Coupeville Sports

   Joel Walstad has his eyes firmly locked on the bouncing ball. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

The view from the Wolf bench.

Wiley Hesselgrave fires up a jumper.

At least no one threw up this time.

Marking the one-year anniversary of the Great and Terrible Food Poisoning Outbreak that wreaked havoc on their stomachs and the patience of local fans last season, the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball teams met back up with Blaine Saturday.

This time, the Wolves hit the road (for a long time) as they traveled up to the Canadian border for an early afternoon game. Perhaps wisely refraining from any questionable hamburger joint choices this year, they were all reasonably healthy come tip-off.

Unfortunately health wasn’t enough to save them, as a deadly combination of too many fouls and turnovers overshadowed some strong individual performances in a season-opening 84-50 loss.

After the epic trip, Coupeville will get a chance to stay close to home, with its next four games in the CHS gym, starting with a Tuesday tilt with Cedarcrest.

Facing off with the Borderites, the Wolves got big-time play from Nick Streubel, who banged home 15 points and Wiley Hesselgrave, who popped for 11. Morgan Payne chipped in with eight, Aaron Trumbull banked home four and Anthony Bergeron netted a basket.

“We did some good things, but over all we just could not operate,” said Wolf coach Anthony Smith.

Foul trouble dogged Coupeville, as three Wolves — Trumbull, Streubel and Joel Walstad — fouled out.

JV hangs tough: A close game slipped away in the fourth quarter for the Wolves, as Blaine turned a 10-point advantage into a 30-point win.

Other than the tail end, Wolf JV coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh came away pleased with much of what he saw from his squad.

“A lot of good things happened,” he said. “We shared the ball on offense and scored because of it. At times we played tough hard-nosed defense any coach would be proud of.

“We have work to do, but I’m excited with what I saw.”

Freshman Gabe Wynn and sophomore Jared Helmstadter paced Coupeville with 10 points apiece, while the Mitchell brothers combined for 12 (eight from Dante and four from DeAndre).

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Dalton Martin slices through the defense for a quick two. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

Anthony Bergeron

Wiley Hesselgrave floats in the paint.

Adapt. Adapt. Adapt.

Every sports season brings its challenges, its unexpected injuries, its comings and goings of players, and a good coach needs to roll with the punches.

As he enters his third season at the helm of the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball squad, Anthony Smith is already having to think quickly on his feet.

He lost just two seniors (Caleb Valko, Drew Chan) to graduation from last year’s team, but had two returning starters (Aaron Curtin, Ben Etzell) not turn out this year.

Then, toss in injuries to Gavin O’Keefe (fighting back after a second broken leg in as many years), Carson Risner (a question mark as he deals with a football injury) and Cole Payne (out for the season after surgery for a football injury.)

On the positive side, though, new players abound in the program, with Utah (junior Matt and freshman Brian Shank) and Oak Harbor (sophomores Dante and Deandre Mitchell) transplants now wearing the red and black.

Matt Shank, a six-foot-three rebounding machine from Moab, joins a solid group of returning Wolves to form the core of what should be the CHS varsity.

Senior big man Nick Streubel was Coupeville’s leading scorer last season, while seniors Anthony Bergeron and Morgan Payne will play bigger roles. Juniors Aaron Trumbull (a starter last season) and Joel Walstad and sophomores Wiley Hesselgrave and Dalton Martin round out the rotation.

O’Keefe, a senior, is expected back in January, while Risner, a junior, is day-to-day and hasn’t been able to practice much.

Younger players fighting for playing time include freshmen Gabe Wynn, Clay Reilly and Brian Shank, the Mitchell brothers and sophomore Jared Helmstadter.

However the minutes, and on-court combinations, play out, Smith will have a band of warriors at his disposal.

“We will be able to compete and get after them on the defensive side,” Smith said. “What’s great is we have all really good kids and they have the attitude to compete and get after it.

“We’re really working on playing a chaotic, helter-skelter, pressure the ball style, if that makes sense,” he added.

Most of the team played off-season Swish basketball together, helping build familiarity and confidence.

“They came out of the camps and league play with a whole new demeanor,” Smith said. “We have a bit of a chip on our shoulders and are not going to back down. Now we (the coaches) just need to give them the tools to succeed.”

Smith is joined by JV coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh and former Wolf star Jason Bagby, who, after playing college ball, is working with Coupeville’s big men on a volunteer basis.

While the Wolves will go after every team hard, their primary targets will be King’s and South Whidbey, the only two other 1A schools in the 1A/2A Cascade Conference.

Two of the three 1A schools will advance to the playoffs this season, as opposed to previous seasons, when all three got in.

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