PORT ANGELES — A Sequim football player with the last name of Cowan garnerning accolades and acclaim for his gridiron performance?
Stop me if you’ve heard that one before.
But with Cowan cousins Riley — the school’s all-time passing record holder — and Ben — a key defensive member on last season’s Olympic League champions — graduated, the Cowan stepping up this season is Ben’s younger brother — junior linebacker Isaiah Cowan.
“Isaiah is one of the best linebackers in the league, period,” Wolves head coach Erik Wiker said. “I thought it would be [Lane] Mote, and Mote is really super good but Isaiah has outplayed him in every game.”
Cowan started as a sophomore last season and has found a new — and permanent — spot in the Wolves’ defense this fall.
“He was a really good outside backer last year, but he has found his home,” Wiker said. “He’s a middle backer and he’s really frickin’ good at it. He’ll even make bad reads, take a step back, but when he flies he flies and he is still hitting them behind the line of scrimmage after fighting off blocks.”
Horton earns his time
Another Wolves player who has had a positive impact on Sequim’s season is junior Mitch Horton at defensive end and as a hybrid h-back/offensive lineman in the Wolves’ more run-heavy offensive packages.
“Mitch [Horton] had a pretty good game, he’s doing real well,” Wiker said after the Port Angeles game. “He’s one of those workman guys for us. He started out at wide receiver/defense back and this and that trying to find him a spot, but he tries hard and does what he is supposed to do.
“In our defense if he’s doing what he’s supposed to do, he’ll be in the right spot.
“He was one of those maybe-start guys at the beginning of camp, maybe-start at the start of the season but he’s one of our better ones now.
“And he comes in our big set with our running backs and blocks offensively. He’s kind of taken over and done a better job there than the other guys.”
Can’t beat ’em, learn
Crescent learned a thing or two from No. 3 Naselle’s high-powered offense in a 56-14 loss to the Comets on Oct. 12.
Namely, the Loggers lifted some items from the Naselle playbook and inserted them in a 54-52 loss to Lummi at home last Saturday.
Knowing Lummi head coach Jim Sandusky is a game-film fanatic and would have scouted out as many Crescent plays as possible from the Loggers’ previous contests, Loggers head coach Brian Shimko had some surprises up his sleeves.
“We threw probably 15 new plays in there today because we knew they would have film on us,” Shimko said.
A pulling guard play confounded the Blackhawks. Crescent would pull an offensive lineman and have him run to the side — drawing attention away from the middle of the field where quarterback Eric Emery would find space and cut upfield.
“That included the one where Eric was breaking it out and we were pulling the guard up the middle, that’s the same play that Naselle ran on us [last week],” Shimko said.
Emery racked up nearly 300 rushing yards on 23 carries in the contest.
“Eric had a great game.”
Emery also was picked as Crescent’s Homecoming King during Saturday’s game.
