PORT ANGELES — If there was one game the Port Angeles Roughriders absolutely stole last fall, it was their game against the Kingston Buccaneers.
The upstart Buccaneers, led by former Port Angeles head coach Dan Novick, out-gained the Riders 283 yards to 69 in the Olympic League contest.
Thanks to turnovers, excellent special teams play and some opportunistic offense from Port Angeles, however, it came out with a 14-9 victory.
It was an outcome even Novick’s daughter couldn’t understand, asking her dad following the game, “Daddy, how’d we lose?”
With Kingston set to visit 10th-ranked Port Angeles (1-0 in league, 3-0 overall) tonight at 7 in another critical Olympic League contest, second-year head coach Tom Wahl and his Riders haven’t forgotten the lessons of last year.
They know exactly what sort of challenge they’ll get in the Buccaneers (1-0, 2-1) and their power-run game.
“We gotta be ready for another slug-out,” said Wahl, who’s team finished one step ahead of Kingston last fall in the league standings.
“There’s no question they like to pound the ball, so it’s going to be a physical game.”
Indeed, Kingston relied heavily on its run game a year ago against the Riders, behind bruising running back Lou Hecker’s workmanlike performance.
But with Hecker and several starting linemen from that team now gone, this isn’t the same Buccaneers team that racked up 194 yards on 47 carries.
That’s not to say Kingston is rebuilding this fall. As last week’s 35-7 win over Olympic proved, the Bucs are still a force.
In fact, computer rankings released by the News Tribune earlier this week had Kingston rated as the No. 7 team in Class 2A.
The Riders, on the other hand, landed at No. 14 despite going unbeaten in their first three games.
Part of that might have to do with Port Angeles’ up-and-down performance against 1A Forks in Week 2 — a 28-14 win.
Of course, the Riders rebounded with an impressive 47-27 win over 3A Bremerton last week.
Port Angeles amassed 282 yards of offense, including three Keenen Walker touchdown passes and two Dillon Brewer scoring runs, on the way to taking a commanding 32-7 halftime lead, big enough to withstand a late Knights rally.
Whether the Riders’ finesse shotgun attack will look more like the one fans saw in Week 3 rather than Week 2 is anyone’s guess.
The biggest key to tonight’s game may just be how the team holds up against a physical Kingston run game that is averaging 228 yards per contest.
“They know we’ve got to do better,” Wahl said. “It’s a steady climb, especially from Bremerton to Kingston. Kingston is a quality program.
“We’ve got to play our game, and they’ll play their game, and we can’t forget what we do best.”
Bremerton at Sequim
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: Sequim 48-14 win in Bremerton, Sept. 24, 2010
■ Records: Sequim 1-0 in league, 3-0 overall; Bremerton 0-1, 1-2
■ At stake: The seventh-ranked Wolves welcome the Knights to Dungeness Valley a week after bludgeoning the Klahowya Eagles 53-0.
It marks the first of a three-game homestand for the Wolves, who have now won 21 straight league games dating back to Sept. 26, 2008.
Forks at Rochester
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: Rochester 28-7 win in Forks, Sept. 24, 2010.
■ Records: Rochester 0-1, 0-3; Forks 0-1, 0-3.
■ At stake: The Spartans are looking for their first win as they visit Rochester in SWL-Evergreen Division action.
Forks has now lost 12 straight games, and tonight’s tilt against the winless Warriors offers a great chance to snap that skid.
Orting at Chimacum
■ Time: Tonight at 7,
■ Last meeting: Orting 27-0 win in Orting, Sept. 24, 2010,
■ Records: Chimacum 0-1, 0-3; Orting 1-0, 1-2,
■ At stake: After scoring just one touchdowns in three losses to begin the season, Chimacum welcomes 1A Nisqually League powerhouse Orting to Memorial Field.
The Cardinals rebounded from an 0-2 start to the season by knocking off Life Christian 34-14 last week.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys are coming off a rough 49-0 home loss to defending 1A champion Cascade Christian.
Crescent at Lummi
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: Lummi 60-14 win in Joyce, Oct. 19, 2010.
■ Records: Lummi 1-0, 3-0; Crescent 1-1, 2-1
■ At stake: One week after giving up 12 touchdowns to Neah Bay in a 80-14 loss, the Loggers travel to Bellingham to take on the defending 1B champions.
Crescent scored 100 points against Clallam Bay in a pair of wins to begin the season, and will need to find that offensive firepower again if it is going to stay with Lummi.
The Blackhawks’ wide-open attack is averaging 51.3 points per game.
Port Townsend at Lakeside (Seattle)
■ Time: Saturday at 2 p.m.
■ Last meeting: Lakeside 14-6 win in Port Townsend.
■ Records: Lakeside 1-2 overall; Port Townsend 0-2, 0-3.
■ At stake: The Redskins, losers of 13 straight, travel to Seattle to take on a Lakeside program that is rebuilding as well.
In the second year of its football independence, the Metro League school is starting to turn things around — see its 48-7 win over Vashon Island in Week 2 .
Port Townsend found some offensive rhythm with sophomore Jacob King under center for the first time last week against those very same Pirates.
Still, the Redskins lost that game 62-30.
Clallam Bay at Lopez
■ Time: Saturday at 2 p.m.
■ Last meeting: Lopez 52-22 win in Clallam Bay, Oct. 9, 2009
■ Records: Lopez 1-0 in league and overall; Clallam Bay 1-1, 1-2
■ At stake: The Bruins are riding high after earning a dramatic 28-20 victory over Rainier Christian in triple overtime last week.
Now they must face a reinvigorated Lopez program that rolled over Muckleshoot 56-20 in its first varsity football game since the 2009 season.
Muckleshoot at Neah Bay
■ Time: Tuesday at 6 p.m.
■ Last meeting: Neah Bay 56-6 in Auburn, Sept. 24, 2010.
■ Records: Neah Bay 2-0, 2-1; Muckleshoot 1-1 in league and overall.
■ At stake: This Northwest Football League game was moved to Tuesday due to scheduling issues.
No matter when it’s played, however, the third-ranked Red Devils figure to be heavy favorites.