Coupeville Sports

   Teo Keilwitz and Co. will have one extra day of practice before their season opener. (John Fisken photos)

   That gives Julian Welling (left) and Hunter Downes extra time to work on their snaps.

One extra day to fan the rivalry flames.

The biggest football game of the year will be the first one this season for Coupeville High School, but the day it will be played is changing.

The Wolves host Island arch-rival South Whidbey in their first game under new head coach Jon Atkins, when they will bid to reclaim The Bucket after losing it last year in Langley.

The game, originally set for Friday, Sept. 2, is being bumped a day due to a shortage in available game officials.

It’s now set for Saturday, Sept. 3, with kickoff at 7 PM.

Coupeville, which is currently working on installing a new track oval around the football field, offered to make the change for a number of reasons.

“I volunteered us to move out,” said CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith. “I did this for a couple of reasons: it will give our new football staff one more day to prepare, it gives maintenance another day to prep, we will get a great draw no matter what with South Whidbey, so it just makes sense.”

The Falcons upended the Wolves 27-14 in last year’s opener — a game most famous for South Whidbey’s aging scoreboard going dark for more than a quarter.

While both schools are coming off of less-than-spectacular 1-9 seasons (Coupeville beat Chimacum last year, while South Whidbey was win-less after opening night), the rivalry burns bright.

At the heart of the battle is The Bucket, which is a … bucket, which bears Coupeville’s logo and school colors on one side and South Whidbey’s on the other.

The winning school holds on to the trophy until the next year’s game.

The two teams have traded ownership back-and-forth in recent years, with the Wolves winning in 2012 (18-13) and 2014 (35-28).