SEQUIM — The Kingston Buccaneers came out with the perfect game plan to beat the Sequim Wolves on Friday night.
It still wasn’t enough.
Sequim, scoring two late touchdowns to escape with a 27-13 win, outlasted a game Kingston team that brought its best ground-and-pound attack to the Olympic League affair.
The victory kept the fourth-ranked Wolves (4-0 in league, 6-0 overall) atop the league standings with Port Angeles and also brought their league winning streak to 24 games.
“They had a good game plan, and they also executed it well,” said Sequim coach Erik Wiker, still perfect in October at 33-0. “We came out winners on the scoreboard, but it was really tough.”
The Buccaneers (2-2, 3-3) did all they could to play the role of homecoming spoilers, holding onto the ball for several time-consuming drives.
They tied up the game at 13-all in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard Sam Byers quarterback sneak, but failed to take the lead after the snap on the point after was bobbled.
With Sequim expecting Kingston to try an onside kick, the Buccaneers squibbed the ball down the field.
Senior Tyler Forshaw scooped it up and returned it 80 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, putting Sequim ahead 20-13 with a little more than nine minutes to go.
Kingston responded with another long, plodding drive on its next possession, eventually getting down to the Sequim 8-yard line.
But the Wolves’ defense — missing starters Christian Miles and Lopaka Yasumura to injury — turned the Bucs back with a sack and forced a fourth-and-long throw that Byers could not complete.
Running back Jack Wiker then put the game away on the very next play, running 80 yards into the end zone.
“We had a timeout and a little reminder session about what we had to do, and the kids stepped it up,” Erik Wiker said of the goal-line stand.
“They realized the whole game came down to those last couple of plays.”
Sequim’s fast-paced shotgun attack struggled to find any rhythm thanks to Kingston’ ball-control offense.
The Wolves ended up running a little more than 30 offensive plays — less than half of what they usually run in a typical game — and had just three possessions in the first half.
Jack Wiker ran for a team-high 107 yards and one touchdown on five carries.
Quarterback Frank Catelli completed 10 of 18 passes for 126 yards and two scores, both coming in the first half on throws of 8 and 5 yards to Nick Ramirez.
“The kids at the end of the game knew Kingston wanted it more than them,” Erik Wiker said.
“I told [the players] I considered it a loss. We came out winners, but hopefully this is like a loss for you guys.”
Sequim 27, Kingston 13
Kingston 0 7 0 6— 13
Sequim 7 6 0 14— 27
First Quarter
S—Ramirez 8 pass from Catelli (Campbell kick)
Second Quarter
K—Byers 1 run (Stone kick)
S—Ramirez 5 pass from Catelli (kick blocked)
Fourth Quarter
K—Byers 1 run (kick failed)
S—Forshaw 80 kick return (Campbell kick)
S—Wiker 80 run (Campbell kick)
Individual Stats
Rushing— S: Wiker 5-107, Catelli 8-32. K: Stats not available.
Passing—S: Catelli 10-18-0, 126. K: Stats not available.
Receiving—S: Forshaw 4-53, Ballard 2-53, Ramirez 2-13, Field 1-7. K: Stats not available.
Chimacum 35, Vashon Island 14
VASHON — The Cowboys spoiled the Pirates’ homecoming by turning a close game into a rout with three touchdown runs in the fourth quarter Friday night.
Justin Morris, who had 109 rushing yards on the day, had two TD runs in the fourth while Derek Ajax had another to boost Chimacum (1-3, 1-5) to its first win of the season.
“We played with a lot of effort, energy and efficiency, which is something we’ve talked about from the first day of practice,” coach Shawn Meacham said.
“If we can give a consistent effort in those areas, we can be a dangerous team to play against.”
Meacham said he hopes the momentum from this game will hold over to this Friday’s game, Chimacum’s homecoming against Nisqually League powerhouse Charles Wright.
“We have good momentum going for us and we can use it for our next game because we’re really going to need it,” Meacham said.
Big plays throughout the Vashon game helped the Cowboys to overcome the Pirates.
The first big play was a 105-yard interception return for a touchdown by Victor Cienega to give Chimacum a 9-0 lead at halftime.
“That was a pretty amazing play,” Meacham said. “They were driving in the red zone, ready to take the lead, when Victor intercepted and went the distance for the touchdown.
“We blocked well and Victor had a great run.”
A 62-yard punt return for a TD by Kyle Madayag in the third quarter helped keep the Cowboys in the lead (15-14) going into the final period.
Then Ajax, a backup quarterback starting the game because of an injury last week to Alex Morris, ran four yards for a TD early in the fourth to give Chimacum some breathing room at 21-14.
Justin Morris hammered the nails into the Vashon coffin with TD runs of 30 and 33 yards in the fourth.
“Justin Morris had an incredible game on both sides of the ball,” Meacham said. “He was all over the field.”
Justin Morris led with 11 tackles while Madayag had 10.
Chimacum 35, Vashon 14
Chimacum 0 9 6 20— 35
Vashon Is. 0 0 14 0— 14
Second Quarter
C—Madayag 22 FG
C—Cienega 105 interception return (kick failed)
Third Quarter
C—Madayag 62 punt return (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
C—Ajax 4 run (kick failed)
C—J. Morris 30 run (Madayag kick)
C—J. Morris 33 run (Madayag kick)
Individual Stats
Rushing— C: J. Morris 15-109, Hare 12-31, Cienega 1-25, Madayag 7-22, Ajax 8-8.
Passing—C: Ajax 5-13-2, 43 yards.
Receiving—C: No stats available.
Clallam Bay 42, Highland Chr. 0
ARLINGTON — Jeremy Rock had three touchdowns while Ryan Willis threw for two scores, had a rushing touchdown and an interception as the Bruins rolled to the Northwest Football League victory Friday night.
Clallam Bay had a bye last week and used the time to implement some changes on the offensive side of the ball.
Ryan Willis was moved from end to quarterback and Austin Ritter was moved from quarterback to fullback.
“The changes worked for us,” Bruins coach Cal Ritter said. “Ryan had a great game at quarterback and Austin blocked well and ran well at fullback.
“We practiced hard for a week and a half, we made some changes and the boys played well. I’m really proud of the boys.”
The Bruins jumped right into the playoff hunt by improving to 2-2 in league and 2-3 overall.
The key for Clallam Bay was dominating the line of scrimmage.
“The boys played well in the trenches,” Cal Ritter said. “They protected the passer, blocked well and defensively we gave up few yards rushing to Highland Christian.”
Rock had a tremendous game with two rushing touchdowns and another score on a 36-yard reception from Willis. He also had a fumble recovery on defense.
Willis, meanwhile, threw for the two passing touchdowns, ran in for another score and had an interception on defense.
Rock led everybody with 99 yards on the ground on six carries while Austin Ritter had 66 yards on eight carries.
Austin Ritter led everybody by catching five passes for 127 yards.
Matt Moore led the defense with 14 tackles, and Kelly Gregory was right behind with 13.
Ben Roberts, Evan Messenger and Rock all had fumble recoveries.
The Bruins triggered the 40-point mercy rule 10 minutes into the fourth quarter.
Clallam Bay 42,
Highland Christian 0
Clallam Bay 12 12 6 12— 42
Highland Chr. 0 0 0 0— 0
First Quarter
CB—Rock 50 run (pass failed)
CB— A. Ritter 60 pass from Willis (pass failed)
Second Quarter
CB—Rock 36 pass from Willis (pass failed)
CB—Rock 37 run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
CB—Foulkes 42 run (pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
CB—Willis 22 run (pass failed)
CB—Hatt 12 run (pass failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing— CB: Rock 6-99, A. Ritter 8-66, Foulkes 1-42, Willis 2-33, Hatt 3-22.
Passing—CB: Willis 10-18-0, 214 yards.
Receiving—CB: A. Ritter 5-127, Rock 3-52, Foulkes 1-20, Hatt 1-15.
Quilcene 58, Muckleshoot 44
MUCKLESHOOT — The Rangers won a Northwest Football League shootout to improve to 2-2 in league and 3-2 overall Friday night.
Colby Schreier and quarterback Jacob Pleines had four touchdowns each to help Quilcene hold off up-and-coming Muckleshoot.
Pleines had an outstanding game with three TD passes and a run for a score on offense, and four interceptions — three officially — on defense.
“Jacob Pleines played lights-out in the game,” Rangers coach Nic Dahl said.
The defensive back had a touchdown on one of his interceptions, but it was called back on a “phantom” clip, Dahl said.
Pleines also had an interception nullified when a referee said the ball touched the ground.
“I viewed the film and the ball never touched the ground,” Dahl said. “It was a perfect interception.”
At any rate, the Rangers got the last laugh with the victory.
Colton Pol had three sacks in the game for the Rangers while Schreier and Lucas Murphy had one each.
Quilcene next hosts state powerhouse Lummi this Saturday afternoon for its 2011 homecoming game.
Quilcene 58,
Muckleshoot 44
Quilcene 6 26 12 14— 58
Muckleshoot 0 28 8 8— 44
First Quarter
Q—Schreier 9 run (run failed)
Second Quarter
M—25 pass play (run good)
Q—Perez 90 kickoff return (run failed)
M—1 run (run failed)
M—54 pass (run good)
Q—Schreier 34 run (run failed)
Q—Pol 65 pass from Pleines (Perez run)
M—25 pass (run failed)
Q—Schreier 35 pass from Pleines (run failed)
Third Quarter
Q—Schreier 12 pass from Pleines (run failed)
Q—Pleines 18 run (run failed)
M—6 run (run good)
Fourth Quarter
Q—King 29 run (Schreier run)
Q—Pol 3 run (run failed)
M—9 run (run good)
Individual Stats
Rushing— Q: Perez 11-163, Schreier 5-55, King 4-39, Pleines 2-21, Pol 1-3.
Passing—Q: Pleines 7-11-1, 209 yards; Williams 0-1-1.
Receiving—Q: Schreier 4-116, Pol 1-65, King 1-17, Murphy 1-5.
Crescent 72, Rainier Chr. 66
JOYCE — Derrick Findley had a hand in five touchdowns while big 245-pound Mike Zapien added another four scores in a Northwest Football League shootout Saturday.
The Loggers (3-2, 4-2) spotted Rainier Christian a 14-0 lead before exploding for 72 points to win their 2011 homecoming game.
“If ever the score of the game told the story, this was the one,” coach Darrell Yount said.
“We moved the ball up and down the field all day long, and still find ourselves in a dog-fight. Rainier Christian gave our defense fits all afternoon.”
Findley moved from his regular receiver position to assume quarterback duties and passed for three touchdowns and rushed for two more.
In addition, Findley ran back an interception on defense for a score.
“Findley had great poise, just great leadership and a big day,” Yount said.
Zapien, meanwhile, ran for a whopping 257 yards on 31 carries and four rushing touchdowns.
Findley ran the ball 11 times for 176 yards and he passed for another 194 yards.
Senior captain Joel Williams had more than 200 total yards of offense.
“Just a great effort by Joel,” Yount said.
Williams led the defense with 10 tackles and a sack, while Findley and Zapien had an interception each.
The Loggers had 525 rushing yards and 194 passing yards for a total of 719 yards on the day.
Crescent 72, Rainier Chr. 66
Rainier Chr. 14 8 6 38— 66
Crescent 14 19 21 18— 72
First Quarter
RC—1 run (run good)
RC—43 pass (run failed)
C—Findley 18 run (kick failed)
C—Findley 38 run (Williams pass from Findley)
Second Quarter
C—Zapien 1 run (Bamer run)
RC—72 kickoff return (pass good)
C—Zapien 7 run (run failed)
C—Larson 20 pass from Findley (run failed)
Third Quarter
C—Zapien 13 run (Williams pass from Findley)
C—Findley 16 interception return (Bamer kick)
RC—31 pass (run failed)
C—Williams 4 run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
C—Zapien 20 run (kick failed)
RC—24 run (run good)
RC—87 run (pass good)
RC—1 run (run good)
C—Williams 59 pass from Findley (kick failed)
RC—68 run (pass failed)
C—Williams 4 pass from Findley (pass failed)
RC—13 pass (pass good)
Individual Stats
Rushing— C: Zapien 31-257, Findley 11-176, Williams 4-54, Hutto 7-30, Larson 2-8.
Passing—C: Findley 8-12-1, 194 yards.
Receiving—C: Williams 5-151, Larson 1-21, Bamer 1-12, Hutto 1-10.
Port Angeles 27, North Mason 20
BELFAIR — The Roughriders survived some key absences to get past upset-minded North Mason (0-4, 0-6) in Friday night’s Olympic League contest.
Riley Hannam blocked a Bulldog punt in the fourth quarter, and Dylan Brewer quickly converted it into his second touchdown run of the game to keep No. 8 Port Angeles (4-0, 6-0) unbeaten.
“We had a few injuries that we had to have people step up and fill their shoes,” Rider coach Tom Wahl said.
“Everybody stepped up and did their job, and some of the other guys had to do a little bit more. I guess we did enough to get by.”
The Riders — already missing starters Eli Fiscalini (WR/LB) and Frank Hansen (OL) to injuries — were dealt another setback when Cameron Braithwaite injured his knee midway through the game.
The senior two-way starter could miss several weeks of action, Wahl said.
“We don’t know exactly for sure [how long he’ll be out] until they look a little bit closer,” Wahl said. “It’s going to at least be three weeks until we know for sure.”
Without Braithwaite, who had a 45-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Keenen Walker in the first quarter, the Port Angeles attack struggled in the second half.
A 20-14 halftime edge disappeared after North Mason QB Tommy Renne ran in a touchdown from 50 yards out in the third quarter.
It wasn’t until Hannam’s blocked punt near the Bulldog 10-yard line and Brewer’s subsequent 1-yard scoring run that the Riders surged ahead for good.
Wahl pointed to the play of wide receiver/cornerback Skyler Gray, lineman Tyler Rixon and Hannam as key to the Rider win.
“Those three guys were all real standouts in my mind and really helped us be victorious,” Wahl said.
Gray finished with 99 yards of offense, including a 64-yard scoring run in the first quarter. Brewer had 62 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
Walker added 252 yards of offense, running for 158 on 19 carries and throwing for 94 on 8-of-12 passing.
“It’s kind of that time of the season, and we seem to be getting a few injuries,” said Wahl, whose team hosts North Kitsap for homecoming next Friday.
“We just got to deal with it, and other younger, less experienced guys have to step up and try and do that job.”
Port Angeles 27, N. Mason 20
Port Angeles 12 8 0 7— 27
North Mason 8 6 6 0— 20
First Quarter
PA—Gray 64 run (pass failed)
PA—Braithwaite 45 pass from Walker (Haskins kick)
NM—Renne 2 run (Becker run)
Second Quarter
NM—Becker 4 run (run failed)
PA—Brewer 8 run (Walker run)
Third Quarter
NM—Renne 50 run (run failed)
Fourth Quarter
PA—Brewer 1 run (Haskins kick)
Individual Stats
Rushing— PA: Walker 19-158, Brewer 11-62, Gray 1-64, Braithwaite 1-(-6). NM: T. Renne 17-118, Stromberg 25-106, Marsh 6-13, Price 8-34, Allen 6-14, Becker 3-12, Roush 1-5.
Passing—PA: Walker 8-12-0, 94. NM: T. Renne 3-6-0, 14.
Receiving—PA: Braithwaite 3-63, Gray 3-33, Hannam 1-5, Brewer 1-(minus 7). NM: Josh Hosier 2-8, A. Renne 1-6.
Life Christian 42, Port Townsend 0
PORT TOWNSEND — The youthful Redskins had their hands full against Life Christian in Nisqually League action Friday night at Memorial Field.
Port Townsend (0-4, 0-6) is winless on the year.
Life Chr. 42, Port Townsend 0
Life Christian 12 8 15 7— 42
Port Townsend 0 0 0 0— 0