SEQUIM — The stakes aren’t quite as big as last year, but the crowd might be close.
Sequim High School has already taken steps to brace itself for a possible overflow crowd at Friday night’s Sequim-Port Angeles rivalry football game.
The question is how many will turn out for the contest after last week’s upsets — Sequim lost to North Kitsap and Port Angeles to Klahowya — likely turned it into a face-off for the second playoff seed out of the Olympic League rather than first.
School administrators certainly aren’t taking any chances.
“We’re still expecting an enthusiastic crowd,” said Sequim athletic director Dave Ditlefsen. “It will still be a big crowd, and there’s still a lot of implications with this game. We’re looking forward to it.”
Indeed, Sequim still has an outside shot at an outright league title if it wins and North Kitsap (5-1 in league, 5-3 overall) loses at home to Kingston (4-2, 5-3) on Thursday.
If North Kitsap beats Kingston, however, the Wolves (5-1, 7-1) will be playing for a No. 2 seed and “home” playoff game (in Poulsbo) when they host the Roughriders (4-2, 6-2) on Friday.
The Wolves could also win a share of the league championship under that scenario, even if they were the second seed by virtue of a head-to-head loss to North Kitsap last week.
“One of the things we’ve been telling our kids all week was one of our preseason goals is to win a league championship, [and] we can still do that,” said Ditlefsen, also a football assistant coach.
“The banner in the gym and the trophy in the trophy case are two things that don’t have an asterisk by it [that says the team was a No. 2 playoff seed].
“That’s plenty of motivation for them.”
The best Port Angeles (4-2, 6-2) likely can hope for is a second seed with a victory and North Kitsap win.
A loss will result in a third or fourth seed depending upon the outcome of the Kingston-North Kitsap game. The Riders would be No. 3 if Kingston loses and No. 4 if it wins.
If Port Angeles and Kingston were both to win, that would open up a massive can of worms in the form of a four-way tie atop the league standings.
The tie-breaker at that point would go to a points for, points against formula between the four teams, according to Ditlefsen.
Obviously, the worst possible outcome for the Riders would be falling to the fourth seed and being forced to play a pigtail playoff next Tuesday against the Seamount League’s No. 3 team or Interlake.
In many cases, when such a possibility is out there the game the week before that is moved to Thursday in order to give the No. 4 seed enough time to prepare for the upcoming playoff.
The Riders declined to make such a request of Sequim, according to Port Angeles athletic director Dwayne Johnson.
“It’s Sequim’s game, period, and we’re going to honor that date,” Johnson said on Saturday.
The Wolves have certainly prepared for it.
Sequim has added several new bleachers to its stadium in recent months, including nine portable sets this week, to increase seating at its Dungeness Valley stadium.
Ditlefsen estimated that the venue can now fit 2,500 to 3,000 fans.
Last year’s game at Civic Field drew more than 4,200 spectators with an outright Olympic League title at stake.
It was the largest crowd ever gathered for a high school sporting event on the North Olympic Peninsula, and one that helped spur Sequim officials to expand their own stadium.
“These are needed upgrades that have been due for our facility, but it was also an eye on this game,” Ditlefsen said.
“I’m not sure now if we’re going to get [3,000], but we’re preparing for a very large crowd.”
Much like last year, sides will be divided at the stadium, with the visiting east side reserved for Port Angeles fans and the home west side for Sequim fans.
There will be a separate ticket booth and entrance on the east side near the baseball field. Extra portable toilets and a concession stand will also be set up on that side.
Ropes will be hung around the field to keep fans away from the players, with extra stadium workers in yellow vests also on hand to monitor crowd flow.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Sequim High School main office. Those with presold tickets can avoid long lines by entering through the pass gate.
Tickets cost $6 for adults and $4 for students without ASB cards and senior citizens.
Gates will open at 5:30 p.m.
