SEQUIM — The Rainshadow Rumble is actually a rivalry again.
Since Erik Wiker took over the Sequim football program in 2004, the Wolves are 7-4 in full games against Port Angeles.
After splitting the first four games from 2004-07, Sequim won the next five straight.
The Roughriders ended that losing streak with a 37-21 victory two years ago. They then turned that into a winning streak by beating the Wolves again last season, 20-14 in overtime.
Add in the 6-0 half-game victory in a three-team postseason tiebreaker last November, and Port Angeles has won three straight contests against Sequim.
So when the teams meet tonight 7 p.m. at Sequim High School, it is the Wolves who will be in the unfamiliar position of trying to get off the schneid.
“I’m always extra-motivated to beat PA, but since we’ve had a few bad years, we really want to beat them,” Wiker said.
“We would definitely like to come out with a win, especially since it’s homecoming, too.”
While tonight will be Wiker’s 12th Rainshadow Rumble, it will be the first for Port Angeles’ Bret Curtis as a head coach. Curtis is the seventh Port Angeles head coach Wiker has faced during his tenure.
Curtis recognizes that facing Sequim is little bit different than other teams.
“There’s kind of two schools of thought on that one,” Curtis said.
“One is that it’s just another game, you have to prepare just like any other opponent.
“The other school is, now wait a minute, this is our rival, they’re our neighbors, let’s make this a special game.
“It’s hard to do away with the fact that this is a rivalry game.”
The Wolves are coming off one of their best games of the season, a 48-6 win over North Mason.
Port Angeles, meanwhile, has lost four straight and haven’t scored in the month of October.
“I don’t know if you can just throw out the record or not, but that’s the way we’re going to treat it,” Curtis said.
“We’ve got some things to prove here.”
Lummi at Neah Bay
NEAH BAY — This should be the challenge the Red Devils have been waiting for.
The Blackhawks (2-0, 4-1) started the season a bit slow, by their own standards, but have shown signs of returning to form in big wins over Clallam Bay and Crescent the past two weeks.
This is the first meeting of the season between the 8-man powerhouses. Their Sept. 11 game was canceled because Lummi was short on players.
Neah Bay (1-0, 4-0) has won eight straight games over the Blackhawks, including three times in 2014 and in the past four state playoffs.
The Red Devils also have a 30-game win streak, dating back to the first game of the 2013 season.
Klahowya at Port Townsend
PORT TOWNSEND — The Redhawks will clinch their second consecutive Olympic League 1A league title with a win over the Eagles tonight.
Seventh-ranked Port Townsend (4-0, 6-0) has a one-game lead over second-place Klahowya (3-1, 4-2), the only other team with a shot at the league crown, with two games to play.
The Redhawks defeated the Eagles 52-6 last month. Those six points are the only points scored on Port Townsend’s defense this season.
Klahowya was without starting quarterback George Harris, who has played in Klahowya’s three games since.
Chimacum at Coupeville
COUPEVILLE — The Cowboys are definitely showing progress, as evidenced by their 14-13 loss to Klahowya last week.
Now they need a win.
Chimacum (0-4, 0-6) nearly got one last time they faced the Wolves (1-3, 1-5), but lost a late lead to fall 28-26.
Forks at Hoquiam
HOQUIAM — The Spartans begin their season-concluding stretch of three games away from home against the fifth-ranked Grizzlies.
“We flip right around and play another tough team, and every team is tough,” Forks coach Craig Shetterly said of the Evergreen League slate following last week’s 31-0 loss to Elma.
“Every game’s a Super Bowl to us. We have to treat it that way.
Hoquiam (4-0, 6-0) might be the toughest of the tough games this season.
“I’ve already seen the film on them,” Shetterly said, “and we know they throw it around and we know they’re talented, they’ve got speed, they’ve got athleticism.
“It’s going to be a challenge for us.”
Clallam Bay at Crescent
JOYCE — Saturday will be Round 2 of Bruins versus Loggers.
Clallam Bay (0-1, 2-3) defeated Crescent (0-2, 2-4) 34-14 in the season opener, but it’s safe to say both teams have changed a lot since that meeting.
Especially the Loggers, who were playing that nonleague game without KC Spencer, Jakob Baillargeon and Eric Emery, and much to their detriment, particularly when it came to containing Bruins speedster Clayton Willis.
Muckleshoot at Quilcene
QUILCENE — The Kings might be just what the Rangers need.
Coming off its first loss of the season, Quilcene (1-1, 4-1) hosts winless Muckleshoot (0-1, 0-4) on Saturday for homecoming.
A win would all but wrap up a postseason berth for the Rangers.
