Wolves play rough with Roughriders

Whatever fire Port Angeles had blazing in the first half was extinguished by the South Kitsap High School football team in the second half of its 55-17 Homecoming win Thursday at SK’s Joe Knowles Field.

With the win, SK notched its third straight Narrows League Bridge Division title and sets up a home cross-over showdown Thursday against Capital — the No. 3 team from the Bay Division.

Port Angeles, playing for its playoff life, stayed in the game in the first half.

Trailing 21-7, the Roughriders intercepted a Travis Vetters’ pass at midfield with just under two minutes remaining in the half.

PA converted the turnover into a 12-play drive that resulted in a Henry Ochs 11-yard touchdown catch 15 seconds before intermission.

The momentum looked to sway towards PA, but the Roughroders chose to attempt an on-side kick, which was recovered by SK’s Richard Fein at midfield.

SK senior Ryan Cole, who already had scored three touchdowns, proceeded to take a handoff, burst to the outside and sprint 50 yards for his fourth score with three seconds remaining.

The Wolves were not done yet.

On the opening kickoff in the third quarter, junior Victor Valle scampered 90 yards for a touchdown and 35-14 lead.

Within a span 23 seconds, the Wolves went from being up by one touchdown to three touchdowns.

After a Roughrider field goal, the teams traded punts before Cole went at it again.

Starting from the SK 29 yard-line, Cole and senior Phil Thomas reeled off runs of 33 and 29 yards, respectively, before Cole ran from nine yards out for his fifth and final touchdown of the game.

Cole finished with 18 carries for 248 yards.

Valle, also tore up PA’s defense with 82 yards.

Jeremiah Martin got in on the scoring with a nine-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give SK a 49-17 lead.

Senior Lorenzo Bryant capped off the scoring with a 60-yard touchdown run late in the game.

Overall SK gained 436 yards on the ground.

Vetters, who’s been averaging 10 pass attempts per game completed three of seven passes for 45 yards.

Vetters said there was no need to throw against PA’s defense.

“They were running a cover-two and only seven guys on the front, so we just ran the ball on them,” Vetters said. “Our line was awesome tonight. Cole ran awesome and Victor ran awesome.”

While the Wolves ran away with the victory, PA made SK coach D.J. Sigurdson sweat it out for the first 23 minutes and 45 seconds.

“In the first half (PA) did some things,” Sigurdson said. “They were getting some critical first downs and made plays.”

Although PA rushed 31 times for 58 yards, it was big plays in the passing attack that kept PA in the game.

Down 14-0, PA quarterback Matt Lane connected with tight end Henry Ochs for 57 yards to key its first scoring drive.

On the Roughriders’ second scoring drive, Ochs proved valuable again pulling in a pass for 14 yards and eventually the 11-yard touchdown pass.

Lane finished seven of 13 for 102 yards and a touchdown.

Surprisingly PA continued to try and run the ball in the second half and made the passing game virtually non-existent.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.