PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles football team finds itself in the same place it was a year ago: unbeaten at 2-0 going into the Olympic League schedule.
Yet there was something about the Roughriders’ up-and-down performance a week ago — a 28-14 win at Forks — that had the coaching staff feeling a whole lot different than it did last season.
“That’s how far the program has come,” Port Angeles assistant coach Bob Withrow said following Friday’s nonleaguer. “We play flat, and we’re [angry].”
Indeed, any win was good enough for Port Angeles at the start of last fall.
After all, the Riders had lost 12 straight going into 2010.
And even after winning its first two games against Chief Sealth and Forks, few people sensed the 9-2 Cinderella run to come.
It wasn’t until the Riders knocked off Bremerton 27-7 on the rain-soaked Kitsap Peninsula in Week 3 that expectations began to rise for those Riders.
Now, as Port Angeles gets set to host that same Bremerton team tonight in Civic Field at 7, there’s a sense the Class 3A Knights may very well prove as a barometer for this season’s Riders as well.
Port Angeles head coach Tom Wahl couldn’t hide his displeasure in his team’s performance last week — a win that began with a long Forks scoring drive and ended with a goal line stand by those same Spartans.
His Riders will face a Bremerton Knights team (1-1) that is vastly different from the 2010 edition.
Bruising tailback Kyle Kennedy has since graduated, as has several others from a 3A playoff team.
Still, the Knights did score a 6-0 victory over Foster in Week 1 and gave 3A Decatur all it could handle in a 33-20 loss last Friday.
“I want to see their response. I don’t want to hear it,” Wahl said following Friday’s win at Forks.
“The ball is in their court. We’ll do everything we have been doing as coaches. We’ll show them the right way, and we’ll coach them up.
“But ultimately, when it comes to the fight, they need to understand that they’ve got to choose because I can’t get out there and fight that battle for them.”
The following are previews for games involving North Olympic Peninsula teams this weekend:
Sequim at Klahowya
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: Sequim 53-0 win in Silverdale, Sept. 17, 2010.
■ Records: Klahowya, 1-1 overall; Sequim, 2-0.
■ At stake: The Wolves open their Olympic League schedule with one of their favorite whipping boys.
Sequim is 9-0 against the Eagles in the Erik Wiker era, having beaten those teams by an average margin of 23.7 points. That includes two wins by a combined score of 100-0 in the past two seasons.
With the Wolves coming off an impressive upset of Meridian a week ago, they should be favorites again.
Hoquiam at Forks
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: Hoquiam 19-3 win in Hoquiam, Sept. 17, 2010.
■ Records: Forks, 0-2; Hoquiam, 2-0
■ At stake: A week after holding their own in a 28-14 loss to 2A Port Angeles, the Spartans get another stiff test in their SWL Evergreen Division opener against Hoquiam.
The Grizzlies scored a pair of big wins in the first two weeks of the season, routing Aberdeen and Kalama in successive weeks.
In Forks, they face an opponent looking to snap an 11-game losing skid and give first-year head coach Mark Feasel his first win as the Spartans’ leader.
Rainier Christian
at Clallam Bay
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: This is the first
■ Records: Clallam Bay, 0-1 in league, 0-2 overall; Rainier Christian, 0-1, 0-2.
■ At stake: The Bruins are trying to get into the win column after back-to-back losses to the Crescent Loggers.
They will face a 2B Rainier Christian squad that is looking for its first win of the season as well. Lummi blew out the Mustangs 62-22 in their first Northwest Football League game.
While they can’t compete for a postseason bid in the 1B league, they can provide the Bruins with a much-needed win in their own playoff chase.
Cascade Christian at Chimacum
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: Cascade Christian 46-6 win in Puyallup, Sept. 18, 2010.
■ Records: Chimacum, 0-2; Cascade Christian, 1-1.
■ At stake: The Cowboys get the unfortunate draw of having to face the defending 1A state champions after a rare loss — a 19-13 defeat at the hands of 2A Franklin Pierce.
The Cougars have owned the 1A Nisqually League each of the past three seasons, going 22-0 in league during that time.
Meanwhile, the winless Cowboys are still trying to find their feet after losing 15 seniors.
Crescent at
Neah Bay
■ Time: Tonight at 7.
■ Last meeting: Neah Bay 46-12 win in Neah Bay, Oct. 23, 2009
■ Records: Neah Bay, 1-0, 1-1; Crescent, 1-0, 2-0.
■ At stake: The Loggers’ recent football renaissance has been devoid of one thing: a win against Neah Bay.
The Red Devils have won eight straight against their Peninsula rivals, a streak that dates back to 2004 and includes only one forfeit (last year’s contest.)
Currently ranked No. 3 in 1B by the News Tribune, they host a Crescent team that has beat Clallam Bay twice in its two games this season.
Vashon Island at Port Townsend
■ Time: Saturday at 7 p.m.
■ Last meeting: Vashon Island 36-8 win in Vashon, Sept. 17, 2010.
■ Records: Port Townsend, 0-1, 0-2; Vashon Island, 0-2.
■ At stake: The Redskins and Pirates face off in a battle of winless 1A Nisqually League squads.
Vashon has suffered a pair of blowouts so far this season, while Port Townsend is coming off a 47-14 Thursday night loss to Charles Wright.
Quilcene at Evergreen Luth.
■ Time: Saturday at 7 p.m.
■ Last meeting: Quilcene 22-0 win in Quilcene, Sept. 16, 2010.
■ Records: Evergreen Lutheran, 0-1, 1-1; Quilcene 1-0, 2-0.
■ At stake: The unbeaten Rangers face a Jekyll-Hyde team in 2B Evergreen Lutheran, which already has one blowout win (at Lake Quinault) and one blowout loss (at Neah Bay) to its name.