PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles football players had to be thinking, “Here we go again…”
And again, they shrugged off their early mistakes and blew away a good Bainbridge team 48-14. The Spartans, a 3A team, came into the game with a 5-1 record and ranked in the top 15 in the state in Ratings Percentage Index.
Much like their victory earlier this season against Olympic, the Roughriders spotted their opponent an early touchdown with a turnover on offense. And much like that September game, it simply didn’t matter.
The victory doesn’t quite get the Riders into the postseason yet, but it puts them on the brink. At 4-3 (3-2 in Olympic League), they are in good shape for third place with winnable games coming up against Kingston (1-6) and North Mason (1-6). Coach Dustin Clark was not taking those games for granted.
Port Angeles quarterback Parker Nickerson, right, looks to pass while receiving a block by teammate Coner Martin, left, during Friday’s game against Bainbridge at Port Angeles Civic Field. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
“We still have to win out. We have one of the toughest schedules in the state [with games against top 10 teams Anacortes, Bremerton and North Kitsap]. Our kids continue to battle and fight,” Clark said.
Landyn Jones had a huge game with three touchdown runs of 14, 12 and 19 yards and a 16-yard touchdown reception. Jones finished with 10 carries for 114 yards. He also caught two passes for 50 yards.
“We were going to run it until we couldn’t,” Jones said. “We put our heart and soul into this game. We gave everything. We really did.”
The players said they let some mistakes against Bremerton last week get to them. This week, they were determined not to do it.
“We’ve been getting better at that. It’s all mental,” Jones said. “It’s just mental.”
Port Angeles came in with a different game plan. The team has relied on its passing game all season, especially with Parker Nickerson and Blake Sohlberg making a deadly duo through the air. Against Bremerton, the Riders relied on their running game, running the ball 35 times for 279 yards. Nickerson only threw the ball 14 times. He completed 11 for 288 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to Sohlberg.
“We came in with the intent to run the ball and play ball control … and to keep their quarterback [Jack Grant] off the field. We executed,” Clark said.
“It feels amazing. It feels good to be on this side of the ball,” said Kason Albaugh, who sprained an ankle but was able to come back into the game after limping off. “Our line did so many good things.”
“We have the potential to be great. We were firing on all cylinders effort-wise,” said Jason Hawes, who along with teammate Tanner Flores had a monster game on defense. Hawes finished with 13 tackles, several for losses, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception.
The Riders had a pair of early mistakes, fumbling on their first play from scrimmage. That turnover didn’t end up hurting as the defense held and forced a punt, but on their next possession on their first pass of the game, Bainbridge blew up an attempted screen play behind the line of scrimmage and came up with the ball for a 10-yard pick six.
On their third possession, the Riders finally got rolling. And they never looked back. Even with their leading rusher Kason Albaugh nursing a sprained ankle, they simply ran it down the Spartans’ throats, getting five to eight yards on virtually every carry. They marched it down the field and Nickerson hit Jones for a touchdown pass to knot the score at 7-7.
The Spartans were forced to punt on their next possession and Port Angeles again ran the ball down the field, ending the drive with Jones’ 14-yard touchdown run to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter.
On Bainbridge’s next possession, the Spartans made a curious decision to punt on a fourth-and-6 from the 49-yard line. That gave the Riders the ball on the 25 and Port Angeles immediately made them pay for that conservative decision as Nickerson hit a wide-open Blake Sohlberg down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-7.
The defense rose up again as Bainbridge was finally able to mount a drive, getting a first-and-goal. The Spartans had four cracks at the end zone inside the 10, but the Riders’ defense held with the drive ending on a pass broken up in the end zone.
Port Angeles was forced to punt, but on Bainbridge’s next possession, Hawes forced a fumble that was recovered by Flores. Jones ripped off a 31-yard run and Nickerson ended the drive with an 18-yard pass to Ezra Townsend to make it 27-7 at the half.
The game turned into a rout in the third quarter as Port Angeles poured in 21 points in the quarter. Nickerson hit Albaugh with a 6-yard touchdown pass on the Riders’ opening possession of the second half. Nickerson hit Sohlberg with a 38-yard pass and Jones scored on two more touchdown runs as the Riders opened the score to 48-7. A lot of reserves got to play in the fourth quarter and Bainbridge added a late touchdown.
Sohlberg finished with five catches for 132 yards. Townsend had two catches for 27 yards. Albaugh had 10 rushes for 75 yards, while Hawes had 12 rushes for 72 yards. Kaiden Point had a 15-yard reception.
Port Angeles next plays at Kingston at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Port Angeles’ Kason Albaugh tries to evade the defense of Bainbridge’s Emmett Taylor on Friday night at Port Angeles Civic Field. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
