SEQUIM — Kingston beat Sequim for the first time in its short history by pounding the Wolves 47-28 on Friday night behind four touchdowns from Nick Tabanera.
The game ended on somber tone, with both teams most concerned about the well being of Sequim sophomore running back Brady Vig, who suffered a neck injury on what would be the game’s final play.
Vig was tackled on a fourth-down play with 36 seconds left in the game and remained prone on the field.
Game officials declared the game over so Vig could be delicately strapped onto a board, placed on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance.
Sequim (0-4, 0-6) head coach Erik Wiker said Vig was able to move before going to the hospital.
“We wish and hope for the best, but there were a lot of good signs and it was more precautionary than it is, ‘he’s not moving something,’ ” Wiker said.
Sequim quarterback Jack Wiker matched Tabanera with four touchdown runs, but it wasn’t near enough to keep up with the Buccaneers’ balanced, efficient offense.
Along with Tabanera’s 180 yards, Aaron Dickson contributed 61 yards on eight rushes and quarterback Bobby Reece threw for 192 yards and three scores.
“They were able to execute really good on offense,” Erik Wiker said.
“I mean, they hadn’t passed like that all year.
“The first 18 plays were like 10 runs, eight passes, and [Kingston was] very effective at both. So, when you have a balanced attack like that, that’s tough to stop.”
Kingston (3-1, 3-3) sustained drives by picking up chunks of yardage at a time, but also used long plays to reach the end zone, most notably a 47-yard touchdown run by Tabanera and a 50-yard touchdown pass from Reece to Max English.
“Tonight, we made a couple big plays, had a big pass play, a big run play,” Kingston coach W. Todd Harder said.
“And that’s what we were striving for, making the money plays, getting six points. And we did that.”
Jack Wiker finished with 160 yards rushing and 74 yards passing.
He also caught a pass out of the backfield from freshman backup quarterback Nick Faunce for 12 more yards.
Wiker played running back during the Wolves’ lone third-quarter drive when Lopaka Yasamura was experiencing cramping in his legs.
Yasamura returned in the fourth quarter and finished with 72 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving.
Christian Miles caught four passes for 48 yards for the Wolves.
Harder didn’t downplay the magnitude of victory, despite Sequim’s winless record so far.
“Words can’t describe how these kids played tonight. This is a big win for Kingston football,” Harder said.
“Sequim’s been a good program. They’ve beat us badly in the past.
“Big win, big win.”
Erik Wiker understands the Wolves’ history of success makes them a target for Olympic League foes, and that even in a down year opponents are motivated to play their best against them.
“I believe there’s a lot of teams that really want to beat us no matter what [our record is],” he said.
“Those guys have never beat us, they want to beat us, they can say they beat us, no matter what place they got.
“I think there’s definitely a lot of that — I would [be] like that, too.”
Klahowya (2-2, 4-2) is the next team to get a shot at revenge when it faces the Wolves on Friday in Sequim’s homecoming game.
The Eagles beat Olympic 15-14 to remain in the thick of the playoff race.
Kingston 47, Sequim 28
Kingston 7 20 0 20— 47
Sequim 7 7 0 14— 28
First Quarter
S—Jack Wiker 2 run (Mitch Koonz kick)
K—Nathan Carleton 16 pass from Bobby Reece (Colin Stone kick)
Second Quarter
K—Nick Tabanera 3 run (Stone kick)
K—Max English 50 pass from Reece (Stone kick)
S—Wiker 26 run (Koonz kick)
K—Tabanera 2 run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
K—Matthew Shaw 24 pass from Reece (Stone kick)
S—Wiker 5 run (Koonz kick)
K—Tabanera 47 run (Stone kick)
S—Wiker 10 run (Koonz kick)
K—Tabanera 8 run (kick failed)
Individual Stats
Rushing— K: Tabanera 34-180, Aaron Dickson 8-61, Reece 2-13, Austin Ashworth 1-6. S: Wiker 18-144, Lopaka Yasamura 9-62, Christian Miles 1-2, Brady Vig, 2-0.
Passing—K: Reece 12-22, 192. K: Wiker 8-21, 74; Faunce 1-5, 12.
Receiving—K: English 6-108, We-Laka Chiquiti 2-26, Carleton 2-24, Shaw 1-24, Dickson 1-15. S: Miles 4-48, Yasamura 3-22, Wiker 1-12, Sam Lidstrom 1-5.
