I CALLED THEM out a year ago for their disappointing showing.
Now I must give credit where credit is due.
The student sections at the Port Angeles-Sequim basketball games this season have been nothing short of a revelation.
Organized chants, constant noise on the floor, even color coordination for T-shirts . . . that’s exactly the kind of stuff any good student section brings to the table every night.
At Tuesday’s games, the Roughrider student section was moved to center court, giving the gym the sort of Hec Ed-like atmosphere that’s been missing from that building for years.
Both the Sequim and Port Angeles coaches couldn’t help but notice the special energy that was in the air.
“The atmosphere was electric,” said Port Angeles boys head coach Wes Armstrong, whose team hosts Franklin Pierce tonight at 7 p.m. in a Class 2A sub-district seeding game.
“[Sequim] coach [Greg] Glasser and I were talking before that game that this is really cool.
“You’ve got to hand it to both communities. It was just a fantastic atmosphere.”
That all began with the student sections, which brought energy to the gym from the opening tip of the girls game.
And part of that could also be attributed to the Sequim students, who filled up a large portion of the Rider gym’s second deck.
A few weeks back in Sequim during its centennial celebration doubleheader against Port Angeles, the atmosphere was just as charged.
I think it’s safe to say the Port Angeles-Sequim rivalry is alive and well.
And now, even the students care about it.
Madison and Madison
Almost 3,500 points were standing on the court before Tuesday night’s Port Angeles-Sequim girls basketball game.
With former Rider James Madison (1,703 points) and his sister, Jessica (1,755 and counting), at the center circle for a special ceremony before the girls game, Port Angeles’ top two all-time scorers shared the court.
James told the crowd during the ceremony that he knew somebody would eventually break the scoring record he first set as a senior in 1995.
“Little did I know at the time it was going to be my 2-year-old sister,” he said.
Of course, that became an inevitability by Jessica’s junior year after she eclipsed 1,300 points.
Now she’s primed to reach 1,800 before her career comes to an end and she moves on to play for Division II Alaska-Anchorage on scholarship.
James flew all the way in from Cleveland, even leaving the high school team he coaches for a few days, to pay tribute to the accomplishment on his little sister’s Senior Night.
“She’s definitely worked hard for everything she’s gotten,” said James, whose brother, Jon, is also third on the boys scoring list behind Bernie Fryer.
“The hours she has put in practicing, I couldn’t be more proud of her, of all her accomplishments. She’s very deserving of them.”
Jessica made sure the her brother’s trip wasn’t for naught, too, scoring 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting in her final home appearance.
Now she’ll try and take care of the last check mark on her Rider basketball list: guiding a team to state.
“I know that’s what she really wants,” James said.
Big game night
We’re getting into win-or-go-home time for many North Olympic Peninsula prep basketball teams.
In fact, tonight presents five of make-or-break affairs for Peninsula squads, starting with the Sequim boys’ loser-out sub-district game at home against Evergreen.
The Wolves (10-6 in league, 14-7 overall) caught a bit of a bad break when they lost out on the Olympic League’s No. 3 seed to Class 2A sub-districts because of a tiebreaker.
Since Olympic (10-6, 12-8) had a better record (2-4) than Sequim (1-5) against the three teams ahead of the two in the standings, the Trojans were awarded the third seed.
Now the Wolves must host Seamount’s No. 4 2A team in Evergreen (5-9, 7-11) for the right to play for the Nos. 9 and 11 seeds to the 2A Bi-District.
“We’re going to come out focused,” Sequim coach Greg Glasser said Tuesday night. “These kids, they don’t quit. They don’t care if it’s a loser-out game or a winner-in game.
“It doesn’t matter. They play hard every night out.”
PT doubleheader
The Port Townsend boys and girls will also be playing for their lives at tonight’s home playoff double header.
The Redskins boys earned another loser-out playoff tonight at 5 p.m. against District I No. 4 Meridian (6-7, 10-10) with their win over Orting on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Port Townsend girls (7-9, 9-11) go up against familiar faces in Chimacum at 7 p.m. in a loser-out game for the West Central District’s fifth seed to the 1A Tri-District.
The winners of both games play again Saturday for a spot in the double-elimination bracket.
More games
Also in loser-out games tonight are the Clallam Bay boys and girls and Quilcene girls.
The Clallam Bay and Quilcene girls will actually face each other in a bit of Peninsula cannibalism at the Rangers’ gym at 7 p.m.
Quilcene (11-8) earned the home playoff appearance after submitting its first winning season in six years.
The Rangers will host a Clallam Bay squad (3-3, 12-6) that finished second in North Olympic League play, with a spot in the double-elimination 1B Tri-District bracket on the line.
The Bruin boys are also playing for a spot in their double-elimination Tri-District.
They must travel to District I No. 3 Tulalip Heritage tonight.
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Matt Schubert is the outdoors and sports columnist for the Peninsula Daily News. His column regularly appears on Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
