PORT ANGELES — Forks debuted some brand new home uniforms for its season opener with Sequim last Friday.
The Spartans added yellow and white sleeve striping on each arm to complement the team’s navy blue home uniforms with white outlines accenting the gold jersey numbers.
It’s really only a slight refresh as Forks had solid uniforms before, but they were solid color with no shoulder stripes or garnish.
These shoulder-striped uniforms are a bit of a throwback to what you would have found nearly everywhere in the 1950s and 1960s.
And that’s by design according to Spartans head coach Trevor Highfield.
“People keep telling me that they are retro,” Highfield said. “That was the goal [to capture that old school football feel]. I really wanted to do something like that since we’ve gone back more to the gold. I have photos in my office of Forks football from that era, the ’40s and ’50s and ’60s and that’s really what I was trying to emulate.”
Forks Athletic Director Kyle Weakley also said that the team has new road uniforms as well and joked about a quote by former NFL standout ‘Neon’ Deion Sanders when asked about the new duds.
“What was Deion’s quote?,” Weakley said. “‘If you look good, you feel good,’ [and] ‘If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good.’”
Well, maybe not that last part. Although in the name, image and likeness era anything appears possible.
Tumaua tough
Forks sophomore offensive/defensive lineman and fullback Sloan Tumaua proved he’s more than a fourth-quarter victory cigar against Sequim.
Tumaua, listed at 5-foot-8, 230-pounds, ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries in the final stretches of Forks’ 56-28 win over the Wolves.
He also forced a Sequim fumble, recovered by the Spartans during Forks’ 28-0 third-quarter run.
Giving Tumaua the ball late is something Highfield was hoping to see during preseason practices.
“We’d love to be in a position where we are ahead in the fourth quarter and give the ball to Sloan,” Highfield said last month.
“Sloan told me [Friday night] that he had a lot of fun, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Neah Bay/Quilcene capable
What a phenomenal win for Class 1B Quilcene to adapt to the 11-man game in a matter of days and while playing with only 14 players and without a potential All-State performer in running back Bishop Budnek, earn a season-opening win over a Class 1A team in Bellevue Christian.
Quilcene wasn’t ranked in the top 5 of the Associated Press prep football poll last week…but they should have been.
And Neah Bay tripped to Aberdeen to take on No. 4 Naselle and led the game late in a possible playoff preview.
Unfortunately, Saturday’s game between the Red Devils and Rangers at Quilcene is in limbo.
While not officially, canceled as of Tuesday afternoon, the Makah Tribe is following a shelter-in-place order due to recent COVID cases on the reservation.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
