Playoff intensity, with Caleb Valko taking it hard to the hoop… (Shelli Trumbull photos)
A packed crowd, with Wiley Hesselgrave besieged by Falcon faithful…
And then … “Stop! It is I, the one who will save you from this thrilling affair! Just let me get my whistle pulled out of my ass first…” (Nanette Streubel photo)
Sadness. Deep, abiding sadness.
There was anger. “I was so mad I forgot to eat the Snicker’s bar I bought!!,” said one fan.
There was disbelief. “I have played basketball all over the world and never seen such a badly-called game,” said former Wolf hoops star Zepher Loesch.
There were three refs (their names scrawled in the score book looked like J. Washington, R. Neiffer and S. DePuy) who fled the scene of the crime as fast as their legs could carry them.
And then there was sadness.
Sadness that Wolf seniors Caleb Valko (playing with fresh stitches under his eye after taking an elbow in practice) and Drew Chan left their last ounce of strength on the court Thursday night and got bushwhacked.
Sadness that two rivals went toe-to-toe in a furious, sometimes fantastic brawl, a game of rallies, punches and counter punches, a game of dynamic plays and fiery intensity, as befits a winner-take-all playoff bout, only to have three refs drop their drawers at center court and take a dump all over the integrity of the game itself.
The score book will show that South Whidbey hit their free-throws down the stretch and held off Coupeville 56-45 to stay alive in the district playoffs.
What the score won’t show you was rally after rally by a Wolf team battling through countless injuries and bouts of illness.
Ben Etzell flying at the basket like a rabid, well, Wolf, pouring in 19 points from all angles.
Young guns Morgan Payne and Wiley Hesselgrave driving the ball up-court with intensity, dribbling under fire and directing traffic like seasoned pros.
Nick Streubel rumbling in the paint like only The Big Hurt can, rising from the floor like a beast unleashed, throwing puny Falcons in all directions as he ripped down rebound after rebound.
Joel Walstad swishing a sweet three. Aaron Trumbull returning from a nasty concussion and freaking his mom out by promptly diving on the floor for a loose ball on his first play. Anthony Bergeron and Josiah Campbell repping the future while Valko and Chan went out the way grizzled captains are supposed to, fighting until the final tick of the clock.
But it also won’t show you three smirking, pompous con men who, just when the game was at its most frenzied, its most enthralling, interjected themselves in the only way that this hallowed season of the god-awful ref could be properly capped.
It started with a foul being called on a Wolf halfway down the court from the play (at which point the three less-than-wise men had to confer and switched the foul from player to player three times, then landed back on the player farthest from the play.)
Then came the three technical fouls, the intentional/flagrant foul snafu, the numerous phantom traveling calls and the refusal to even consider calling a foul on a South Whidbey player who hit Etzell so hard in the rib cage he remained flat on his back for two minutes.
It would take a month to break down the shoddiness, the amateur hour theatrics, the criminal misuse of power. One could also ask why South Whidbey players were allowed to spend a great deal of time with their arms slung over the ref’s shoulders, talking like best buds (do the Falcons have seven captains?).
But to go that route leaves one awash in anger and sadness.
Better to focus on the positives, as Etzell rained down nine points, Streubel rejected back-to-back shots and Coupeville roared to life in the second quarter. Down by 12, they cut the lead to five, then pulled to within 30-28 midway through the third.
Then came a rain of technicals, “flagrant” fouls and bouts of giggling by one of the refs.
Down by 12 in the fourth, the Wolves rallied one last time, surging 13-5, with the highlight being a play when Streubel, surprisingly light on his feet for a 6-foot-4, 280-pound college football prospect, made off with a steal and fed Etzell, who rained down a dazzling trey.
With the lead cut to 49-45 and the Falcons on their heels, suddenly a row of lights went out, Super Bowl-style. That it was the row of lights right above the Wolf fans could have been a coincidence, or it could have been a signal to the refs, who immediately threw a tire wrench into any hopes of, oh, I don’t know, letting the players decide the game.
As the Falcons slid seven straight free-throws through the net, those in the stands tried to focus on the positives of a Wolf squad who refused to give in, refused to give up, on this night or any night this season.
But then, as we watched the departing backsides of the worst ref crew we have seen in what has been a banner year for bad refs, that was replaced with sadness.
And that plain sucks.
Coupeville Sports 
Our boys played there hearts out last night. You can’t take anything away from their performance. The ref’s will have to search there hearts to see if there decision were emotionaly driven or professionally driven. As you are, I prefer to praise our boys for playing the best game ever. They were respectful, hard playing, smart and a team to be very proud of. Even though the ref’s kept making calls that no one understood, the boys kept fighting up till the end. Words can’t convey how very proud I am of all of them. Way to go guys, hold your head up high, you did the right thing and made us all very proud.
This is retarded, SW owns coupeville
Coupeville has one win… I don’t think the quality of refs made a difference.
See y’all next year, have a good harvest
I guess us folks here in Coupeville will just have to cry ourselves to sleep. We can use that bucket we took away from you during football season to catch our sweet, sweet tears.
Maybe by next year you all will learn how to tackle…
It will having quarterbacks with hands that aren’t broken next year too
What have you used to catch your tears the other 10 years SW has has the bucket?
Sorry, it was five years. Not 10.
We’ve had to carry a lot of extra napkins…
Bringing up football after a basketball loss, nice. If you’re going to mention the ONE football win over us this year, let me remind you of the tennis season. You know, when we swept your team in districts in both singles and doubles and beat them constantly during the regular season. Or volleyball, beating you twice, not losing a single set. How about wrestling? We won second in conference and could possibly send multiple wrestlers to state, and you, have no team. Oh yes, and the three wins we had against you in basketball, perhaps our worst boys sport this year. So congratulations, you beat us one time in football. And no, I’m not going to blame it on the officiating, or a row of lights magically going out, or even injuries (both of our quarterbacks had broken hands/wrists and still played through the pain). You won, you beat us in football fair and square. So, accounting for three basketball wins, two volleyball victories, four team tennis victories, and one win for wrestling considering your school can’t even suit up a team for the sport. The score so far this year seems to be, Coupeville: 1 South Whidbey: 10. But you know what, it was probably the refs fault, right?
I forgot about girl’s basketball, I apologize. You did beat us one time this year and had a decent season. However, we beat you twice. Revised score, Coupeville: 2 South Whidbey: 12.
Very valid points.
I’ll pass them on to your mayor as he enjoys spending two weeks in our jail.
Why do you keep bringing up the mayors no one here even gives a crap, our school is not LANGLEY high school we are SOUTH WHIDBEY three different cities together in one school, and who cares about the mayors no one takes that into consideration when picking a basketball team to root for on a rivalry game
we’re all from clinton. our mayors clean
C’mon coupeville…. really? You are so bad at sports that you start bringing our EX mayor into this? Smh…
Well, it was either that or discuss your ugly blue uniforms… I guess going to jailhouse orange is an upgrade when you’re from Langley!
Our uniforms were white….
No, you decided to talk about that because it was better than talking about the 0-14 (Cascade Conf.) 1-21 Overall record. Great season btw.
Yep. It’s easy to look from the outside and see a 1-21 record and make easy assumptions.
You weren’t there for the broken legs, the severe concussions, the stitches, the food poisoning. You weren’t there when they busted their ass as a program tried to rebuild after a 20+ year coach retired and an entire team graduated two years ago.
You weren’t there.
If you had, you would realize a lot was accomplished this season. It may not have shown up on the scoreboard yet, but it happened.
And I would be just as big a douche bag if I gave you grief over your 4-win team. I haven’t been there. I haven’t seen what your guys might have gone through, or how they might have improved.
What I saw Thursday was an intensely played game between two schools that really wanted the playoff win. Coupeville brought it. South Whidbey brought it. Both schools should be proud of the effort their guys left on that floor.
And everyone should be embarrassed by the refs.
Hopefully next year there will be a better ref crew and then the Wolves and Falcons can go toe-to-toe and let things fall where they may.
And, hopefully, both schools are on the way back up. Cause ATM and King’s need to feel the wrath of Whidbey again.
You think your school is the only school that had injuries this season? Really? Every team has issues you guys are not the only team, but you are always the first and usually only to complain about injuries or officiating.
You guys must have gotten a better class of referee than what we saw in 2012-2013. If so, I’m glad for you. No school should have to put up with the endless parade of incompetence that we witnessed. The Coupeville/South Whidbey game was merely the capper.
Thank you. Finally some reason!
We can all agree that ATM and King’s need to get their fat, entitled asses whipped. When South Whidbey beat ATM in wrestling on their Senior Night, it was a happy moment for all of Whidbey Island!
your right! it does sound like a great season! id say it was a great night when you guys beat ATM in anything, but you never have 😦 maybe next season 😦
well im not sure how you can lose players if no one ever graduates. but yeah, beating ATM was cool. id tell you nice job to, but i can’t remember the last time you ever beat them 😦 oh well, next season
You must have a really short memory then.
I understand you are upset about losing the game but at least have some class, you don’t post the refs names that is completely childish and immature
Childish and immature? Hey now, that’s the town motto of Coupeville!! Show some respect … oh, wait.
Nicely played.