Something is happening very quietly in the gymnasiums in the North Olympic Peninsula.
Quietly, some real beasts are being built.
Hopefully, I’m not premature here. I actually waited a week or two to write this column, but the trend is continuing.
If you haven’t noticed yet, the Port Angeles boys and girls both have created a pair of really strong basketball teams.
You could kind of sense this happening this summer, when the Port Angeles boys got together and played more than 40 games during the summer.
These teams were always good, qualifying for districts consistently, but this year, they’ve gotten scary good.
The Port Angeles boys, coming off a road loss against league-leading North Kitsap, beat Olympic last week 83-52. The Roughriders followed that up beating Rochester at their home holiday tournament 85-19, then beat Auburn Mountainview, a 4A school, by the score of 60-21.
That’s three games outscoring their opponents 228-92 … an average score of 76-31. (Interestingly, the Roughriders beat Kingston earlier this season by the score of 75-31.)
And about that North Kitsap league loss. It took a 3-pointer by the Vikings with 8 seconds left in the game to pull out that win. I’m sure the Riders will licking their chops hoping for revenge when North Kitsap comes to visit Port Angeles on Jan. 18. I had one coach tell me privately he didn’t think the Riders would lose a league game this year. That weight is off their shoulders; they’re not going to go undefeated. Time will tell if that makes them a better team at the end of the season.
The Roughriders have also beaten 3A Bainbridge and they are off at the Yakima Sundome today and tomorrow playing another couple of 4A teams — West Valley of Yakima and Davis. They aren’t shrinking down from playing bigger schools , despite what affect that might have on their won-loss record or their RPI ranking. Coach Kasey Ulin has expressed his belief that these are the kind of games that will prepare the Roughriders for tight league games and games in the postseason.
The Roughriders can shoot, have a lot of height inside with 6-7 Liam Clark, plus two other 6-6 players off the bench and 6-6 Payton Schmidt. Those long bodies and long arms have results in games giving up 19, 21, 31, 48 and 52 points.
The Port Angeles has been good enough to make it to district the past few years, perhaps this is the year they make the leap to state.
PA girls might even be better
As good as the Roughriders are, the Port Angeles girls might be even better … and scarier.
The girls likewise had a huge win over a 4A school, beating Hazen 58-46 this past weekend. And not just any 4A school. Hazen came in to that game the No. 14 ranked 4A school in the state. How special was it to have the Roughrider girls and boys teams beating 4A opponents in the same gym back-to-back Saturday?
The Riders’ are riding high at 7-1. Their lone loss is to the No. 1 ranked 2A team in the state, Lynden, and they lost by only 12 points. The Riders have won all four of their league games by a combined score of 239-115, an average score of 60-29.
Now, if people in Sequim think I’m over-hyping the Roughriders, I haven’t forgotten you.
Very, very quietly, despite a coaching change in midseason, the Sequim girls have put together a solid start to their season, matching Port Angeles’ 7-1 overall record.
The Wolves, who in past years were good defensively, but struggled to score, have been explosive on offense, scoring 76, 77, 79 and 81 points in wins this year. In fact, they haven’t had a single game all year with fewer than 50 points, averaging points a game.
By comparison, the Sequim girls scored more than 50 points a total of six times in two seasons combined in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The Wolves’ only loss this year has been to North Kitsap, which is always strong in basketball. It will be a lot of fun watching this high-powered team play coach Michael Poindexter’s defense in Port Angeles on Jan. 8.
And not to be outdone, the Sequim boys are also enjoying a solid start to their season. The Wolves have stumbled a bit in the past 10 days, but they got off to a 5-1 start to the season. Again, when they visit Port Angeles on Jan. 8, that is going to be a fun game.
It’s a great time for hoops on the North Peninsula. Come out to the games and check out something special that is happening.
