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Archive for the ‘Boys Basketball’ Category

Joshua Stockdale crashes to the hoop. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The gym came alive.

Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball made its home debut Tuesday and wanderin’ photographer John Fisken was on hand to collect the first images of a new season.

The photos above and below, which are a mixture of action and team pics, are just the tip of the iceberg, however.

To see everything he shot, and possibly purchase some Christmas gifts for the grandparents, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Basketball-2022-2023/MSBBB-2022-11-22-vs-Lakewood/

Rebound machine Davin Houston dares you to try and take the ball away.

Mad bomber Cyrus Sparacio slices ‘n dices the defense.

Kenneth Jacobsen soars to the rafters to win the tip.

Jon Roberts is a stern, but fair, taskmaster.

Spoiler: they will get loud if necessary.

Wyatt Fitch-Marron floats like a butterfly, and stings like a bee.

Representin’.

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Coupeville Middle School 6th grader Liam Lawson is here to singe the basketball nets, just like mom Kassie and aunts Kayla and Katie did back in the day. (Photo courtesy Kassie O’Neil)

Use every step to build for the future.

There will be stumbles along the way, but the key is to focus on the positives, while being mentally strong enough to identify and work on correcting the negatives.

That’s the mission for this year’s batch of Coupeville Middle School boys’ basketball players, a collection of hoops stars who don’t have much on-court experience as a group but do have a burning desire to keep on growing.

Some days, like Tuesday’s home opener against visiting Lakewood, are bound to be rough.

The Cougars funnel players to a 2A high school, while the Wolves will be competing two rungs below that — at the 2B level — when they cross the gym hallway and become high school athletes.

That means Lakewood has a lot more bodies at its disposal, and a lot more players with prior hoops experience.

As a group, the Cougars are currently faster, tougher, more tenacious, and more skilled at things like snatching rebounds, running offensive sets, and playing heads-up defense than the still-developing Wolves.

But this is how you learn.

So, while Coupeville lost all three games Tuesday, and by fairly large margins, you hope once the lopsided scores vanish from the scoreboard, they partially fade from memory.

All I’m going to say here is that all three tilts went to a running clock, which happens in middle school basketball when you trail by 30 points,

But otherwise, I’m choosing to redact the final tallies.

Instead of dwelling on the score, we’ll focus on the moments players and coaches should remember.

Like when Wyatt Fitch-Marron went sliding across the floor, face-first, surfing the hardwood as he and a rival player fought for a loose ball.

The young Wolf bounced back to his feet, brushed off any pain from bouncing across the floor, and charged right back into the fray, even as mom and grandma (and a few other fans) gasped and winced.

Or we can stop to appreciate a solid move for a bucket in the day’s opening game from Joshua Stockdale.

Taking the ball down low and rolling through the paint for a layup to (momentarily) halt the Lakewood scoring express, it bodes well for the future.

The same with Cyrus Sparacio drilling the bottom of the net out with a three-ball from the top, then flexing for his fan club, or Riley Lawless swishing a sweet pull-up jumper in the paint while surrounded by defenders.

Young Coupeville players like Liam Lawson and Chayse Van Velkinburgh played with passion, driving the ball again and again into the heart of the storm, even while being smacked by a forest of Lakewood arms.

And shine a light on the Joltin’ Jacobsen brothers, as both Kenneth and Johnathan brought maximum effort to the floor, chasing after rebounds and poking balls away from the Cougar sharpshooters.

From Charles Hart to Hunter Atteberry, from Zach Blitch to Jacobs Meadors and Khanor Jump, the Wolves couldn’t be faulted for their effort, their hustle, and their desire.

The heart is there, and the skill will follow.

Tuesday also saw two more Wolves net their first points of the season, as Nic Laska and Stockdale each banked home a bucket.

That puts 14 Coupeville players in the scoring column two games into an eight-game season.

Games pick back up after the Thanksgiving break, with the Wolves heading to the wilds of Sultan Nov. 29, before hosting King’s Dec. 1.

 

Season scoring stats:

Cyrus Sparacio – 13
Carson Grove – 10
Jayden McManus – 10
Riley Lawless – 6
Chayse Van Velkinburgh – 5
Jacob Barajas – 4
Brantley Campbell – 4
Davin Houston – 3
Sage Arends – 2
Nic Laska – 2
Liam Lawson – 2
Nathan Niewald – 2
Joshua Stockdale – 2
Dylan Robinett – 1

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Davin Houston (right) and Coupeville Middle School basketball kicked off a new season Thursday at Langley. (Alia Houston photo)

The shoes are squeaking on the hardwood once more.

Basketball is back in action, with the Coupeville Middle School boys’ hoops stars first to take the floor in a competitive game.

Facing off with next-door neighbor South Whidbey down in Langley Thursday, the Wolves held their own, coming within a bucket or two of winning two of three.

While the Cougars ultimately swept all three games, it was a strong start for a CMS program featuring a considerable chunk of players who are fairly new to the sport.

The Wolves put 12 players into the scoring column on opening day.

Coupeville returns home for its next three games, hosting Lakewood (Nov. 22), Sultan (Nov. 29), and King’s (Dec. 1) as the eight-game schedule begins to unfold.

How Thursday went down:

 

Level 1:

The day’s most-competitive rumble, as South Whidbey surged, Coupeville rallied, then the Cougars held off the Wolves at the end for a 35-31 win.

A 12-2 run by the hosts stung CMS, as it fell behind 21-9 at the half.

The second half was a different story, however, with Coupeville going on a 13-4 tear in the third quarter before getting all the way back to knot things up at 27-27 midway through the final frame.

South Whidbey closed the game strongly, getting key buckets down the stretch, but the scrappiness shown by the Wolves bodes well for the future.

Jayden McManus banged home 10 points to lead Coupeville, while Carson Grove sank a pair of three-balls en route to an eight-point performance.

Chayse Van Velkinburgh, the lone 6th grader on the varsity, chipped in with five, while Davin Houston (3), Riley Lawless (3), and Sage Arends (2) also scored.

Coupeville’s first unit also featured appearances by Dylan Robinett, Joshua Stockdale, and Nic Laska.

Chayse Van Velkinburgh fires off a free throw. (Dustin Van Velkinburgh photo)

 

Level 2:

A slow start doomed Coupeville, as an 18-1 deficit after one quarter of play morphed into a 39-5 loss.

CMS clamped down on defense after that, limiting its hosts to just four points in the second quarter.

Liam Lawson and Nathan Niewald paced the Wolves, each dropping in a bucket, while Robinett rippled the nets on a free throw.

Wyatt Fitch-Marron, Charles Hart, Hunter Atteberry, and Brantley Campbell also saw floor time for CMS.

 

Level 3:

Take away the second quarter and Coupeville wins this one.

The Wolves held South Whidbey to just four points in every other quarter, but an 8-0 deficit in frame #2 was the difference in a 20-16 loss.

Down 12-2 at the half, CMS rallied to win the second half to a tune of 14-8, with Cyrus Sparacio going off for all of his team-high eight points in the fourth quarter.

Jacob Barajas and Campbell knocked down four points apiece in support, while Johnathan Jacobsen, Zach Blitch, Jacob Meador, Khanor Jump, Kenneth Jacobsen, and Atteberry rounded out the roster.

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Dominic Coffman (left) and Jonathan Valenzuela could be celebrating again, if our computer overlords are correct. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Make it so.

Our computer overlords have spoken, and they have an early fondness for Coupeville High School boys’ basketball.

Evan Rankings went down to the basement, fired up its seer of seers, Newman, asked the computer to spit out which teams it projects to make the 2023 state tournament fields, and the Wolves made the list.

Now, not a single game has been played, with practice having only just started, something website guru Matt Evans acknowledges.

Plus, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has yet to officially release state allocations for each district, so there could be some movement on how many spots are available in each area.

But worry not about that.

Evans and Newman are “experimenting with an algorithm to see how well the computer can use some data from the previous season along with returning player data to see if it can project success.”

Or, as the human in the room sagely says, “If this works, cool. If not, whatever.”

At any case, we can all come back in late February to see how the projections held up.

Newman’s projected state tourney fields:

 

2B boys:

 

District 1 (one projected berth):

Coupeville

 

District 4 (six projected berths):

Adna
Chief Leschi
Ilwaco
Kalama
Morton/White Pass
Wahkiakum

 

District 5 (four projected berths):

Cle Elum/Roslyn
Columbia (Burbank)
Tri-Cities Prep
White Swan

 

District 6 (two projected berths):

Brewster
Lake Roosevelt

 

District 7 (three projected berths):

Colfax
Davenport
Liberty (Spangle)

 

2B girls:

 

District 1 (one projected berth):

La Conner

 

District 4 (six projected berths):

Adna
Chief Leschi
Onalaska
Rainier
Raymond
Wahkiakum

 

District 5 (four projected berths):

Granger
Mabton
Tri-Cities Prep
Warden

 

District 6 (two projected berths):

Lake Roosevelt
Okanogan

 

District 7 (three projected berths):

Colfax
Liberty (Spangle)
St. George’s

 

P.S. — On the 1B side of things, Districts 1, 2, and 3 combine in the postseason and are projected to net six state slots for the boys and five for the girls.

Newman likes three of Coupeville’s Northwest 2B/1B League rivals to make the big dance — both Mount Vernon Christian teams and the Orcas Island boys.

 

To see Newman’s complete projections, pop over to:

ER’s Way-Too-Early 2023 WIAA Prep Basketball Tournament Fields

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Alex Murdy lines up a shot. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s the job which will likely never be done.

Coupeville High School played its first boys basketball game Jan. 19, 1917 — drilling Langley — and kicks off a new season Nov. 30 by once again facing off with its next-door neighbors.

The job I speak of is documenting every single point scored by a Wolf in a varsity hoops contest, and it’s a tricky one.

Way too many scorebooks from the very olden days vanished long ago, and newspaper archives provide no help.

Sportswriters from the ’30s and ’40s just were not big on documenting who put the ball in the basket.

That being said, we’re sitting pretty good from the ’50s to modern times, with just a few blind spots.

Someone needs to clean out a barn and find a scorebook for Tom Sahli’s sophomore season in 1951-1952. Like today.

While we wait for that prairie miracle to occur, we can marinate in what we have — a list which reflects the scoring efforts of 406 players.

There are seven active Wolf boys on the list, with sophomore Logan Downes (224 points) and junior Alex Murdy (206) currently at #127 and #134 all-time, respectively.

With the sound of shoes squeaking on hardwood about to dominate winter nights, a look at where we stand, with active players in bold.

Nick Guay swoops to the hoop. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Jeff Stone – 1137
Mike Bagby – 1137
Randy Keefe – 1088
Mike Criscuola – 1031
Jeff Rhubottom – 1012
Bill Riley – 934
Pete Petrov – 917
Brad Sherman – 874
Denny Clark – 869
Arik Garthwaite – 867

Bill Jarrell – 855
Hunter Smith – 847
Corey Cross – 811
Hawthorne Wolfe – 800
Jack Elzinga – 770
Barry Brown – 769
Hunter Hammer – 755
Steve Whitney – 730
Dan Nieder – 729
Tom Sahli – 719 (**MISSING SEASON**)

Chris Good – 688
Gavin Keohane – 677
Virgil Roehl – 674
Foster Faris – 668
Pat Bennett – 659
Wade Ellsworth – 659
Jason McFadyen – 654
Rich Morris – 637
Kramer O’Keefe – 636
Wiley Hesselgrave – 632

John O’Grady – 611
Greg White – 604
Denny Zylstra – 602
Joe Whitney – 601
Brian Miller – 597
Mike Syreen – 594
Gabe McMurray – 592
Pat Clark – 583
Randy Duggan – 552
Roy Marti – 551

Jim Syreen – 550
Marc Bissett – 549
Gary Hammons – 533
Jerry Zylstra – 527
Brad Miller – 526
Gary Faris – 524
JJ Marti – 520
Cody Peters – 518
David Lortz – 502
Jason Bagby – 499

Xavier Murdy – 482
Pat O’Grady – 472
Harold Buckner – 469
Sean Dillon – 469
Frank Marti – 462
Del O’Shell – 440
Tony Ford – 432
Caleb Powell – 421
Mason Grove – 414
Ben Biskovich – 407

Casey Clark – 407
Nick Sellgren – 406
Blaine Ghormley – 393
Tom Logan – 385
James Smith – 382
Don Cook – 377
Chad Gale – 373
Mike Millenbach – 373
JD Wilcox – 373
Ty Blouin – 369

Caesar Kortuem – 369
Ray Harvey – 368
Pat Brown – 355
Dick Smith – 352
Ethan Spark – 352
Glenn Losey – 350
Timm Orsborn – 345
Robin Larson – 342
Byron Fellstrom – 340
Kevin Faris – 339

Michael Vaughan – 337
Jim Yake – 331
Aaron Trumbull – 330
Brad Brown – 328
Charlie Tessaro – 328
Utz Conard – 326
Ian Smith – 324
David Ford – 323
Bob Rea – 320
Chris Marti – 319

Gabe Wynn – 316
Nick Streubel – 314
Ben Hayes – 306
Allen Black – 305
Noah Roehl – 301
Blake Day – 299
Noel Criscuola – 298
John Beasley – 293
Risen Johnson – 291
Brian Fakkema – 290

Matt Frost – 290
Mike Mallo – 282
Keith Jameson – 277
Terry Roberts – 277
Kit Manzanares – 275
Boom Phomvongkoth – 275
Zepher Loesch – 274
Alex Evans – 272
Aaron Curtin – 271
Tyler King – 270

Joe Tessaro – 270
Eric Hopkins – 265
Harvey Wainio – 265
Rick Keefe – 259
Troy Blouin – 256
Sean Callahan – 256
Greg Fellstrom – 248
Richard Hammons – 248
Casey Larson – 247
Don Schreiber – 247

Brandon Huff – 245
Grady Rickner – 245
Brad Haslam – 235
Sean Toomey-Stout – 235
Geoff Hageman – 227
Curt Youderian – 226
Logan Downes – 224
Rich Vaughan – 219
Ed Wood – 219
Joel Walstad – 217

Richard Cook – 216
Ryan Keefe – 214
Jordan Ford – 210
Alex Murdy – 206
Andrew Mouw – 204
Vance Huffman – 203
Tim Quenzer – 202
Alan Hancock – 198
Shawn Ryan – 197
Mitch Aparicio – 195

John Engstrom – 195
Trevor Tucker – 194
Roy Mattox – 191
Dale Sherman – 188
Scott Stuurmans – 188
Pat Millenbach – 181
Caleb Meyer – 179
Wayne Hardie – 178
Chris Cox – 177
Evan Tingstad – 177

Jerry VandWerfhorst – 177
Anthony Bergeron – 176
Mike Ankney – 173
Ron Naddy – 172
Dale Libbey – 169
Roger Sherman – 168
Tim Walstad – 168
Randy Blindauer – 166
Mark Bepler – 165
Chad Brookhouse – 163

Jered Brown – 156
Monty Moore – 155
Geoff Wacker – 154
Bill Baas – 153
Ulrik Wells – 152
Jim Faris – 151
Steve Konek – 149
Gavin O’Keefe – 149
Ryan McManigle – 148
Ryan Griggs – 147

Hugh Abell – 145
George Libbey – 142
Sandy Roberts – 134
Craig Anderson – 132
Scott Franzen – 129
Ben Etzell – 127
Gavin Knoblich – 126
Len Buckner – 125
Brian Shank – 125
Joey Lippo – 121

Jessie Smith – 119
Scott McGraw – 116
Christian Townsdin – 116
Mitch Pelroy – 115
Taylor Ebersole – 114
Eric Taylor – 112
Jim Casey – 111
Jacobi Pilgrim – 111
Brian Barr – 108
Joe Donellon – 101

Jason McManigle – 101
Bryan Hamilton – 99
Brian Knoll – 98
Morgan Payne – 96
Christian Lyness – 95
Koa Davison – 94
Ted Weber – 91
Hunter Downes – 89
James Meek – 89
Dan Miller – 89

Steve Bissett – 87
Andrew Cashen – 87
Carson Risner – 86
John Sinema – 86
Nick Morris – 83
Logan Martin – 81
Roy Armstrong – 80
Cameron Toomey-Stout – 80
Caleb Valko – 78
Ross Buckner – 77

Matt Shank – 77
JJ Johnson – 76
Duane Score – 76
Quinten Farmer – 75
Matt Ortega – 75
Mike Ellsworth – 74
Don Spangler – 72
John Zimmerman – 72
Joe Bruzas – 71
Jason Fisher – 71

Tony Prosser – 70
Les Jacobson – 69
Tom Conard – 68
Dean Grasser – 68
Matt Bepler – 67
Zack Swerdfeger – 66
Ron Lanphere – 65
Sage Downes – 64
Ben Hancock – 63
Randy Stone – 63

Mike Brown – 62
Jason McDavid – 62
Jeremy Staples – 62
Brian Hageman – 61
Erik King – 61
David Davis – 60
Tom Mueller – 59
Brandy Ambrose – 58
Sam Kieth – 58
Steve Smith – 58

Martin Walsh – 58
Matt Helm – 57
Dennis Terrell – 57
Drew Chan – 56
DeAndre Mitchell – 56
Daniel Olson – 56
Ellis Schultz – 56
Dave Stoddard – 56
CJ Smith – 54
Larry Zylstra – 54

Asa Owensby – 52
Marc Aparicio – 51
Chris Chan – 51
Joe Kelley – 51
Marvin Darst – 50
Troy Hurlburt – 49
Stanley Bruzas – 48
Dalton Engle – 48
Jerry Helm – 48
Dalton Martin – 47

Eddie Fasolo – 45
Doug Speers – 45
Banky Fisher – 44
Keith Dunnagan – 42
Gaylord Stidham – 41
Erick Harada – 40
James Jorgensen – 40
Nevin Miranda – 40
Jeff Thomas – 40
John Wyatt – 40

John Moskeland – 39
Cole White – 39
Danny Bonacci – 36
Chuck Ruthford – 36
Charlie Toth – 36
Jim Marti – 35
Zeb Williams – 35
Robert Cushen – 34
Dante Mitchell – 34
Sid Mudgett – 34

Dave Brandt – 33
Ryan Kelley – 33
Brian Roundy – 32
Richard Barber – 31
Joe Libbey – 31
Ray Cook – 29
Tim Leese – 29
Ralph Lindsay – 29
Kyle Rockwell – 29
Rick Marti – 28

Toby Martinez – 28
Daniel McDonald – 28
Joe Rojas – 28
Todd Smith – 28
Scott Sollars – 28
Richard Benson – 27
Mike Duke – 27
John Holmes – 26
Lewis Berry – 25
Mark Short – 25

Jonathan Valenzuela – 25
Tim Youderian – 25
Jared Helmstadter – 24
Trent Diamanti – 23
Trevor Mueller – 22
Dan Schleiffers – 22
Dominic Coffman – 21
Jay Roberts – 21
Dustin Van Velkinburgh – 21
Matt Douglas – 20

Jordan Emerson – 20
Dane Lucero – 20
Dean Strom – 20
Scott Fisher – 19
Scott Losey – 19
Bud Merryman – 19
Matt Petrich – 19
Jason Raymond – 19
Rob Blouin – 18
Rick Keith – 18

Marvin Mitchell – 18
Guy Walker – 18
Gary Boyke – 17
Jim Keith – 17
Jean Lund-Olsen – 17
Cedric McIntosh – 17
TJ Rickner – 17
Rick Frieze – 16
Chad Nixon – 16
Josh Wilsey – 16

Steven Cope – 15
Eric Dyer – 15
Mike Lester – 15
Brad Rogers – 15
Henry Edwards – 14
Todd Brown – 13
DJ Kim – 13
LaVerne Arnold – 12
Mike Eaton – 12
Guy George – 12

Kole Kellison – 12
Glen Lanphere – 12
Desmond Bell – 11
Bill Hamilton – 11
Ken Pickard – 11
Jon Roberts – 11
Chris Squires – 11
Ben Winkes – 11
Ron Edwards – 10
Travis Hooker – 10

Daniel Graham – 9
Kyle King – 9
Bruce Seiger – 9
Jimmy Sullivan – 9
Fred Wyatt – 9
Erik Anderson – 8
Dave Bowers – 8
Rob Fasolo – 8
Kraig Gordon – 8
Cody Roberts – 8

Robert Shafer – 8
Dave Wells – 8
Charlie Cook – 7
Bobby Engle – 7
Brian Folkestad – 7
Wayne Hesselgrave – 7
Ed Cook – 6
Nick Guay – 6
Tucker Hall – 6
Chuck Hardee – 6

Kevin King – 6
Robert Kirkwood – 6
George Smith – 6
Nic Anthony – 5
Ariah Bepler – 5
Scott Davidson – 5
JD Myers – 5
Nate Steele – 5
Andrew Bird – 4
Bill Boze – 4

Miles Davidson – 4
Ralph Engle – 4
Jason Legat – 4
Morgan Roehl – 4
Rusty Bailey – 3
Luke Currier – 3
Frank Mueller – 3
Zane Oldenstadt – 3
Tracy Wilson – 3
Teo Benson – 2

Norm Enders – 2
Chris Locke – 2
Jeremy McCormick – 2
Rich McCormick – 2
Denny Moss – 2
Tony Sherman – 2
Marion Sill – 2
Stephen Stietenroth – 2
Robbie Wanamaker – 2
Paul Baher – 1

Bill Engle – 1
Robert Engle – 1
Bob Franzen – 1
Meryl Gordon – 1
Oscar Liquidano – 1
Raleigh Sherman – 1

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