BREMERTON — The Port Angeles football team got off to an encouraging start against Bremerton, scoring an early touchdown to take a brief lead in the first quarter against the No. 7-ranked team in the state.
But then the wheels came off the cart for the Roughriders as quarterback Parker Nickerson was injured and the 6-0 Knights scored 42 unanswered points in the rest of the first half to win 49-7.
Port Angeles went into the game with big ambitions after beating Olympic for the first time in 12 years the week before. Bremerton has been the big surprise of the Olympic League, beating Olympic and winning its past two games by a combined score of 124-3.
The Knights scored a quick touchdown early in the first quarter, but the Roughriders responded and for a while had the Knights on their heels. Nickerson intercepted a Knights’ pass and returned it 20 yards to the 30-yard line. The drive ended quickly with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Nickerson to tight end Ezra Townsend. After a Blake Sohlberg extra point, the Riders had a 7-6 lead with 4:53 left in the quarter.
Bremerton responded with a 75-yard touchdown run after the ensuing kickoff to regain the lead at 14-7. Then disaster struck as Nickerson was hurt on the next drive. He tried to continue playing but had to come out of the game and Brandt Perry played quarterback the rest of the game.
Coach Dustin Clark said Nickerson sustained a sprained ankle but the good news is he was feeling much better Saturday.
“Hopefully, he will be good this week,” he said. “It’s tough when you lose your leader like that, you gotta to be battle through it.”
Even Perry was injured backing up Nickerson, tweaking his ankle.
The Riders’ defense simply could not contain Bremerton, which scored another touchdown in the first quarter and then 21 points in the second quarter, aided by a blocked punt that led to a first-and-goal. Clark said mental mistakes and bad snaps hurt the Riders, as well.
With a running clock in the second half, neither team was able to score. Sohlberg did have an interception in the second half.
The Riders were barely able to generate any yardage on the ground against Bremerton’s defense. Townsend led the team with two catches for 35 yards, while Sohlberg had a 15-yard catch. Kason Albaugh had three catches for 17 yards.
The Riders (2-2, 3-3), who have an exceptionally tough schedule this year, having to play three top-10 ranked 2A teams, have another tough game next week against 3A Bainbridge (3-1, 5-1) at home at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Port Angeles does catch a break, finishing the season against Kingston and North Mason, two of the bottom teams in the Olympic League.
Olympic 42, Sequim 0
BREMERTON — The Sequim football team was overwhelmed by a good, deep Olympic squad 42-0 on the road Friday night.
“The line play was the difference for sure. They had bigger, stronger guys,” said Sequim coach Erik Wiker.
Wiker said quarterback Lars Wiker did his best against Olympic’s strong defensive line.
“Lars did an excellent job passing with pressure in his face,” coach Wiker said.
After the game, Wiker said he told the players, “They have to show a little bit of accountability and show a desire to not let their guy make the tackle,” he said. He expects the team to work on basics and the simple things in practice this week.
Sequim (1-3, 1-4) has its homecoming game at 7 p.m. Friday against North Mason (1-3, 1-5).
Darrington 56, Quilcene 14
DARRINGTON — The Quilcene football team played a very tough Darrington team tough through the first half, but as the Rangers struggled with penalties and injuries, Darrington ran away with the game in the second half for a 56-14 win.
The Rangers were down just 28-14 at the half.
Quilcene coach Trey Beathard said the Rangers had at least 150 yards in penalties.
“We actually ran the ball pretty well,” Beathard said. The team had 246 yards on the ground, led by Andrew Perez, who ran 19 times for 182 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. Mason Iverson ran nine times for 68 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown. Iverson also had a 24-yard catch.
The Rangers also had two quarterbacks hurt. Dominick Smith hurt his ankle and Oliver Hopkins was hurt, as well. At the end of the game, Robert Evans was playing QB.
Beathard said Evans played well at quarterback and had 112 yards on four kick returns and Taylor Boling had a 64-yard punt. Perez led the team with nine tackles while Iverson had eight, including a sack. Tyler Beukes had six tackles and Isaac Figueroa five.
Quilcene (1-4) next plays at Lummi (1-3) at 6 p.m. Friday.
Friday’s Prep Football scores
(The Quilcene score was misreported by AP on Friday)
Bremerton 49, Port Angeles 7
Olympic 42, Sequim 0
Darrington 56, Quilcene 14
Neah Bay vs. Raymond-South Bend, ccd.
Adna 53, Stevenson 32
Arlington 42, Marysville-Pilchuck 14
Asotin 14, Reardan 13
Auburn Riverside 54, Todd Beamer 14
Battle Ground 23, Lakes 0
Bellarmine Prep 35, South Kitsap 28
Bellevue 56, Juanita 7
Bellingham 50, Coupeville 7
Blaine 29, Meridian 28
Bothell 34, Issaquah 9
Camas 49, Evergreen (Vancouver) 21
Cascade (Everett) 28, Everett 14
Cashmere 63, Cascade (Leavenworth) 0
Cedarcrest 52, Meadowdale 13
Chelan 34, Colfax 12
Chiawana 49, Hermiston, Ore. 0
Clarkston 39, Rogers (Spokane) 12
Cle Elum/Roslyn 12, White Swan 0
Curlew 56, Columbia (Hunters) 6
Cusick 55, Northport 26
Davenport 24, Oroville 6
Decatur 41, Mt. Rainier 7
Deer Park 47, Medical Lake 14
Eastmont 48, West Valley (Yakima) 14
Eastside Catholic 31, Garfield 10
Edmonds-Woodway 21, Shorecrest 0
Ellensburg 27, Wenatchee 20
Elma 41, Black Hills 35
Emerald Ridge 49, Bethel 14
Enumclaw 36, Washington 0
Ephrata 27, Selah 24
Freeman 41, Colville 23
Garfield-Palouse 44, Touchet 22
Glacier Peak 42, Kamiak 0
Goldendale 49, Kittitas 6
Gonzaga Prep 49, University 0
Graham-Kapowsin 42, Curtis 35
Granger 33, Highland 6
Granite Falls 20, Cedar Park Christian (Bothell) 3
Hanford 39, Pasco 19
Hockinson 28, Columbia River 7
Jackson 26, Mariner 13
Kalama 44, Onalaska 36
Kamiakin 42, Walla Walla 0
Kelso 51, Heritage 0
Kennedy 51, Kentridge 0
Kent Meridian 34, Auburn 31
King’s 56, Sultan 7
King’s Way Christian School 7, Columbia (White Salmon) 6
La Salle 36, Wapato 0
Lake Stevens 35, Eastlake 27
Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) 42, Newport 20
Lewis and Clark 44, Southridge 24
Liberty Bell 36, DeSales 14
Life Christian Academy 47, South Whidbey 6
Lincoln 42, Stadium 9
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague 22, Chewelah 20
Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 44, Pilot Rock, Ore. 8
Lynden Christian 21, Nooksack Valley 20
Manson 42, Lake Roosevelt 0
Marysville-Getchell 14, Ferndale 13
Mead 35, Ferris 7
Mercer Island 23, Lake Washington 14
Monroe 48, Shorewood 0
Montesano 36, Eatonville 0
Moses Lake 59, Davis 14
Mount Tahoma 41, Bonney Lake 8
Mountain View 48, Prairie 0
Mountlake Terrace 50, Lynnwood 6
Mt. Spokane 23, Central Valley 13
Naches Valley 30, Zillah 14
Napavine 43, Morton/White Pass 6
Naselle 64, Muckleshoot Tribal School 14
North Kitsap 49, Kingston 0
Northwest Christian (Colbert) 42, Liberty (Spangle) 14
Oak Harbor 34, Mount Vernon 28
Okanogan 60, Tonasket 0
Omak 55, Quincy 14
Othello 45, Prosser 43
Peninsula 31, Central Kitsap 13
Puyallup 33, Olympia 14
Rainier 82, Ocosta 52
Rainier Beach 26, Blanchet 11
Redmond 28, Inglemoor 19
Renton 56, Interlake 10
Republic 54, Selkirk 30
Richland 29, Kennewick 28
Ridgefield 42, Mark Morris 0
Ridgeline 46, Cheney 7
River View 17, Tri-Cities Prep 14
Royal 55, Kiona-Benton 0
Sammamish 28, Lindbergh 20
Seattle Prep 49, Ballard 34
Sedro-Woolley 48, Burlington-Edison 0
Seton Catholic 38, Castle Rock 27
Shelton 20, Centralia 6
Skyline 39, North Creek 13
Soap Lake-Wilson Creek 40, Bridgeport 28
Spanaway Lake 27, Silas 0
St. John-Endicott/Lacrosse 60, Tekoa/Rosalia 30
Steilacoom 48, Clover Park 14
Sunnyside 48, Eisenhower 7
Sunnyside Christian 36, Waitsburg 24
Tahoma 42, Federal Way 20
Tenino 57, Hoquiam 13
Timberline 49, North Thurston 30
Toledo 27, Pe Ell/Willapa Valley 24
Tumwater 55, Aberdeen 0
Union 30, Stanwood 13
W. F. West 28, Rochester 6
Wahkiakum 33, Ilwaco 24
Wahluke 34, College Place 26
Washougal 55, Hudson’s Bay 14
Waterville-Mansfield 76, Pateros 43
Wellpinit 40, Almira/Coulee-Hartline 14
West Seattle 23, Lakeside (Seattle) 7
West Valley (Spokane) 13, Riverside 10, OT
Wilbur-Creston 74, Springdale 38
Winlock 63, Oakville 40
Woodland 41, R.A. Long 0
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS=
Brewster vs. Davenport, ccd.
Chief Sealth vs. Cleveland, ccd.
