NEAH BAY — The team that has reached the two most recent 8-man championship games will open their season playing 11-man football.
Neah Bay, which won the 1B state title in 2011 and lost on a last-second play last year, was scheduled to host Taholah on Friday night.
But, the Chitwins have canceled the game because they don’t believe they will have enough eligible players.
Neah Bay head coach Tony McCaulley quickly filled the void in his schedule with a matchup against 2B school Darrington.
“It will be 11-man, which is out of the ordinary for us,” McCaulley told the Peninsula Daily News on Saturday.
“We’ll have to change some stuff around.
“I think it should be a decent game. Darrington is 2B, so they should be a good challenge for us.”
The location of the game hasn’t been confirmed, but McCaulley said it likely will be played at Chief Leschi High School in Puyallup.
That means that the Red Devils will be giving up one of their three home games this season.
In Week 2, Neah Bay will make a nine-hour trip to Northeastern Washington to play at Cusick, which was a 1B semifinalist in 2012.
After the Cusick game on Friday, Sept. 13, Neah Bay doesn’t have another game scheduled until its Oct. 4 home game against Lummi, because Muckleshoot backed out of its game against the Red Devils.
McCaulley said the gap in the latter half of September may also be filled with an 11-man opponent.
So far, McCaulley is impressed with how his team has performed in practiced and the work they did during the offseason.
“Most of them came in the first day in excellent shape, and that usually is not the case,” he said.
Here are a few other football camp reports:
Sequim
As the Wolves aim to bounce back from last year’s 2-7 campaign, they also must replace many of the top players from that squad, including quarterback Jack Wiker and running back Lopaka Yasumura.
Head coach Erik Wiker said the team has fill those roles with players with experience in the Sequim system.
Junior Miguel Moroles will take over the quarterback position. He began 2012 as the backup, but missed most of the season with an injury.
Sophomore Adam Knapman will be the new feature back. Erik Wiker said Knapman missed all of last season after injuring his shoulder earlier in the year.
Wiker raved about his players’ attitudes and coachabilty so far in practice.
Port Angeles
The Roughriders will have three new coaches this season: Kyle Bigham, who comes to Port Angeles from Cascade High School, will work with the offensive and defensive lines; Mike McMahan, the former coach of semipro team the Olympic Peninsula Eagles, will coach the quarterbacks and running backs; and Jon Hamilton, also an assistant in the Port Angeles basketball program, will work with the defensive linemen and tight ends.
Head coach Tom Wahl will also serve as the offensive coordinator as the Riders plan to tweak their offensive system to a different version of the Wing-T that Wahl and assistant Vic Reykdal are more familiar with.
Clallam Bay
The Bruins are set at running back with seniors Matt Mohr and Calvin Ritter, but still have a battle at quarterback.
Junior Kelly Gregory and sophomore Kyle Keys are vying for the starting spot.
Head coach Cal Ritter said Gregory has more experience with the system and the team, while Keys, a sophomore who missed last season, has more speed.
Cal Ritter said Clallam Bay has 14-15 players, but he hopes a few more will show up when school starts next week.
Spartans have a new game
Forks has replaced Chimacum on its schedule with a game against Charles Wright Academy on Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen.
Chimacum backed out of the season opener last week due to a lack of players.
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Sports reporter/outdoors columnist Lee Horton can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
