Editor’s Note: Forks’ schedule was corrected
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Roughriders football team got a huge monkey off its back, blowing open a rugged defensive battle in the second half to beat Forks 26-7 at Civic Field.
The Riders don’t necessarily like to talk about it, but the win snapped an 11-game losing streaking going back to the postseason in 2023. The last time Port Angeles won was over Franklin Pierce in the district playoffs on Nov. 3, 2023.
“I’m excited for the seniors,” said Port Angeles coach Dustin Clark. “They put in a lot of work this summer to be better than last year.
“We played hard, especially on defense,” Clark said.
Port Angeles’ Jude Wallace, center, tries to escape the clutches of Forks’ Estevan Ramos, left, and Adon Arellano on Friday at Port Angeles Civic Field. (KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS)
“This feels so good,” said Jude Wallace, who had an interception and two touchdowns, including a 58-yarder. Wallace said it was hard last year as he was injured during the season and was no longer able to contribute.
Forks came in to the game ravaged by injuries, with two of its best players, Bubba Hernandez-Stansbury and Landen Olson out for the season with serious leg injuries. Three Forks players were hurt in Friday’s game, including a serious injury to Titus Rowley, who sustained a concussion after a helmet-on-helmet collision.
An emotional Trevor Highfield felt the referees needed to do more to protect the players.
“I am concerned abut the safety of our players,” Highfield said. He said he was proud of how hard the Spartans played and how they fought back in the second half.
“I’m proud of them. We had three or four freshmen out there at a time. No one backed down. They played with heart and desire in the face of real adversity.” He also said Rowley was playing a great game before he got injured.
The game was dominated by defense for the entire first half as neither team could score until the waning seconds of the first half.
The Riders’ best early drive came after a remarkable 17-yard catch and carry by Oliver Martinez. Martinez caught a short pass, and then dragged at least a half dozen Forks defenders for at least 10 yards before he would go down. Quarterback Carson Waddell then hit Ian Smithson with a quick slant for another 18-yard gain to give the Riders a first-and-10 at the 22, but the drive stalled after a holding penalty.
Wallace set up the Riders’ first scoring drive with an interception with 2:55 left in the half, giving Port Angeles a first-and-10 at the 41. Port Angeles drove the ball to the 7-yard line after a pair of Martinez catches, including one of a tipped ball. On a fourth-and-two with 18.7 seconds left in the half, Dylan Mann scored on a 7-yard run for the first score of the game.
The Riders maintained the momentum when a long Wallace punt return set up Port Angeles in Forks territory. Easton Fisher made a great adjustment on a Waddell pass to haul in the throw for a 25-yard gain down to the 20-yard line.
Port Angeles ended up with a first-and-goal, but a big penalty pushed the Riders all the way back to the 28-yard line. Waddell made a 13-yard run, then hit Ian Smithson with a 7-yard pass. On a third-and-goal from the 8, Waddell hit Wallace with a touchdown pass at 4:43. After the kick, the Riders held a 14-0 lead.
The Spartans were shorthanded and battered in this game, but they showed that they had no quit in them. Forks responded with a 20-yard pass from Lane Helvey to Noah Foster and Kaden Ward made a 6-yard run to convert a fourth-and-two.
Helvey capped off the drive with a beautiful pass to the corner of the end zone, hitting Foster perfectly in stride for a 27-yard touchdown with 1:34 left in the third quarter. After Forks converted its kick, the Spartans were right back in the game at 14-7 with plenty of time left.
The Riders quickly seized the momentum right back as they struck on the first play of their possession with a beautiful 58-yard pass from Waddell to Wallace, who got behind the Spartans’ defense and sprinted down the sideline for a score.
“That was crazy,” Wallace said. “When the ball was in the air, I really thought he had overthrown me.” He was able to sprint under the throw and scamper untouched to the end zone.
A 15-yard penalty gave Forks a first down in Port Angeles territory, but Smithson quickly ended that drive with an interception and a 30-yard return to set the Riders up in Forks territory. After a pair of Wallace runs, Waddell hit Fisher for a 24-yard TD pass as Fisher again made a great adjustment to the ball, giving the Riders a 26-7 lead with 6:51 left in the game.
Forks drove down to the 35-yard line in one final drive thanks to a pair of Ward runs for 26 yards, but on a fourth-and-9, Hunter Flores came up with a quarterback sack to lock up the win for the Riders.
Waddell finished 16-for-30 for 245 yards and three touchdowns.
Asante Korsmo also had an interception early in the game for the Riders, while Mann had two quarterback sacks. Estevan Ramos for the Spartans had several long punt and kickoff returns.
For Forks, Noah Foster had seven catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, adding 42 yards of punt returns and a 40-yard kick return. Rowley finished with six tackles, four for loss, while Ramos had seven tackles, two for loss.
Port Angeles (1-1) has a tough road game Friday, opening Olympic League play against North Mason (2-0), which crushed Kingston 40-8 this weekend. Forks (0-2), after two tough losses to physical 2A teams, plays Kittitas at home at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Port Angeles 26, Forks 7
Forks 0 0 7 0 — 7
PA 0 7 13 6 — 26
Scoring
Second Quarter
PA — Mann 7 run, 0:18. Royack kick.
Third Quarter
PA — Wallace 7 pass from Waddell, 4:43. Royack kick.
Forks — Foster 27 pass from Helvey, 1:34. Reyes kick.
PA — Wallace 58 pass from Waddell, 1:13. PAT no good.
Fourth Quarter
PA — Fisher 24 pass from Waddell, 6:51. PAT no good.
Individual stats
Passing
PA — Waddell 16-30, 245 yards, 3 TDs. Forks —Helvey 8-20, 97 yards, TD, 3 INTs.
Rushing
PA — Mann 12-50, TD; Wallace 6-27; Waddell 6-39; Wilson 1-3, Clemens 1-10. Forks — Ward 11-40, Helvey 9-(-2), Foster 1-0.
Receiving
PA — Martinez 6-50; Smithson 4-60; Wallace 3-68, 2 TDs; Fisher 3-67, TD. Forks — Foster 7-84, TD, Barajas 1-13.
Forks tight end Kaden Ward, center, scrambles for a way past Port Angeles’ Hunter Flores as teammate Conner Roberts, right, sets up a block on Friday evening in Port Angeles. (KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS)
Port Angeles quarterback Carson Waddell, right, looks for a way past the Forks defense, including defensive lineman Landon Thomas, front. (KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS)
