redhawks have added an interlocking “PT” logo and player numbers to their helmets this season. Sequim is now sporting a gold wolf on one side of their matte helmets.
