SEQUIM — From year to year, few Olympic League football teams replace outgoing players quite like the Sequim Wolves.
As Friday night’s game against the North Mason Bulldogs proved, however, head coach Erik Wiker and company can also do it from week to week.
Subbing for suspended two-way star Frank Catelli at quarterback, Erik’s son, Jack Wiker, guided the fifth-ranked Wolves to a 48-20 rout of the Bulldogs on a crisp night in Dungeness Valley.
The first-string running back ripped off 282 yards of offense and had a hand in six Wolves touchdowns as he more than made up for the absence of Catelli and three other key players from the Sequim lineup.
“I like it because I’m like half coach and half dad,” said Erik Wiker, whose Wolves (3-0 in league, 5-0 overall) have won 23 straight league games.
“I can go, ‘Good job. That’s my boy.’”
With Catelli serving a one-game suspension for his controversial ejection from last week’s win over Bremerton, Jack Wiker assumed the controls of Sequim’s shotgun spread offense Friday.
And for the first 16 minutes against North Mason, it was just as explosive as it has been each of the past three seasons.
Taking advantage of five first-quarter turnovers from the Bulldogs — they ultimately had 10 giveaways — Sequim scored five touchdowns in 13 minutes to take a 32-0 lead.
Jack Wiker threw touchdowns passes of 5, 21 and 36 yards on the first three scoring marches, and had scoring runs of 41 and 9 yards on the last two.
By the time he led the Wolves on another scoring drive that ended with Jonathan Campbell’s 26-yard field goal, the game was all but over at 35-0.
And there was still eight minutes left in the second quarter.
“I thought we came out with good intensity,” said Erik Wiker. “I also think everybody came together as a team and was doing their roles like we said that they should all week.
“I think [Catelli and others’ being out] probably had them focussed more. Everybody focussed a little tighter for this game. They knew it could be maybe close if we didn’t execute well.”
Jack Wiker finished with 133 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 14 carries for the game.
With the North Mason defense daring him to throw all game with no safety help, he also had 149 yards through the air, completing 9 of 22 passes with one interception and three TDs.
Senior Nick Ramirez hauled in five of those passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns and had an interception on defense.
Meanwhile, Tyler Forshaw had four grabs for 71 yards and a score as well as 60-yard interception return for a touchdown.
“I knew it was going to be hard [without Catelli and the two other offensive starters], but I knew we could do it if we were playing our best,” Jack Wiker said.
“Our linemen, Clay Charley, and [Jake] Hudson and Jacob Cooper, they all killed it. That’s why we won the game, because we shut down their dive.”
Indeed, North Mason’s triple-option attack didn’t get a first down until it was trailing 35-0 with 7:10 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs then staged a brief rally, scoring touchdowns on two straight drives to put the score at 35-12.
They threatened to score again late in the first half, driving down to Sequim’s 1-yard line.
But quarterback Tommy Renne was stuffed at the goal line on a third-down QB sneak, and time ran out before his team could get off another play.
Forshaw then came up with his interception return for a touchdown on North Mason’s first offensive drive of the second half, quelling any thoughts of a miraculous Bulldog comeback.
“If we would have punched that in at the half . . . it sure would have been more competitive,” North Mason coach Jeff Bevers said. “We’re just trying to learn how to finish some stuff right now.”
The Bulldogs (0-3, 0-5) actually out-gained the Wolves 386 yards to 290 on the game.
Much of that, however, had to do with all of the short fields North Mason gave Sequim because of its 10 turnovers, six of which were fumbles.
Renne led the Bulldogs with 109 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries, while fullbacks Tommy Marsh (13 carries, 98 yards) and Brody Stromberg (8-85) also rack up yardage.
Yet Renne was also intercepted four times while completing just 1 of 9 passes for 16 yards.
Unlike Jack Wiker — another running back turned QB — Renne couldn’t make the opposing defense pay for stacking the box against him.
And Sequim’s own turnovers, of which there were five, did little to keep it from claiming its ninth straight win over North Mason since 2004.
“That’s the team that we all want to be like in this league,” Bevers said.
“That’s the team that you’ve got to beat, and they are great competitors.
“That’s one of the fun things about playing Sequim is they compete hard and are always a well-coached football team.”
Sequim 48, North Mason 20
North Mason 0 12 0 8— 20
Sequim 25 10 13 0— 48
First Quarter
S—Ramirez 5 pass from Wiker (pass failed)
S—Ramirez 21 pass from Wiker (pass failed)
S—Forshaw 36 pass from Wiker (Koonz kick)
S—Wiker 41 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
S—Wiker 9 run (Campbell kick)
S—Campbell 26 field goal
NM—Renne 50 run (run failed)
NM—Marsh 1 run (run failed)
Third Quarter
S—Forshaw 60 interception return (Campbell kick)
S—Wiker 20 run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
NM—Price 33 run (Allen run)
Individual Stats
Rushing— S: Wiker 14-133, Knapman 6-18, McElrath 7-9, Forshaw 2-(minus 2), Field 3-(minus 15), Moroles 2-(minus 12). NM: Renne 22-109, Marsh 13-98, Stromberg 8-85, Allen 10-44, Price 7-34, Burggraaf 1-0.
Passing—S: Wiker 9-22-1, 149; Field 2-3-0, 10. NM: Renne 1-9-4, 16.
Receiving—S: Ramirez 5-84, Forshaw 4-71, Lidstrom 2-4. NM: Allen 1-16.