Coupeville Sports

How excited was Gunnar Langvold after he threw for two scores and ran for another one on opening night? Almost as excited as this. Almost.

Thursday night, Mother Nature put on a show over Whidbey Island. Friday night, under the bright lights, the Wolves brought their own thunder and lightning display to town.

Riding the laser arm of Gunnar Langvold and the game-busting feet of Josh Bayne, all topped off with a smothering defense, Coupeville High School opened the 2013 football season in style, thumping visiting Bellevue Christian 32-0.

Sweet revenge for a narrow loss last season, the win served notice that the Wolves are on the prowl.

For long-suffering Wolf fans, who stuffed the stands on opening night, it was near perfection. Even with star runner Jake Tumblin forced into limited duty with a lingering leg injury, Coupeville dominated on both sides of the ball.

Five separate players found the end zone, with Langvold, the star-crossed senior signal caller, stepping up and looking like the calm, collected leader Wolf Nation has longed for him to become.

He opened the scoring by dropping a gorgeous 20-yard bomb into Wade Schaef’s waiting arms in the corner of the end zone midway through the second quarter. Later, after long runs from both Langvold and Bayne softened up the defense, the Wolf QB spun in from a yard out on a keeper for another score.

Capping his evening, he saved his biggest play for late in the game, connecting with Anthony Bergeron on a pass play that netted almost 90 yards and one huge touchdown.

With Tumblin hobbled, Bayne and senior fullback Brett Arnold carried the rushing load, with Bayne spinning madly like a top, making Bellevue tacklers miss him, while Arnold just stepped on them as he cracked helmets.

Arnold ran over a pack of defenders for a second quarter touchdown, while Bayne took back a punt from his own side of the field, finding an extra gear and busting out a scoring run of close to 60 yards.

When Bellevue had the ball, they weren’t able to answer, thanks to a fired-up Wolf defense. With big, bad Xavier Clark standing on a table, using a megaphone to cheer on his teammates, Coupeville refused to bend or break.

A line led by Nick Streubel and Carson Risner repeatedly stuffed Viking runners in the backfield, while the Wolf secondary, led by a hard-hitting Jared Dickson, picked off three passes.

Tyree Booker and Matthew Hampton got to keep their picks, while Schaef had to give his back after a CHS penalty negated it.

Fighting to preserve the shutout, Coupeville smacked Bellevue in the face on the final two plays. First, a Wolf defender ran down a Viking in the open field to save a last-minute touchdown, then Streubel delivered the final thunder clap.

Throwing somewhere between three and five defenders out of his way — or so it seemed — The Big Hurt landed decisively on the Bellevue QB.

By the time the Viking signal caller wobbled to his feet, the last remaining flicker of a fight had evaporated, and he and his teammates watched the final seconds run off the clock without attempting another play.

Smart move.