Coupeville Sports

   Jacob Martin wants to spend less time on the sideline injured, and more time on the field, ripping up things. (John Fisken photos)

Clay Reilly was the best punter in 1A as a junior.

It’s their time.

With Coupeville High School’s football team hoping to field a dynamic running attack, continuing a trend from recent years, three Wolf seniors hope to step up and make a big impact.

Young guns like Chris Battaglia and Teo Keilwitz should figure in the mix, but Jacob Martin, Clay Reilly and Mitchell Carroll are hoping to give the Wolves a three-headed monster of a backfield.

Martin is the only one of the three who played there last season, picking up 123 yards on 25 carries.

He was third on the squad in rushing behind seniors Wiley Hesselgrave and Lathom Kelley, but spent much of the year slowed by injuries.

Now he’s feeling healthy and wants to take a crack at the kind of numbers former teammates Jake Tumblin and Josh Bayne rolled up on the gridiron.

“I’m quick and shifty, hard to take down,” Martin said. “I want to set scoring and rushing records.”

Reilly, a strong defensive back who led all 1A punters last season with 1,156 yards, is eager to make an impact on both sides of the ball this season.

“My strengths as a rusher is that I’m fast and strong,” he said. “My goal as a rusher is to have a touchdown every game (at least).”

Carroll, who opts to let his actions speak for him, was among team leaders in tackles as a junior, and is coming off of his first trip to state as a track jumper.

However the carries shake out among the seniors and their sophomore counterparts, they all aspire to reach the heights set by their recent predecessors.

Watching some of the now departed players in action every day at practice and in games helped to shape the current Wolves outlook on the game.

“Lathom taught me to lower my shoulder and run through defenders,” Martin said. “Jake and Josh taught me to lead by example and to keep my head up.”

That last sentiment is one shared by Reilly.

“What I’ve learned from them is to run through defenders, stiff arm them when they try to take me down and to always keep my head up,” he said.

They may not agree on which player has the best skill-set, staking their own claim (Martin says “I’m the quickest” while Reilly counters with “I think I’m the fastest”), but they remain committed to excel, as individuals and a team.

Knowing this is their final prep season, they want to exit strongly and impact younger players like Bayne and Co. did with them.

Reilly sums it up perfectly for all of the backfield seniors.

“I’m gonna try to be the best.”