Much like the NFL where Gardner Minshew is king, this was a week for the backup quarterbacks on the North Peninsula.
Two QBs who did not start the season opener for their squads stepped up to lead their teams to victory.
Chimacum’s Henry Brebberman, a bigger arm than season-opening starter Clayton Smith, completed 16 of 25 passes for 325 yards and three touchdowns in the Cowboys’ 22-16 win over league rival Klahowya.
Brebberman had 279 yards passing in the first half alone (including a 93-yard catch-and-run by Carson McConnell).
Smith had some clutch catches, including on the go-ahead touchdown and a subsequent 2-point conversion.
Brebberman avoided negative plays thanks to the help of some good blocking up front from running backs Anson Jones and Kyle Caldwell.
In the other outstanding performance by a backup, Sequim’s Kobe Applegate came on in relief of injured starter Taig Wiker in a 27-16 win over a pretty tough North Mason squad.
Applegate wasn’t just a caretaker of the ball in the game to hand it off to running backs. He went 18-for-23 for 255 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions as the Wolves bounced back from their only loss of the year to North Kitsap.
“He did really well. He ran the offense, he ran the RPO [run-pass option] packages, he went through the reads really well. He showed a lot of composure,” said Applegate’s coach Erik Wiker.
Applegate may have to start again Friday against a suddenly strong Kingston team as Wiker described Taig’s leg injury as “day to day.”
Neah Bay healthy
Neah Bay is a difficult team to figure out because for the past two years, they had terrible luck with a rash of injuries. Even this year, the Red Devils lost a promising young freshman Zandel Aguirre to a season-ending injury.
Other than Aguirre’s injury, the Red Devils have managed to stay pretty healthy. And after a couple of slightly down seasons — down for Neah Bay — they are starting to look like they are returning to being a Class 1B powerhouse. Last week against Lummi, Neah Bay pushed its record to 64-56 with a shootout win over the fellow 1B power.
Toby Croy showed what he can do when he’s healthy, gaining a stunning 344 yards rushing on 33 carries and scoring five touchdowns.
The Red Devils have a huge test coming up this weekend against Naselle, which has become one of the strongest 1B football programs in the western half of the state.
Strid’s big day
Clallam Bay’s Ryan Strid had an almost unbelievable day for the Bruins in their 6-man football win over the Quilcene JV squad. Strid, an outstanding speedster, rushed for 503 yards and scored 10 touchdowns (eight rushing, one receiving and one on an interception return).
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Strid is so dominate. In track and field last year, he finished third in the state in the 200-meter dash and fourth in the 100-meter dash. There simply aren’t many kids at the 1B level who can catch him.
Crescent’s one-two punch
For several years, the Crescent Loggers rode on the back of Noah Leonard. They don’t have Leonard, who graduated, any more, but they have a one-two punch in Brayden Emery and Wyatt Lee that is putting up numbers as good as Leonard did.
This tandem rushed for an astounding 527 yards against Darrington, crushing those Loggers 52-22. Emery had 312 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Lee ran for 215 yards on 29 carries. The Loggers, who won 11 games last year, can get that kind of production from its running game, look for Crescent to make a lot of playoff noise again this year.
