PORT ANGELES — What we knew from fall 2020 prep schedules and realignments forwarded to area athletic directors this week is that Port Townsend will be playing a lot of private schools, Chimacum will be riding ferries a lot and that Forks will continue to not have many league games in football.
And Port Angeles, Sequim and smaller schools will have largely the same opponents and schedules as they have had for the past several years.
Chimacum
Chimacum and Forks are both dropping down from 1A to 2B due to realignments approved earlier this year. Beginning in September, Chimacum will begin competing as a 2B school in the Northwest 2B/1B League. The Cowboys will be traveling north on the ferry to Coupeville and more ferries to the San Juan Islands.
The Cowboys will still have a rivalry game with Port Townsend, but it will be a nonleague game against the 1A Redhawks on Sept. 10 at Memorial Field. It’s technically one of Chimacum’s home games.
Chimacum will play its first league game on the road at Friday Harbor on Sept. 18. This requires a short ferry ride to Keystone and then a 75-minute ferry ride from Anacortes to San Juan Island.
The Cowboys will get on the ferry for league games at their old Olympic League 1A rival Coupeville (Oct. 2) and La Conner (Oct. 9).
Chimacum will host games against South Whidbey (Sept. 25), Friday Harbor (Oct. 23), La Conner (Oct. 30) and Coupeville (Nov. 5).
In basketball, the Cowboys teams will not only travel to Friday Harbor once, but also to Orcas Island, which is about a one-hour ferry ride out of Anacortes.
Forks
Forks also dropped down from 1A to 2B as the Spartans moved to the Pacific 2B conference.
However, the Pacific 2B is split into two divisions. Forks will play in a four-team division called the Central 2B Upper N with Napavine, Pe Ell and Rainier. Napavine made it to the 2B state semifinals last year.
Forks had just four league games a year in football in the Spartans’ former league, the Evergreen 1A League.
The Spartans begin their season Sept. 4 on the road against Sequim and then play Port Angeles on Sept. 11. That game could be either home or away. They begin league play at Pe Ell on Oct. 2 and host Rainier on Oct. 9. They finish the season with home games against Toledo (Oct. 23) and Neah Bay (Oct. 30).
In basketball, the Spartans will play in a much bigger Pacific 2B League with Chief Leschi, Ilwaco, North Beach, Northwest Christian, Ocosta, Raymond and South Bend. Many of these schools are in a Central 2B Lower E/W for football.
Schedules for soccer and wrestling have not been posted yet for Forks.
Port Townsend
With the elimination of the Olympic 1A League, Port Townsend now joins the Nisqually 1A League and will mostly play private Christian schools in the Tacoma area, which isn’t that much different from when Port Townsend played in the split Olympic 1A/Nisqually 1A League. The Redhawks still play their old league rivals Chimacum and Klahowya (Sept. 25). The Eagles joined the Nisqually League along with Port Townsend.
The Redhawks also host league teams Vashon (Oct. 2) and Bellevue Christian (Oct. 16), then finish up their home schedule against Sultan (Oct. 30), which is a nonleague game.
Port Townsend and Chimacum no longer play each other in boys or girls basketball — at least there are no games scheduled next season between the two old rivals, although it’s not unusual for games to be added.
Port Angeles, Sequim
Of all the local schools, Port Angeles and Sequim see the fewest changes with the realignment and movement. The Rainshadow Rumble is scheduled in Sequim on Sept. 18.
Sequim hosts Forks (Sept. 4), Port Angeles (Sept. 18), North Kitsap (Oct. 9) and North Mason (Oct. 16). The Wolves’ only nonleague games are against Forks and at Squalicum on Sept. 11.
Port Angeles hosts North Kitsap (Sept. 25), North Mason (Oct. 2), Evergreen (Oct. 16 — nonleague) and Olympic (Oct. 23).
North Olympic League 1B schools (Neah Bay, Crescent and Clallam Bay) are expected to see few changes. The same for Quilcene, which remains in the Sea-Tac 1B League. These schedules have not been released.
