POULSBO — The anticipated gridiron duel between unbeatens Sequim and North Kitsap turned dud as the Vikings handled the Wolves 33-13.
Sequim’s (1-1, 3-1) upset bid peaked just 17 seconds into Friday’s game against the eighth-ranked Vikings when freshman Gavin Velarde returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for a 6-0 Wolves lead.
Velarde slipped on the wet turf field, but that moment may have helped him as he took the ball all the way from the right hash mark to the left pylon for the score.
He later returned another kick 92 yards for Sequim’s second touchdown with 1:23 remaining in the game.
“We have a special player in Gavin, that’s why he’s playing up as a freshman,” Wolves coach Erik Wiker said.
“We have a good solid team but his abilities to make people miss and use his speed are outstanding.”
After the opening kick, North Kitsap (1-0, 4-0) held sway, rolling up 511 yards of total offense, 343 on the ground and 168 through the air, and limiting Sequim to just 98 total yards.
“I think they are one of the more well-coached teams in the league,” Wiker said of the defending Olympic League-champions.
“Their defense has always been good [and this year] I’d say they have the best defense in the league.”
The dominance included allowing Sequim just 61 yards rushing on 23 carries, an anemic 1.69 yards per carry.
The focal point of Sequim’s offensive attack, dual-threat quarterback Miguel Moroles, was held in check all evening long.
Harassed and pressured by a ferocious Vikings front line, Moroles was sacked four times and bottled up on numerous drive-extending opportunities in short yardage situations on third and fourth downs.
Moroles was held to just 4 yards rushing on 15 attempts.
He also was 6 of 8 passing with an interception for a season-low 51 yards.
North Kitsap answered Velarde’s opening score with a nine-play, 65 yard scoring drive, capped by a 1-yard keeper by quarterback Alex Allbee with 7:55 in the first quarter.
Penalties hurt the Wolves in the first half.
A 20-yard Ty Jones rush was called back due to a hold, and another hold pushed Sequim back to midfield after a 25-yard Jones rush and an 11-yard Moroles-to-Bailey Earley pass had the Wolves in Viking territory.
“The better team won. I’m not going to pretend that without some penalties we should have won,” Wiker said.
“We would have had to have played a great game to beat a great team.
“And I think the penalties on both teams, and there were a lot on us, definitely affected the game. We could have made it a lot closer if we could have avoided them.”
An Ethan Richmond fumble gave North Kitsap a short field, and the Vikings scored three plays later on a 5-yard rush from Kyle North with 9:16 to go before halftime.
North led all runners with 15 carries for 135 yards, 98 of those yards in the first half.
North Kitsap added another touchdown, a 9- yard rush from T.J. Jensen, for a 20-6 lead with 6:28 in the second quarter.
Velarde slipped at the Sequim 1-yard line fielding the kickoff, but a Moroles hard count drew the Vikings offsides and tough runs from Chris Whitaker helped push the Wolves out of the shadow of their own end zone.
Moroles looked to convert on a third-and-9 from the Sequim 37-yard line, rolling to his right , finding the corner and racing up field for 15 yards before hurtling over an incoming North Kitsap defender.
In Washington state high school football, however, jumping over a tackler is considered a penalty and the positive play turned into a first down-negating, drive-killing, 15-yard penalty.
“How many drive-stoppers can you have before it really affects you?” Wiker asked.
“If you have one, or even two or three in a half like we had, it really hurts.”
Sequim kept the margin respectable by forcing five North Kitsap turnovers, including two fumble recoveries and a Noah Christiansen interception in the second half.
North Kitsap sealed it late in the third quarter when Jensen scored on another 9-yard rush to make it 26-6 with 1:48 to go in the third quarter.
The Vikings’ backups added a score on an 11-yard rush from Leif Klinger.
Velarde came up with another long return, stopping and starting on a dime and eventually finding the sideline for a 92-yard return to close out the scoring.
“I told the kids I was proud of them, that they never gave up, they didn’t start chipping and they played the whole game,” Wiker said.
“They reacted positively, and I’m proud of what we put out there, and sometimes those are the victories you get on tough nights like this.”
North Kitsap 33, Sequim 13
Sequim 6 0 0 7— 13
North Kitsap 6 14 7 6— 33
First Quarter
S—Velarde 96 kickoff return (Espinoza kick no good) 11:43
NK—Allbee 1 run (Hecker kick blocked) 7:55
Second Quarter
NK—North 5 run (Hecker kick) 9:16
NK— Jensen 9 run (Hecker kick) 6:28
Third Quarter
NK—Jensen 9 run (Hecker kick) 1:48
Fourth Quarter
NK—Klinger 11 run (rush no good) 1:45
S—Velarde 92 kickoff return (Espinoza kick good) 1:23
Individual Stats
Rushing— S: Jones 11-36, Whitaker 3-11, Moroles 15-4, Earley 2-1, Velarde 6-(-5). NK: North 15-135, Jensen 10-74, Crowell 6-39, Klinger 4-22, Hendon 5-20, Allbee 2-5, Morrow 1-3, Heath 1-1.
Passing—S: Moroles 6-8-1, 51; Faunce 0-2-0, 0. NK: Allbee 12-16-2, 168; Andrews 0-1-0, 0.
Receiving—S: Richmond 2-22, Jones 1-12, Earley 1-11, Whitaker 1-3, Dennis 1-3. NK: Hecker 6-55, Nettleton 1-34, Jensen 1-25, Crowell 2-24, North 1-16, Milyerd 1-14.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
