There’s something different about this year’s edition of the Port Angeles Roughriders football team.
I’ve only been here since 2016, but I’ve heard all the stories about some of the powerhouse Riders teams from the 1950s and 1960s. Since I arrived, they’ve struggled a bit to be honest. They qualified a couple of times for the postseason as a low seed but were quickly one and done once the playoffs started. I could see this team making noise in the playoffs.
This year’s team is … well, in a word, “wow.”
They aren’t going to win the Olympic League. They’re not even going to finish second. That’s going to North Kitsap and Bremerton, respectively, two of the top 10-ranked 2A teams in the state.
But so far, the Riders have handled everyone else in the Olympic League and have a shot at finishing third with a solid 6-3 record, which would be their best record in years. What a job this year by head coach Dustin Clark.
Port Angeles not only beat Olympic and Bainbridge, they annihilated them on both sides of the ball.
That was an Olympic team Port Angeles hadn’t beaten since 2011. And Bainbridge came in to Port Angeles with a 5-1 record and ranked No. 11 among 3A teams. The Roughriders outscored those two teams 96-40. After the Bainbridge shocker, Port Angeles leaped from No. 24 to No. 18 in the 2A Ratings Percentage Index.
The Riders tend to get off to terrible starts. In both the Olympic and Bainbridge games, they started with turnovers that led to quick touchdowns by the opposition.
It simply didn’t matter. They just went out dominated both teams the rest of the way.
The Riders are winning behind the play of elusive quarterback Parker Nickerson, an offense that gets receivers Blake Sohlberg, Kaiden Point and Ezra Townsend wide open, and a relentless running game with Kason Albaugh, Landyn Jones and Jason Hawes.
Hawes and Tanner Flores are forces on defense, as well, racking up countless tackles for losses all season. Nickerson and Sohlberg prowl the defensive backfield looking for picks.
This team has also scored long touchdowns on special teams. They have all the facets working some nights.
Perhaps the one flaw with this team is too many penalties. But they even overcome that. In their Olympic game, they had one remarkable drive in which they got called for offensive holding four times. They just kept making plays and eventually scored.
It simply didn’t matter. They’re good enough to overcome it.
It’s fun and exciting to watch. It’s far and away the best Riders team since I’ve been here.
Port Angeles has played an exceptionally tough schedule with four games against top-11 teams — North Kitsap, Bremerton, Bainbridge and Anacortes. Those games were rough, but they showed the Riders what it takes to be great. And they’ve learned well.
You hate to count your chickens before they hatch, but the Riders are done with the meatgrinder part of their schedule and have a couple of easier regular season games facing them in 1-6 Kingston on the road Thursday and 1-6 North Mason at home Oct. 27.
These are games they should win and may have to in order to make the postseason. Olympic and Sequim are lurking right behind Port Angeles (3-2) at 2-3 in league. But, it’s totally fair to say that with a pair of 1-6 opponents in the schedule, the Riders have given themselves the inside track to third in the Olympic League, especially with their nice RPI ranking.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch this special team, be sure to come out to Civic Field on Oct. 27 for their final home game.
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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at pierre.labossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
