Coupeville Sports

CHS football players Adrian Cunningham (left) and Jaje Drake show off weight room work. (Sophia Broderick photo)

Here I go again on my own,

Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,

Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.

The heyday of ’80s rock gods Whitesnake came long before Jaje Drake was born, but the words of their biggest song, Here I Go Again, ring true as the Wolf senior chases his wrestling dream.

Coupeville is one of the few high schools in the state not to have its own grappling program, so any athletes wanting to hit the mat have to do so through another school.

For Drake, that reunites him with South Whidbey — where he attended middle school.

This time around, he’s training and traveling with the Falcons through the regular season, while competing as a one-man Coupeville wrecking crew.

When the postseason arrives, he’ll go his own way, since CHS is a 2B school and SWHS is a 1A one.

It’s a path similar to that followed by one of Drake’s Wolf football coaches, Alex Turner, who made the same trek during his own senior season.

Drake, who has put in considerable time in the weight room and was a captain for Coupeville’s gridiron squad, is currently slated to wrestle in the 220-pound class.

Dreaming about state meet glory. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

When football ended, the Wolf big man decided to find a different outlet, looking to add more success to his senior year.

“What led me to do this decision is just the fact that I was not done showing people what I can do before they may never see me in action again,” he said.

Getting a strong reaction from mat fans is nice, as well.

“What I enjoy about wrestling is just seeing people’s faces when they see me come onto the mat,” Drake said.

“Shocked faces and little comments, like “Holy crap, that man HUGE.”

His season gets fully underway Thursday as South Whidbey hosts Oak Harbor in a match which starts at 6:00 PM.

After that, Drake has his eyes set firmly on the prize.

“My goals are to go to state,” he said. “And be the only one walking down the state giveaway line with all the people wishing me luck.”