Coupeville Sports

   Ian Barron, the current CHS football record board and the documents which prove the identity of the one true rushing king.

Coupeville High School is making impressive strides with its athletic programs these days.

New bleachers in the gym, a sparkling new track oval blossoming before our eyes, and, of course, the project which has consumed me for the past year-plus about to come to fruition.

Next week 112 title boards will be installed on a wall inside the CHS gym, documenting league and district titles as well as state accomplishments won by the Wolves.

Finally, the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, and the athletes and teams of those eras, will get their moment in the spotlight.

But, since I like tilting at windmills, before we finish with that epic endeavor (which has only been possible with the help of a ton of people inside and outside the school) I want to raise another issue.

And that is Ian Barron.

Or, more precisely, the indisputable fact he should be at the top of the football record board which greets visitors to the CHS gym complex.

The board is what it is, an honorable attempt to finally document some Wolf gridiron history in much the same manner the track record board has done for years.

It was a good start, though an incomplete one.

Records for CHS sports are notoriously hard to find, and I give the previous football coaching staff credit for doing what they could.

But Barron’s omission, while not being intentional, is glaring.

First, because his rushing marks, both for a season and a career, are so far ahead of what is currently listed as the records, and, secondly, because it is so easy to prove.

I have in my possession a two-page letter, signed by longtime Wolf coaches Ron Bagby and Tom Roehl, which breaks down precisely what kind of numbers Barron put up.

And, with all due respect to Josh Bayne, who is currently listed as the school record holder and was a beast on the gridiron and a quality guy off the field, those slots rightfully belong to Ian.

Bayne’s marks of 1,528 yards in his senior season and 2,154 for his stellar career currently sit atop the board.

Barron blows those away, however, even though he missed all but three games as a junior after breaking his leg.

His marks:

1997 — 425 yards
1998 — 1,753
1999 — 1,087 (in only three games)
2000 — 1,448

Career — 4,713

It’s right there in black and white, documented in a letter Roehl sent to the Everett Herald when CHS coaches were nominating Barron for the All-Area football team.

There’s no question of whether Ian deserves to be on the board, just a question of whether someone will do something about it.

So, as we welcome a new coaching staff to Wolf football, I’m calling on them to join me in asking the school and the booster club to make things right.

The board is up there to honor the past, while giving current CHS athletes a target. Let’s make sure it’s the right target.

Ian Barron is the one true rushing king, and he should be recognized as such.