Sequim’s Michael Young looks for an open receiver to complete a two-point conversion following a first half touchdown in Sequim’s 44-14 win over Kingston Friday night. Young ran the ball in for the conversion. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

Sequim’s Michael Young looks for an open receiver to complete a two-point conversion following a first half touchdown in Sequim’s 44-14 win over Kingston Friday night. Young ran the ball in for the conversion. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

PREP FOOTBALL: Walker Ward gains 181 yards as Sequim overwhelms Kingston

SEQUIM — The Sequim Wolves enjoyed a dominant night in their homecoming game against the Kingston Buccaneers, overcoming a Bucs touchdown on the first play from scrimmage to take full control of the game en route to a 44-14 win over their visitors.

The Wolves were handed an early setback when Kyler Cor-Yarr got around the right side with two blockers in front of him and ran 67 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game after the kickoff.

Wolves head coach Erik Wiker said that his defense read the play a little wrong and reacted to it in a way that left them playing catchup. The Buccaneers would add a two-point conversion to force the Wolves to get their offense in gear early.

Unfortunately, it would take Sequim a couple of drives before they could get going. Backup sophomore quarterback Kobe Applegate admitted after the game that he had some nerves early in the game, and it showed in the form of a few errant passes and missed reads on run/pass option plays.

Applegate was starting because of the injury to Taig Wiker last week against North Mason, and admitted that the moment got to him a little.

“I had to take some time to settle down, but everyone around me did a great job of getting me there,” Applegate said after the game. “It was a great experience.”

Wiker said after the game that he simplified the playcalling a little bit after the Wolves’ first drive ended in a turnover on downs to let Applegate ease into the game a little more, handing the ball off to junior running back Walker Ward more often.

Ward goes off

Walker Ward drags Kingston defenders with him during a big gain deep into Buccaneer territory Friday night. Ward had 181 yards and three touchdowns. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group )

Walker Ward drags Kingston defenders with him during a big gain deep into Buccaneer territory Friday night. Ward had 181 yards and three touchdowns. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group )

Ward responded with a huge game, rushing for 181 yards on 26 carries and scoring touchdowns of 6, 3, and 2 yards in the second quarter and regularly pushing through the pile to pick up extra yards after contact play after play. Thanks in large part to Ward, the Wolves went into halftime with a 22-8 lead despite entering the second quarter still down 8-0.

“My line opened up great holes for me all night,” Ward said after the game. “I just had to keep my pads low and keep moving. They made it easy.” Ward said that he’d been working on making his cuts through the hole and into the second level of the defense, and that was on display when his cuts caused Kingston defenders to miss tackles six or seven times.

The passing game opened up more for the Wolves in the second half, with Michael Young coming up with two long catch-and-run receptions to set up scoring opportunities. He would follow up his first long catch with a nine-yard TD run on an end-around in the Wolves’ first possession of the second half, then added two touchdown receptions, cementing one of the biggest games of his career with 6 catches for 87 yards and four carries for 19 yards on top of his three touchdowns.

Ward and Young combined for 287 of the Wolves’ impressive 379 yards of total offense on the night, and impressive night overall from two of the team’s leaders among skill position players.

The Buccaneers would add a late touchdown on a long Tyler Marquez run to make the final score 44-14, but that score came against a defensive unit that mostly comprised of backups and junior varsity players at that point in the game.

Wiker credited his defense for toughening up after their early setback and making sure the offense had time to get going. “Coach (Jerry) Mote coached them up really well this week, and they responded well,” Wiker said after the game. “It was a bit of a different offense than they’re used to, but they broke it all down really well.”

Young talked about the team’s defensive performance as well, having to step into a new role at safety with Taig Wiker sidelined. “It was a lot different up there instead of where I usually am (at cornerback),” Young said. “But we worked hard to make sure it worked, and we kept it clean.” Young said he had to call the action a little bit more for the defense than he’s used to, but he enjoyed the challenge of it.

Wiker also gave Kingston credit after the game, saying that the scoreline didn’t show the quality of the Wolves’ opponents. “(Kingston) are a team that are a lot better than they were a year ago,” he said. “They’ve got some great players with a system that makes sense for them, and they’re well coached in it. We were just on it tonight.”

Looking ahead

The Wolves host league-leading Olympic on Oct. 11. Olympic boast a 4-0 record in league play and are 5-1 overall this season, with the Trojans’ lone loss this season coming to a very good 3A team in Central Kitsap. Since then, Olympic haven’t scored less than 38 points in a game, including a 48-14 win over Port Angeles last week.

Sequim 44, Kingston 14

Kingston 8 0 0 6 — 14

Sequim 0 22 22 0 — 44

First Quarter

K—Cor-Yarr 67 run (Sitting Dog run)

Second Quarter

S—Ward 5 run (Ward run)

S—Warn 1 run (Young run)

S—Ward 1 run (kick failed)

Third Quarter

S—Young 5 run (pass failed)

S—Young 3 pass from Applegate (Young run)

Fourth Quarter

S—Young 5 pass from Applegate (Young run)

K—Marquez 50 run (pass failed)

Individual Stats

Rushing—Sequim: Ward 26-181, Fitzgerald 4-34, Young 4-19, Laurence 5-25, Jennings 3-6, Applegate 1-(-7), Mote 1(-1).

Passing—Sequim: Applegate 10-19-122, 2TD, INT.

Receiving—Sequim: Young 6-87, Hosesel 2-26, Nestor 2-9.

More in Sports

Keenan Green, 10, will be one of the big scoring leaders this year for the Wolves, who are off to a 2-0 start in nonleague play. They begin league play Friday at Bainbridge. (Michael Dashiell/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
PREP BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Sequim boys can fill it up from outside

Wolves look to build on last year’s playoff berth

Forks’ Fynlie Peters (right) competes with North Beach for ball control Tuesday evening in the Spartan Gym where Forks defeated the Hyaks 81-12. Also in the action for Forks, from left, are Bailey Johnson, Karee Neal and Kareena Nandial. (Lonnie Archibald/for Peninsula Daily News)
PREP ROUNDUP: Forks girls bounce back in big way

Crescent boys improve to 3-1 on the season

AREA SPORTS BRIEFS: PVL B finals to be held next week

The Vengeance, Steim Family Dentistry, Elwha Food & Fuel… Continue reading

PREP ROUNDUP: Port Angeles girls out-roll Sequim

The Port Angeles girls bowling team beat Sequim 5-2… Continue reading

Peninsula College’s Aiden Olmstead drives against the defense of South Puget Sound as Peninsula head coach Bryce Jacobson, background, watches the play. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Peninsula rally falls just short against S. Puget Sound

The Peninsula College men’s basketball team showed in the… Continue reading

Isaiah Shamp, Port Angeles basketball.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Isaiah Shamp, Port Angeles basketball

The Port Angeles boys basketball team had one of its most remarkable… Continue reading

WRESTLING: Forks boys and girls win home tournament

The Forks wrestling team, coming off its second-place 2B finish… Continue reading

PREP BRIEFS: Crescent girls finish game with four players

The Crescent girls basketball team only has six players and… Continue reading

Eleanor Jones, 11, of Sequim (No. 112) leads the pack at the beginning of the Run the Peninsula’s Jamestown Glow Run in Blyn late Saturday afternoon. Jones won the women’s 5K as more than 450 runners participated. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
RUN THE PENINSULA: More than 450 run through the gloaming in Blyn

More than 450 runners were treated to a pleasant evening… Continue reading