Sumner Season Ends in Disappointment

Port Angeles quarterback Keenan Walker went 8 yards for a touchdown with under a minute left in the game and the Roughriders ended Sumner's season last Saturday with a 28-21 first-round playoff defeat.

The Spartans entered the game as winners of three straight and finished the conference season tied for first place along with Clover Park and Eatonville. Because of tie-breaker rules, Sumner was awarded the third-place playoff spot and drew the daunting task of facing Port Angeles (9-1) in the opening round of the playoffs.

Sumner trailed 21-14 at halftime before tying the game in the third quarter on a touchdown run by Cody Haavik. Haavik (23 carries, 120 yards) scored two touchdowns in the game, the other coming on a pass from quarterback Aaron Clark, who rushed for the Spartans first touchdown. For the game, Sumner rushed for 247 yards on 57 carries.

It was a premature end to the season for Sumner, which was riding a three-game winning streak that started with an upset win over Eatonville. The Spartans began the season 4-0, but lost two straight in close losses to conference foes Clover Park and Franklin Pierce, before rebounded to finish the season strong.

The running duo of Haavik and Tyler Salisbury who rushed for 114 yards against Port Angeles led the Spartans offense all season long, combining for over 2000 rushing yards on the year. Haavik led the offense, which averaged almost 30 points per game with 16 rushing TD's. Haavik is a senior this season, but Salisbury, a junior, will be back to anchor the offense in 2011.