Coupeville Sports

      Josiah Campbell pushes his body to the limit in Saturday’s win. (John Fisken photos)

Anthony Bergeron takes the ball to the hoop under extreme duress.

It was a great evening all around.

Saturday night, most of the headlines went to the Coupeville High School boys’ varsity basketball team, which snapped a 33-game, 702-day losing streak with a 10-point win at Mount Vernon Christian.

But that epic victory wasn’t the only one for the boys program, as earlier in the evening, the Wolf JV squad won its third game of the season, using a flawless fourth quarter (16-0) to bust open a tight, two-point game.

With Joel Walstad busting out the scoring machine, racking up 11 points in the first half, Coupeville shot out to an early 10-point lead.

“Looked like we might win by 40,” said Wolf coach Dustin Vanvelkinburgh. “We looked unstoppable at times. Walstad was a man on a mission.”

The host Hurricanes narrowed things to two at the end of the third quarter, then jumped on Coupeville, forcing consecutive turnovers on the first two plays of the fourth quarter. A brief pep talk from Coach V settled things down, however.

“Our confidence was a bit shaken,” Vanvelkinburgh said. “I called a quick time out to settle down the young squad; we changed defenses and from there never looked back.”

With quality play from every man on the roster, it was hard to pick one as the player of the game, but Vanvelkinburgh settled on the man who would later rally Wolf fans to an ear-busting decibel level during the varsity win — Big O, rapidly-evolving football lineman turned first year hoops man.

“Player of the game for me went to Oscar Liquidano,” Vanvelkinburgh said. “He quietly had four points, but, more importantly, shut down the key.

“He plays very hard; pretty sure he has made it his personal mission to get every defensive rebound,” he added. “He works very hard to get defensive position and is very physical. One of those kids that you know you played the next day as your whole body is sore from the mayhem he brings in the key.”

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“We are … Coupeville!!”

The fans were blown head over heels by the win.

   Mount Vernon Christian decides that, no, it really doesn’t want a piece of Churchy after all.

Ben Etzell, rainin’ pain all day long.

Trumbull strong … like bull!

The moms are pleased. Mission accomplished.

You only break a 33-game, 702-day losing streak once, so pardon me while we wallow in more splendid Shelli Trumbull photos from Saturday night.

It was the night the Wolf boys’ basketball team thumped Mount Vernon Christian 51-41.

The night they brought the roar back to Wolf Nation.

The night Nick Streubel almost suffocated coach Anthony Smith with a full-body bear hug.

The night Aaron Trumbull took a shot to the eye, bled all over the court and still came back.

The night that put the ruddy glow of happiness back in Carson Risner’s cheeks.

The night that guaranteed that seniors Drew Chan, Caleb Valko and Josh Wilsey would have at least one great bus trip back home before they left CHS.

The night that moms cried (even if they said they didn’t).

The night that dads cried (when they thought no one was looking).

If you haven’t been around this team, you may not understand. You may not get it. You may not appreciate what this means.

It means the hard work paid off. The dedication was rewarded.

Lesser players might not have come back after Christmas break, facing six straight games on the road in January and still stinging from having god-awful refs knife them in the chest and rip away a win that should have been against Orcas Island.

But they didn’t do that. They are now, and forever, Wolves. They will be cheered and they will be remembered.

This means too much. It matters too much.

So, no, we’re not done here. Not yet. Not ever.

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