UPDATE: Sequim’s game against Centralia tonight has been postponed due to a lockdown at Centralia High School due to a threat of violence.
Sequim athletic director Dave Ditlefsen said the game may be rescheduled for Saturday, but emphasized that is only a possibility at this point.
“I’m still awaiting word from Centralia,” Ditlefsen said in an email. “They are dealing with many issues right now.”
Original story
PORT TOWNSEND — Port Townsend probably feels pretty good about itself right now.
The Redhawks are 4-0 and have outscored their opponents 197-6 this season.
They have opened their Olympic League 1A schedule with two blowout wins over Klahowya and Coupeville.
They’re ranked eighth in Class 1A by The Associated Press, and have been in the rankings for three straight weeks.
So, yeah, Port Townsend should feel pretty good about itself.
How, then, does head coach Nick Snyder keep the Redhawks’ heads from outgrowing their helmets?
“A nameless, faceless opponent, that’s what I always try to tell them,” Snyder said after the win over Klahowya a few weeks ago.
“And, ‘Remember Charles Wright.’ I say that all the time, too. You’re green, you grow; you’re ripe, you rot — remember Charles Wright.”
Last year, Port Townsend beat Charles Wright 49-6 at home the final game of the regular season.
A week later, on the same field, the Tarriers stunned the Redhawks 24-14 to bring an abrupt end to Port Townsend’s season, one game shy of reaching the state playoffs.
“You know, when you think you’re good, you’re really not,” Snyder said.
“And if you’ve got that sense of urgency and you work on your fundamentals at practice, you’re going to be good; you’re going to show up and play hard.
“But there’s some good football teams out there, you know, and we’re going to run into them. So we’ve just got to get better week to week.”
Tonight, the Redhawks play Chimacum (0-2, 0-4) in the first of two meetings between the Quimper Peninsula rivals at Memorial Field.
Since the Cowboys defeated Port Townsend 27-25 in a five-overtime clash in 2012, the two programs have ricocheted in different directions.
Chimacum has only won twice since then and is on a 16-game skid, while the Redhawks are 4-0 this season and went 7-3 in both 2013 and 2014.
Port Townsend blanked its rival in two meetings last year, 56-0 and 48-0.
Sequim at Centralia
NOTE: This game has been postponed. See above.
CENTRALIA — Doughnuts were out of the question after the Wolves were pushed around on the line of scrimmage in last week’s 27-10 loss to North Kitsap.
Bringing doughnuts to the weekly Saturday morning film study is a point of pride for the Sequim position group that performed the best during the previous night’s game.
No group earned the honor last week after the Wolves had trouble wrapping up on tackles defensively, allowing the Vikings to repeatedly turn what should have been small gains into big plays.
Sequim finds itself in a similar spot to last season when they also started 3-0, received a sound beating from North Kitsap and never recovered, finishing 4-6.
The Tigers (2-2) were part of that downward spiral for Sequim, beating the Wolves (1-1, 3-1) 34-28 in overtime in Sequim on Oct. 3, 2014.
Wolves coach Erik Wiker was succinct when asked what his team needed to work on before heading south for Friday’s nonleague game with Centralia.
“Team unity,” Wiker said.
Port Angeles at Olympic
BREMERTON — Tough one for the Roughriders tonight at Silverdale Stadium.
They haven’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard, and the Trojans have become experts at keeping the scoreboard dark.
Olympic (1-0, 4-0) has only allowed six points this season, which ties Port Townsend for the fewest points allowed in all classifications throughout the state by teams that have played more than one game.
Port Angeles (0-2, 1-3) averages 12 points per game.
Lummi at Clallam Bay
CLALLAM BAY — The Bruins had last week off, while the Blackhawks had an off week.
Lummi (2-1) suffered a rare loss to a team not named Neah Bay when it fell to Entiat 40-24 last week.
Clallam Bay (2-2) was supposed to play Muckleshoot, but the Kings didn’t have enough players and had to forfeit.
Quilcene at Rainier Christian
COVINGTON — The undefeated Rangers open SeaTac League play against the 1-2 Mustangs tonight at Kentwood High School.
Quilcene has opened its season with three wins, including a 50-30 win at Clallam Bay.
Rainier Christian’s only win was a 62-54 win over Clallam Bay.
Forks at Tenino
TENINO — The hits keep coming for the Spartans as they navigate the difficult Evergreen League.
The Beavers (1-1, 3-1) are ranked 10th in Class 1A, their only loss coming by a touchdown to seventh-ranked Hoquiam.
Forks (0-2, 1-3), meanwhile, will look for improvement defensively after giving up 62 and 49 points in its first two league games.
The Spartans will have to tone down the Tenino rushing attack that is led by Thomas Pier.
Pier racked up 212 yards on 27 carries in a 39-20 win over Elma last week.
Tulalip Heritage at Crescent
JOYCE — The Loggers (2-2) were pretty solid between the 20-yard lines offensively in last week’s 50-8 loss to Quilcene.
It was breaking into the red zone and scoring points that escaped Crescent’s grasp.
Penalties on big plays and missed assignments on crucial plays limited the Loggers’ attempt at hanging with the Rangers.
Crescent (2-2) will look to improve its scoring output when it opens Northwest League play against Tulalip Heritage on Saturday.
The Hawks (0-2) have played two SeaTac League opponents this season, losing 62-32 to Evergreen Lutheran and 65-34 to Seattle Lutheran.
