POULSBO — Everyone in the stands was surely thinking it.
Sequim athletic director Dave Ditlefsen was definitely thinking it. It was even beginning to creep into head coach Erik Wiker’s head.
Is this really happening again? No, not with these Wolves.
The Sequim football team claimed its first-ever state playoff victory on Saturday in the same dramatic fashion it had lost many of the others, beating No. 10 Burlington-Edison 34-32 after stuffing a Tigers’ two-point conversion with no time left in regulation.
With the win, Sequim (10-1) moves on to face second-ranked Lynden in the Class 2A quarterfinals next Saturday night at Silverdale Stadium.
“I think I started crying when I saw the clock,” said Sequim defensive tackle Thomas Gallagher, who brought down Burlington’s Damon Acoba at the line of scrimmage to seal the win.
“Tears of joy right? It was almost the heartbreak kid story, but no more.”
Sequim had known that story better than most the last couple of years, with last-minute losses to Tumwater and Centralia in the first round of the 2A playoffs in 2007 and ’08.
It was the last one to Centralia, coming on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 0.4 seconds to go, that hurt the most.
Yet Saturday night’s win at North Kitsap School exorcised those demons for the Wolves and Wiker, who is now 1-3 in state playoff games.
“I told the kids to get 0.4 seconds better . . . I should have said 10 minutes,” an exasperated Wiker said after getting a Gatorade shower from his players.
“I just knew our kids were going to step up. I knew, this year we’re going to go.”
Wiker and his staff overhauled Sequim’s entire passing game this offseason in hopes of creating a more dynamic offense that could get them deep in the playoffs.
He traveled to the Midwest to attend coaching camps during a 10-day period, coming back with a modified spread offense designed to move the ball no matter the situation.
It certainly came in handy on Saturday, as quarterback Drew Rickerson and receiver John Textor hooked up for long touchdowns on a pair of third-and-long situations that would have given the Wolves fits in the past.
The first one, a 59-yard pass that Textor caught with his fingertips and ran into the end zone, put the Wolves ahead 21-12 late in the second quarter.
The next one came early in the third quarter, with Rickerson finding Textor all alone for a 44-yard scoring strike and a 28-12 lead.
“It was the same play [both times],” said Rickerson. “It just worked. They were blitzing quick guys from the outside, and the tackles Roman [Turner] and Thomas [Gallagher] did wonderful. That’s the only reason I could do that.”
Textor finished with six receptions for 132 yards and the two scores.
He was one of eight receivers to catch a pass from Rickerson, who completed 19-of-25 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Sequim amassed 361 yards of offense to Burlington’s 401.
It was the Tigers’ three turnovers, one of which put them in an early 7-0 hole, that cost them their earliest exit in the state playoffs since 2006.
A blocked field goal attempt at the end of the first half also hurt.
“They definitely played better than they showed on film,” said Burlington coach Bruce Shearer. “I was pretty impressed with all of their weapons. They are pretty skilled.
“Their quarterback, I was really impressed with him. He delivered the ball under a lot of pressure.”
Sequim’s power run game also showed, with running back Travis Decker displaying a bruising running style on his way to 151 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries.
His last score, a 1-yard run, gave Sequim a 34-12 lead with less than 11 minutes to go in the game.
“We knew there would be no juking, no big huge runs,” Decker said. “It was just a lot of running like last year . . . lower your shoulder and just get five yards and call it good.
“When people ask, ‘What are you going to get?’ I say as many as my line will give me. That’s what they gave me tonight.”
A missed extra point from Frank Catelli after the Wolves’ last touchdown kept the score at 34-12, opening the door just a bit for Burlington.
The Tigers nearly took advantage as quarterback Dylan Boe (15-of-34, 198 yards) authored three unanswered scoring drives on the team’s next four possessions.
The last drive, a 12-play, 65-yard march down the field in the final 1:47, ended with a fourth down touchdown pass from Boe to Achilles Wynn.
The blitzing Sequim defense put Boe on the move, but the junior signal caller scramble to his left and found Boe in the corner of the end zone just as time expired.
Shearer called for an option read by the quarterback on the next play, and Boe opted to hand the ball to
Acoba on a draw.
But waiting there was big Thomas Gallagher, who swallowed up the 5-foot-5 runner to clinch Sequim’s historic victory.
“It feels really good,” said Wiker of getting his first state playoff win. “It’s one of those things, that now it’s done.
“It’s just like when we went to state and played Lynden the first time [in 2006], it was a relief to be there.
“Now we can win here.”
