Coupeville Sports

Be nice to this woman. She’s football royalty.

Now is the time to make nice with Coupeville businesswoman Lynda Richards.

You need to get in good with the co-owner of The Lovejoy Inn on Front Street, if you have any slim hopes of one day snagging some free NFL tickets. It might be a long shot that she’ll bestow some on you, of course, but it doesn’t hurt being nice to her anyway, as she and her family (husband Mitch and trio of whip-smart daughters) are pretty dang nice and would deserve it anyway.

But why the sudden interest in Mrs. Richards and her potential link to football tickets, you ask?

Her cousin Johnny has a son, and he’s a beast. In the best way.

Drew Wolitarsky, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound receiver at Canyon High School, is no mere high school football player. As of last Friday, he is the all-time receiving yards leader in the history of California high school football.

Yes, California. The biggest state of them all. We’re not talking about the best player from Delaware here.

Wolitarsky, who has more college scholarship offers than you can imagine (with interest from the Pac-12 to the SEC), has hauled in 240 passes for 4,585 yards in his high school career, with several games remaining.

His yardage total now bests former Taft High School star Steve Smith, who merely went on to be an All-Pac-10 and All-American player for Southern Cal and now plays for the St. Louis Rams. Smith also won a Super Bowl title with the New York Giants, has been selected for the NFL Pro Bowl and holds the Giants single-season record for receptions.

Now, of course, it’s premature to think that Wolitarsky will continue to eclipse Smith. But that doesn’t mean football fans shouldn’t prepare for all possibilities.

So be nice to Lynda Richards. You never know what she might be able to do for you in the future.