PREP FOOTBALL: Sequim flips script, grinds out win over Port Angeles

By Pierre LaBossiere

Peninsula Daily News

PORT ANGELES — Sequim has a reputation as a big-play offense, but the Wolves used a grinding ground game to control the clock and wear down Port Angeles in a 29-14 victory in the annual Rainshadow Rumble rivalry football game.

With the win, Sequim (3-2, 5-3) locked up third place in the Olympic League 2A Division. Port Angeles and Olympic are both one game behind the Wolves, but Sequim has beaten both teams, so they’re in the postseason. The Roughriders (2-3, 4-5) will finish their season against Olympic.

Port Angeles made the Wolves work for it and rallied from a 22-0 second quarter deficit to make it just a one-score game early in the fourth quarter. But, two 15-yard penalties were key in turning the tide for Sequim.

When asked what the difference was in the game, Wolves running back Hayden Gresli exclaimed, “The O-line — 100 percent.”

Gresli said that while Sequim didn’t have a lot of big plays (the biggest was a late 31-yard run by Tyler Conn after the game was essentially decided), the Wolves’ strategy of grinding down the clock and the Riders defense worked.

“It worked for us. That’s how we beat them, yard-by-yard,” he said.

Wolves’ Quarterback Riley Cowan was an efficient 14 for 19 passing for 131 yards and ran for another 69 yards on 16 carries. Not only did he put up an even 200 yards of offense, Wolves’ coach Eric Wiker said Cowan was calling many of the plays at the line after looking over the Riders’ defense.

“The defense was strong. The offensive line did a good job of blocking and using up the clock,” Cowan said.

He said Sequim couldn’t rely on big plays to beat the Riders.

“We just had to work the drives and use the running game more,” he said.

“We played tough defense and good offense,” said Wiker.

“Our coaching staff did a good job and the coachability of these kids” had a lot to do with Sequim’s win, said Wiker. He said Sequim with its smaller running backs didn’t outmuscle the Roughriders, but was instead able to outscheme them.

Wiker also liked that the Wolves didn’t panic when Port Angeles scored 14 straight points and had all the momentum.

“I’m really proud of these kids,” he said.

Riders coach Bret Curtis was proud of how his team fought back after falling behind in the first half. Port Angeles had a quick drive at the end of the first half for a touchdown, then dominated much of the third quarter to get back to within 22-14.

“That’s what we felt best about. There were times in the past 22-0 was enough to sink our ship. But we showed we’re back in business,” Curtis said. “We felt like it was two half-games.”

Curtis said his team made a point to not let explosive Sequim have any big plays. The Riders especially did a good job of bottling up defending league MVP Gavin Velarde, who had five catches but for only 31 yards. Curtis felt the game came down to “just too many snaps for our defense.”

The Sequim defense played an outstanding game, completely bottling up Port Angeles’ running game and forcing the Riders to throw often. Port Angeles did have some success through the air, passing 28 times for 174 yards, but they simply could not get a running game going.

The Wolves threatened to blow up the Riders early as Gresli had a 15-yard TD run and Cowan completed two passes on a quick drive with 7:53 in the first quarter. The Wolves came right back after a fake punt attempt by the Riders failed to convert a fourth down. Cowan completed another two passes — he started the game completing his first seven passes — and had a short 1-yard run to make the score 14-0. A two-point conversion gave Sequim a 16-0 lead just nine minutes into the game.

The Wolves pushed it to 22-0 in the second quarter after a 20-yard punt return by Gavin Velarde, who was for much of the game bottled up, gave Sequim the ball at midfield. Sequim actually had two touchdowns called back on this drive due to penalties, but the Wolves overcame these mistakes as Cowan had an 18-yard run and hit Kyler Rollness on a 23-yard pass for a touchdown.

With only 1:14 left in the half, the Riders struck back quickly. Quarterback Easton Joslin ran for 16 yards, hit Garrett Edwards on a 23-yard pass, then had his best play of the game, rolling to his his left, reversing field back to his right and finding Anton Kathol for a 22-yard gain with only 10 seconds left in the half. Joslin then found Edwards in the end zone as time expired and it was 22-7 after the extra point.

Port Angeles recovered a fumble with 1:45 left in the third quarter, then the Riders marched down the field. The big play came when the Riders converted a fourth-and-11 with a 14-yard pass from Joslin to Edwards, then on fourth down again on the 15-yard-line, Joslin found Jake Allen in the end zone. With 8:46 left in the game, the Roughriders were back in business, down just 22-14.

But, the Riders made two critical mistakes. They got called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty after the touchdown, giving the ball to Sequim at the 43-yard-line after the kickoff. Another 15-yard penalty on an illegal block in the back gave the Wolves the ball down to the 12. From the 3-yard-line, Gresli ran into a big crowd at the line, bounced the ball outside and outraced Roughrider defenders to the end zone. With 30 yards of penalties aiding the drive, the Wolves scored in just over two minutes to make it 29-14.

A Kyler Rollness interception with five minutes left in the game sealed the win for the Wolves.

Joslin finished the game 13 for 27 passing for 138 yards. Edwards had six catches for 75 yards for the Riders.

Sequim hosts Kingston at 7 p.m. Friday in its final home game. A district playoff game looms against the South Puget Sound League’s No. 2 seed on either Friday, Nov. 3 or Saturday, Nov. 4.

Port Angeles will finish with a Thursday game (7:15 p.m.) at Olympic 2-3, 3-5), which lost to Sequim by a similar score of 31-18.

Sequim 29, Port Angeles 14

Sequim 16 6 0 7 — 29

PA 0 7 0 7 — 14

First Quarter

Seq—Gresli 15 run (Gresli run)

Seq—Cowan 1 run (Wiker run)

Second Quarter

Seq—Rollness 23 pass from Cowan (kick failed)

PA—Edwards 7 pass from Joslin Glasser 19 pass from Cowan (Alvarez kick)

Fourth Quarter

PA—Allen 15 pass from Joslin (Alvarez kick)

Seq—Gresli 3 run (Rice kick)

Individual Stats

Rushing—PA: Joslin 6-32, Burns 8-10, Allen 1-10. SEQ: Cowan 16-69, Conn 5-52, Gresli 18-73, Puksta 1-0.

Passing—PA: Joslin 13-27-138, 2TD, 2INT, Burns 0-1, Kathol 0-1. SEQ: Cowan 14-19-136, TD.

Receiving—PA: Edwards 6-75-TD, Kathol 2-32, Allen 3-17, Lopez 2-14. SEQ: Rollness 7-88-1TD, Wiker 1-12, Velarde 5-31, Gresli 1-5.

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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.