Coupeville Sports

Dominic Coffman rattled the rims for 13 points Thursday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Dominic Coffman is putting in the work.

The Coupeville High School sophomore dropped in 13 points, including six in the fourth quarter Thursday as the Wolf JV boys dropped a thriller 46-43 to visiting Orcas.

Then, long after the Vikings had headed back to the ferry, Coffman paced the hardwood in the big gym, firing up shots and working on his game with coach Hunter Smith.

It’s the sign of a player who hungers for wins, and bigger success, and is willing to put in extra work to get there.

Coffman and his teammates, who sit at 0-2 after the home loss, have come close in both their games this season.

In game one, a cold shooting performance in the fourth doomed the Wolves against Mount Vernon Christian.

This time out, Coupeville found its shooting touch, with Coffman and William Davidson both knocking down key buckets down the stretch, but Orcas found just a little extra.

Finishing the game with an 11-8 run across the final frame, the Vikings broke open a tie game while denying the Wolves a win in a game which was played with no fans.

The Orcas School District has requested that for all games involving its teams this school year, but if Coupeville’s players missed the roar of the crowd, they hid it well.

The Wolves jumped out to an 11-8 lead after one quarter of play, with Jonathan Valenzuela making the nets bounce for six points in the first eight minutes.

The second quarter wasn’t as kind to CHS, as Orcas used a 17-8 surge to turn its deficit into a six-point advantage at the half.

At which point the Wolves reached down deep and put together a 16-10 third quarter in which five different players slapped home points.

Valenzuela, who paced Coupeville with a game-high 14, tossed in five in the frame, with Cole White adding four.

That set up a tense finale, and, while the Wolves didn’t prevail, the building blocks for success continue to be laid.

Valenzuela (14) and Coffman (13) combined to pump in 27 of Coupeville’s 43 points, while Davidson banked home six, and White tickled the twines for four.

Mikey Robinett, Nick Guay, and Ryan Blouin rounded out the scoring attack, with each Wolf gunner banking in a bucket.