PORT ANGELES — The rivalry between Sequim and Port Angeles athletes typically begins early.
By the end of freshman year of high school, names and faces are catalogued as enemies worthy of little more than an obligatory handshake.
Wilder teammates and future college roommates Cody Sullivan (Port Angeles) and Isaac Yamamoto (Sequim) were certainly no different.
Stars of their respective football and baseball teams, both were well aware of the other. And both were certain they didn’t like the other.
“We always would be playing against each other, and it was like, ‘I thought you were just a mug. I hated you,’” Yamamoto said.
“That’s how it is. You grow up in two different towns and you’re archrivals and you go and you just hate them when you don’t know them.”
Of course, as has often been the case with Wilder all-star teams of the past, that all changed once Sullivan and Yamamoto became teammates in the summer of 2010.
Now, they are not only key figures on a squad vying for a spot in the Senior Babe Ruth World Series, they’re also about to be roomies at Lower Columbia Community College in Longview.
Following in the footsteps of ex-Wilder teammates Eric Lane (PA) and Ben Grubb (Sequim) before them, the former rivals will suit up for the Red Devils baseball next spring.
As it turns out, Sullivan and Yamamoto had more in common than they realized, from a shared work ethic to a strong desire to reach their ceiling as baseball players.
“It’s just kind of my nature that anyone not wearing my jersey is not my friend,” Sullivan said.
“That’s kind of how it was. So when I actually met him and started playing with him, and he was wearing the same jersey, we hit it off really well.
“I really appreciated how every day he worked really hard.”
Devil of a time
Working hard will most definitely be a part of both players’ futures.
Lower Columbia head coach Kelly Smith is notorious for pushing his players as hard as anyone in the NWAACC.
It’s a method that has produced results, with 14 of his 16 Red Devil teams winning division titles, eight taking second in the NWAACC postseason tourney and four winning it all.
The latter includes the 2010 edition led by Lane, a division MVP, and Grubb, an All-NWAACC catcher.
“They just outwork people,” Wilder head coach Rob Merritt said.
“We’ve developed a pretty good relationship with the coaches there and we normally don’t send anybody unless we know that they can handle it.
“Kelly, he’s an old-timer. He doesn’t take any guff off anybody, and so you’ve got to be mentally tough.
“Both of those kids, they are mentally tough, but they are in for a little bit of an awakening. I think they can handle it.
“They are both really good athletes.”
Indeed, Sullivan and Yamamoto were each two-sport stars for their respective schools as seniors.
Yamamoto, short and compact at 5-foot-7, 190 pounds, was the Olympic League football MVP as the Wolves’ top running back and middle linebacker.
He was also a three-time all-league infielder for the Wolves on the diamond, hitting a team-best .456 with 27 runs scored and 21 RBIs.
Meanwhile, Sullivan, a more classically built athlete at 6-foot, 175 pounds, was a key figure in Port Angeles football’s resurgence as a second-team all-league running back and first-team punter.
In baseball, he was named an all-league outfielder for the second year in a row with a .391 batting average, 22 runs and 10 extra base hits.
The two faced off against each other in both sports, including the battle for the Olympic League football title in October attended by a record 4,200 fans in Port Angeles’ Civic Field.
While Sequim came out ahead in two of three those games — the Wolves won in football 41-0 and split in baseball — both insist there’s little trash talk between the two.
“When you play against each other, it kind of brings down the barrier,” said Yamamoto, who will also room with Rider basketball star Ian Ward at LCC.
“You respect each other more rather than try to kill each other. That’s definitely something that I have cherished in just getting to know [the PA players].”
Added Sullivan, “It’s just been an automatic friendship. He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever met.
“He doesn’t party, he doesn’t do that stuff, so that’s kind of who I wanted to involve myself with.
“And obviously he’s successful in sports and he has a good drive. I want to be around those people to get better.”
Stepping stone
If both players have their way, Lower Columbia will be just a stepping stone to bigger things.
Lane and Grubb each turned two-year stints in Longview into spots on Division I rosters this spring, with Lane playing third for Gonzaga and Grubb catching for the University of Portland.
Former Sequim ace Chad Wagner — currently a Wilder pitching coach — also went on to play for a four-year school (Hawaii Pacific) after playing for Smith at LCC.
“I think they will both do good,” said Merritt, who envisions Yamamoto at second or third base at LCC and Sullivan as a right or left fielder.
“[Sullivan], Isaac and [Easton] Napiontek, those guys will be the first ones here and the last ones to leave [at practice], always wanting more and more and more.
“They are already talking about — ‘After the World Series,’ they are saying — ‘Will you work us out?’ They want to be ready to go down. They don’t want to take a month off and go down there [for fall practice] and not play well.
“First impressions are important.”
As Sullivan and Yamamoto’s friendship proves, however, those are not always permanent.