PORT ANGELES — Ironically enough, the mascot for the Squalicum football team is “Storm.”
It was fitting, as playing in soggy conditions and at times heavy rain, Port Angeles’ game against Squalicum featured a lot of turnovers in the first half and was marred by a lot of penalties in the second half, most of them against Squalicum.
Throughout the typhoon, the Roughriders’ defense played strong, allowing only two touchdowns, but Port Angeles struggled to generate much of offense, as well, and fell 22-0 to the Storm. The Riders defense held Squalicum scoreless through the second and third quarters and most of the fourth quarter when the Storm scored an insurance touchdown late in the game.
“Our kids played their hearts out. I told they ‘w’ve got nothing to lose, play with reckless abandon’,” said coach Dustin Clark.
Clark said a couple of big plays didn’t go the Riders’ way (one a touchdown run, the other a scoop and score on a fumble), and that’s been the story of Port Angeles’ season. He was proud that his defense only allowed one touchdown for the first 45 minutes of the game.
Squalicum had two lost fumbles and an interception in the first half while Port Angeles also had two lost fumbles and an interception.
Oliver Martinez got a pick early in the game to give the Riders the momentum, but Port Angeles was forced to punt. Squalicum’s Marcus Nixon responded with a 48-yard touchdown run. It was the only big play Port Angeles’ defense gave up all night.
Just 30 seconds later, on a Lane Wilson run, it appeared the play was over, but the whistle never blew and Squalicum’s Anothony Reyna picked up the ball and ran 57 yards for a quick TD.
That was all the scoring until the final three minutes of the game as both defense dominated in the wet conditions.
Port Angeles did have one golden opportunity to score in the first half. Using a lot of misdirection to fool the Squalicum defense, Brayden Wopperer had a 10-yard run followed by a 12-yard run. The Riders had a first-and-goal at the 10, but a fumble on the snap, a five-yard penalty and a quarterback sack pushed them all the way back to the 33-yard=line. The drive ended with an interception.
The third quarter bogged down into a flurry of penalties. The referres called 11 penalties in the quarter, nine of them against Squalicum and six of them for unsportsmanlike conduct or unecessary roughness. The quarter took 43 minutes to play and Port Angeles caught a big break when Nixon was tossed from the game.
The game settled down in the fourth quarter with only a couple of penalties. The Riders’ best chance for a big play came on a near-blocked punt with 8:23 to play. A few inches closer and it might have been a one-score game.
With the Port Angeles defense on the field most of the game, Squalicum was finally able to mount a drive, scoring on a 7-yard run with 2:54 to play to ice the game.
Quinn Messersmith and Conner Martin each had quarterback sacks while Hunter Flores recovered a fumble. Martin also had several booming punts which were important in what turned into a game of field position much of the night. Wopperer led the Riders with 25 yards rushing on nine carries, while Wilson had 21 yards on 18 tough carries.
The Riders (0-4, 0-7) look to pick up a “W” on the road Friday against Bremerton (1-3, 1-6), which just won its first game of the year 35-14 over North Mason.
“If we play hard, we’ll be OK” against Bremerton, Clark said.
Other games
Sequim’s Friday night game against Olympic was postponed to Saturday due to a power outage. In other Olympic Peninsula games Friday, Neah Bay defeated Lummo 44-0 and Pe Ell-Willapa Valley beat Forks 34-6. Charles Wright beat Crescent 48-36 and Raymond-South Bend beat East Jefferson 42-12.
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