Orcas will play host to Bucs at Silverdale Stadium tonight

On paper, the West Sound Orcas have a home game tonight against the Multnomah County Buccaneers.

But due to a scheduling conflict with the Relay for Life taking over Memorial Stadium, the Orcas are kicking off at 6 p.m. at Silverdale Stadium in-stead.

The Orcas, fresh off their bye week, are 1-1-1 overall.

In their last game, the West Sounders extended the Renton Raven’s losing streak to four games with a 29-13 win.

The Bucs come into this weekend’s game 2-0 with close wins against the King County Jaguars and the Willamette Valley Raiders.

Led by the strong arm of quarterback Derek Johnson, the Buccaneers are known for their lengthy pass plays interspersed with hard runs up the gut.

“They’re very fast and talented,” Orcas coach Steve McDaniel said of the Bucs. “But our defense isn’t going to give up the big play. We’ve been focusing in on that in practice for the past week.”

The history between these two teams goes back to last year when the Bucs took down Orcas 51-7 on the way to winning the Northwest Football League Championship.

McDaniel said that’s not going to happen this time.

“We don’t have the same people at quarterback, receiver or offensive line this year that were here last year,” McDaniel said. “I’m going into this game with a winning attitude and so is my team. We’re a much better club than we’ve ever been and we’re going to play hard for four quarters.”

Notes: Orcas running back Larry Bates is still nursing an injured hand though he told the coaching staff he’s at 100 percent. ... Todd Lewis, who had 48 yards on nine carries and a touchdown two weeks ago, won’t be playing today. He’s still off on his honeymoon.

Look for Paul Gordon and Seth Parker to get some extra snaps. ... The team practiced at Silverdale Stadium for the first time this year on Thursday to get used to the artificial turf.

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