Photo: Leia Larson placed 3rd for the Roughriders at the Olympic League cross-country meet at North Mason

By Oly Archibald

BELFAIR — At the Olympic League Cross Country meet at North Mason, the Port Angeles girls were outstanding, placing four runners in the top 14. Leia Larson, a junior for the Roughriders, finished 3rd with a 5K time of 20:38. Junior Mariam Cobb finished 11th with a 22:17, senior Faerin Tait ran a 22:45 for 13th place, and promising freshman Storey Schmidt finished 14th with a time of 22:50. The Roughriders placed 2nd overall.

The Sequim Wolves finished 3rd, with Dawn Hulstedt finishing 6th with a time of 21:14.

At the middle school meet in Forks, Jay Leiberman of Stevens placed first with a time of 8:46. Nolan Keck finished 2nd with a time of 9:04, and Levi Simoneau placed 3rd with a 9:15. Kyler Read of Sequim finished 4th with a 9:28, and Sawyer Denton placed 5th with a 9:32.

For the girls, Elenor Jones of Sequim placed 1st with an 8:19. Amara Buggy placed 2nd with a 10:23, and Emily Bair placed 5th with a time of 11:15.

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In girls’ soccer action, the Port Angeles Roughriders, down two goals early in the second half, completely changed their energy and the score, knocking off Sequim 3-2 in overtime.

It was a typical Sequim-Port Angeles girls’ soccer game, with the perfect blend of mud, blood, tears, and both cheering sections making sure the officials knew how they felt about the calls. On a scale of 1 to 10, if the Roughriders were a 5 in the first half, they were an 11 in the second half. Two costly fouls by the Roughriders were the only way the Wolves scored.

At the 5-minute mark, Amera Gonzales scored from 35 yards out on a free kick that even Hope Solo wouldn’t have stopped. Early in the second half, the Roughriders were called for a penalty in the box, and Kiley Winter scored on the penalty kick. After that, the Roughriders were a completely new team and dominated the second half.

Mariah Traband scored on a header from a corner kick by Teanna Clark. A few minutes later, the Roughriders tied it 2-2 with a goal by Teanna Clark, assisted by Kedryn DeScala. With seconds remaining in regulation, Kiley Winter of Sequim had a great shot from the right side and fired a rocket at the far corner, but goalie Kennedy Rognlien made the save of her life by diving to her right and getting a piece of the ball with her hand to preserve the tie.

With seconds left in overtime, Lilly Anne Lancaster scored on an assist from Kedryn DeScala for the win, and a wild melee of green and white uniforms buried Lancaster in celebration!

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In volleyball action, as expected, Sequim swept Port Angeles 3-0.

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The big rivalry football game is tonight as 0-3 Port Angeles travels to 2-1 Sequim. The Roughrider defense has given up a lot of yards on the ground, and Sequim’s read-option offense, featuring junior QB Zeke Schmadeke and tailback Liam Wiker, has been tough to stop. Last week, in the Wolves’ 28-7 win over Elma, Schmadeke rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns. In the opener against Forks, Schmadeke rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, Schmadeke might be the best tackling safety in the league, pound for pound.

Wolves QB/Safety Zeke Schmadeke is one of the best two-way players in the Olympic League

Wolves DT Eli Miller, a 5’9″, 230 lb junior, will be keeping an eye on Roughrider QB Blake Sohlberg

The Roughriders will again start senior Blake Sohlberg at QB, as starting QB Jude Wallace is expected to be out for a few weeks. The Wolves had won seven in a row against the Roughriders until last year when Port Angeles earned a hard-fought victory in Sequim.

This is a must-win game for the Roughriders, as the rest of the schedule is brutal, with Squalicum likely being the toughest team they will face.

You can hear tonight’s game on KONP Newsradio 1450 AM and stream it at myclallamcounty.com. The Firehouse Grill pregame show starts at 6:00 p.m. with the Ian Henley Show, followed by the Dustin Clark Show. The Roughriders-Wolves locker room show will feature an interesting mix with Wolves assistant coach Terry Wopperer and his son, Braydon Wopperer, who is a linebacker and running back for the Roughriders.

Oly Archibald will have the call, with Greg Thomas and Joe Gladfelter providing color commentary.

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The Roughrider swim team hosts East Jefferson and Kingston today at 3:00 p.m.

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Tomorrow, the Peninsula Pirates men’s soccer team plays at Shoreline. Shoreline does not have a women’s team this year.