PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: Skilled core returns for Sequim

SEQUIM — For the tinder to flash and catch fire, it takes a lot of muscle up front to light the flame.

That will be the big challenge for the Sequim Wolves this year, coming off a highly successful 7-3 season in 2016. Many of their talented skill players are back — including Olympic League 2A MVP Gavin Velarde and Olympic League 2A Offensive MVP QB Riley Cowan.

But the Wolves graduated most of their front lineman on defense and offense. The biggest losses are Brendan Lauritzen and James Thayer, who were both linebackers and offensive linemen. Head coach Erik Wiker said the Wolves are especially going to miss Thayer, a first-team All Olympic linebacker.

But Wiker, a former offensive lineman at the University of Idaho, isn’t terribly worried about the front lines. He said the big guys coming in to take over for those graduated seniors are looking great so far.

“We’re looking pretty good, especially this early,” Wiker said.

Wiker said last year’s success has this year’s team thinking league championship or going deeper in the playoffs than 2016’s high-scoring 59-42 loss to Eatonville in the district playoffs.

North Kitsap, as always, is considered the power of the Olympic League 2A. He said the team isn’t trying to focus on certain opponents in the Olympic League 2A yet.

“We’re kind of concentrating on doing our own thing. Every game is big. If they come together, if they believe it and have the unity” anything is possible, Wiker said.

Wiker said the front line was a huge part of last year’s success. The Wolves had goal-line stands in four of their early games, three of which were close wins by a touchdown or less. If not for those stands, Sequim could have started the season 0-4 instead of 3-1. And Wiker thinks that would have made a big difference for setting the tone for the rest of the season.

Last year’s squad got on a huge run late in the season, winning its final four league games by the eye-popping margin of 181-64. Add in the playoff loss to Eatonville and Sequim put up 223 points in the Wolves’ final five games.

Wiker pointed out that last year, his big front-line guys didn’t have that much experience early in the season, but they came together as a unit quickly and early in the season.

He expects starting offensive and defensive linemen this year to be Keeshawn Whitney, Johnny Young, Adam DiFilippo and Cody Bell.

Mason Larsen, a junior last year, also returns this season at offensive line and defensive end. Wiker thinks that Young is especially looking good so far out of the new group.

The biggest difference between this year’s group and last year’s?

Simply: “They’re younger and less experienced,” Wiker said.

Unfortunately for the rest of the Olympic 2A League, last year’s Wolves team was actually pretty green at the skill positions, with top players Cowan, Velarde, receiver Kylor Rollness and running back Hayden Gresli all returning.

The only losses at the skill positions were Curtis Gorr, who graduated and Payton Glasser, an all-league basketball star.

“We have skill players who can play with anyone,” Wiker said. Wiker said a new skill player he thinks people should keep an eye on is Nathan Despain, a freshman last year who is going to play receiver on the varsity as a sophomore.

Tyler Conn is another one of the team’s running backs who should get a lot of carries.

Of course, Sequim’s nuclear weapon is the frighteningly fast Velarde, who terrorized defenses last year as a receiver, runner and return man, scoring 22 touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams to earn All-Peninsula Football MVP honors from the Peninsula Daily News.

He is getting serious attention from college programs for his exploits on the football field.

Velarde has exceptional speed and a top gear in the open field that virtually no one in the Olympic League 2A can match.

“He’s fast … and then he’s super fast,” Wiker said.

Velarde will play primarily receiver but he will drop into the backfield and get some carries from the running back position. Wiker said Velarde also is strong and can muscle his way through defenders when needed. And that makes him that much more valuable in the backfield.

“He’s one our more powerful runners, too. He has power with his speed,” said Wiker.

Velarde will play both ways, manning the free safety spot, where he can use his speed roaming the defensive backfield to create havoc. Wiker said his defense gets overlooked as he was one of the Wolves’ leaders in tackles last year along with Thayer.

As well as the Wolves played last year, many thought that they had a lot of seniors. Not true. At least not in the skill positions. The Wolves put up those big numbers with Cowan and Rollness manning key skill positions and winning all-league honors as sophomores. They’re not only coming back one more year, but two.

“People [in the Olympic 2A League] will freak out when Riley is still around in two years,” Wiker said.

The Wolves won’t use any official tight ends in their formations. They’re going to use two halfbacks with three receivers out wide and will use a lot of four-receiver sets. On defense, they’re going to use a lot of 4-2-5 formations.

The Wolves begin this season on Sept. 1 with a rematch at home with Port Townsend, whom Sequim beat by one point in a thriller last year.

Sequim Capsule

• Last Year: 7-3 overall, 5-1 in Olympic League 2A League, first-round playoff loss to Eatonville 59-42.

• Offense: Spread.

• Defense:: 4-2-5 base.

• Contributors: Gavin Velarde WR/RB/KR/DB; Riley Cowan QB/DB; Kyler Rollness WR/DB.

• Newcomers:Nathan Despain, WR; Johnny Young, OL/LB.

• Expected team strength: Skill and speed, all-league QB, two all-league WRs.

• Question mark: Must replace several seniors who were big contributors on the offensive and defensive lines. James Thayer will be hard to replace.

• Game to watch: The Sept. 29 game at North Kitsap will be huge, as the Wolves will try to show they can compete with the big bully of the Olympic League 2A. Last year, the Vikings beat the Wolves 42-7 in Sequim’s only Olympic League 2A loss.