KINGSTON — Kingston threw a wrench into Port Angeles’ postseason plans, using explosive plays on offense and defense to chew up big chunks of yardage and in a 23-7 victory over the Roughriders.
Port Angeles was bailed out, however, by Bremerton’s 14-13 win against Sequim, setting up a three-team playoff for the Olympic League’s final postseason berth at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Silverdale Stadium in Bremerton.
“It wasn’t our best game, not by a long shot,” Roughiders coach Tom Wahl said following Thursday’s loss.
“But, thankfully, we have another chance to correct our mistakes and keep it going.”
After an uneventful first quarter in the driving rain, the Buccaneers struck first when sophomore quarterback Jack Colletto found Tanner Draper wide open up the seam for a 32-yard scoring strike with 9:44 to play before halftime.
The two teams traded punts and field position for much of the second quarter, with Kingston pinning the Riders deep inside their half of the field on two occasions.
Port Angeles avoided further damage when the defense stood tall after a Sam Burton fumble at the Riders’ 25-yard line.
The defense forced a 12-yard sack of Colletto and a well-timed pass deflection at the goal line by Ricky Crawford on third down forced a Bucs punt.
The Riders earned their best field position of the half after Dane Bradow recovered a muffed punt return by Kingston at the Bucs’ 37-yard line.
A helmet-to-helmet penalty on a 12-yard screen pass by Ryan Rodocker to Nate Angevine pushed Port Angeles back, and a flea flicker pass to the goal line was knocked down as the first half expired.
The Riders switched to their jumbo formation for a series in the third quarter, moving Angevine from fullback to quarterback and putting strong guard Roberto Colonel in the backfield to clear some running lanes.
Port Angeles put together a methodical, 14-play drive with runs by Kellen Landry, Jace Lausche and Colonel.
Facing fourth-and-6 from the Kingston 10, the Riders inserted Rodocker back in at QB, but he was intercepted by Kingston sophomore Paul Johnson, who returned the pass 73-yards to the Port Angeles 27.
The Riders held on defense, forcing a well-struck 40-yard field goal from Alex Worland as the Bucs went up 9-0.
A scary incident occurred when Rodocker went back to pass and was lit up by a charging Kingston defender on the final play of the third quarter.
The junior signal caller was tossed to the turf and stayed down until medics arrived at the stadium.
Rodocker slowly walked off the field and confirmed postgame that he was OK, suffering from some whiplash effects and some residual pain but with no concussion symptoms.
It was the second long injury delay of the third quarter. Kingston’s Jonathan Jinzo was carted off with a lower leg injury earlier in the quarter.
Port Angeles appeared to gain the momentum when Miki Andrus stepped in front of a Colletto pass, but two plays later an Angevine pitch went off course, taking a friendly home field bounce straight into the hands of Kingston’s Ryan Lash.
Lash scooped up the fumble and bounced 36 yards to the house to put the Bucs up 16-0.
They scored again after another Port Angeles three-and-out, with Garrett Rouser doing the heavy lifting on runs of 15 and 45 yards, capped by a 3-yard rushing TD and a 23-0 lead with 7:06.
“It was a really tight game until those two big plays,” Wahl said of the fumble return and the long Rouser run.
“Our defense had a solid night, but again, it came down to a lack of execution in our offense.
“Kingston came to play tonight.”
Port Angeles snapped the shutout when Landry scored on a 7-yard rush with 1:43 to go.
Kingston 23, Port Angeles 7
Port Angeles 0 0 0 7— 7
Kingston 0 6 3 14— 23
Second Quarter
K — Draper 32 pass from Colletto (kick blocked)
Third Quarter
K — Worland 40 field goal
Fourth Quarter
K — Lash 30 fumble recovery (Fick kick good)
K — Rouser 3 rush (Fick kick good)
PA— Landry 7 rush (Beck kick good)
Individual Stats
Rushing: PA: Landry 10-50, Andrus 10-41, Lausche 8-33, Angevine 7-20, Burton 3-2. K: Rouser 10-85, Barrett 6-28, Chiquiti 2-6.
Passing: Rodocker 3-5-1, 34; Angevine 0-6. K: Colletto 3-11-1, 44.
Receiving: PA: Angevine 2-21, Andrus 1-13. K: Draper 1-32, Wright 1-8, Lash 2-4.
