Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

Shootin’ for the record books!!

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , , on May 30, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Wolf QB Hunter Downes, seen here last spring, is gunning for several career school marks. (John Fisken photos)

Hunter Smith, his primary target, also has his eye on busting records.

   Downes (his noggin protected from the blazing sun) strikes a pose at football camp last weekend. (Photo courtesy Downes)

The man in black (pants) fled into the record books, and the gunslinger followed.

As he prepares for his senior season, Coupeville High School quarterback Hunter Downes, the gunslinger in this story, is hot on the trail of his school’s QB records.

The man he’s pursuing is the guy helping shape him, Wolf offensive coordinator Brad Sherman, who threw for 3,613 yards and 33 touchdowns before graduating in 2003.

Downes, who opened spring practices with his teammates Tuesday, spent last weekend in Everett at a USA Football regional development camp.

The camp allows high school players to work on their skills and techniques with current NCAA coaches while also putting them in a pool for possible inclusion on the U.S. national team.

After missing all but two games of his sophomore year with an injury, Downes put up one of the best seasons in CHS history as a junior.

He threw for 1,569 yards and 17 touchdowns, missing the school’s single-season TD mark (18 by Joel Walstad in 2014) by a hair.

Downes did tie the school’s single-game TD record, dropping four against a tough Bellevue Christian defense on the road while playing on a slippery, rain-splattered turf.

That equaled a mark set by Wolf legend Corey Cross in 1971, and tied by Sherman in 2001.

With his precision passing, Downes helped his #1 target, fellow junior Hunter Smith, set school single-season records with 916 yards and 11 touchdown receptions.

The duo are ankling to shred the record board this fall, when they kick off their senior campaign Sept. 1 on the road against South Whidbey.

Downes, who has 1,841 yards and 18 TD’s in a little over a season of action, needs 1,773 yards and 16 TD’s as a senior to top Sherman’s career records.

Smith is even closer, with 1,335 yards and 13 TD’s in two seasons as a receiver.

He trails Chad Gale (1,345 and 17) by just 10 yards and four scores, while also needing three interceptions (he has 10 in his career) to pass Josh Bayne’s CHS career mark of 12.

Read Full Post »

CHS coaching carousel madly spinning!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, Football, Girls Soccer, tagged , , , , on May 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Clockwise, from left, are Kyle Nelson, Michael Golden and Jerry Helm.

Everything’s beginning to fall into place.

While nothing is 100% set in stone until the school board approves the hirings, Coupeville High School Athletic Director Willie Smith is rapidly filling open coaching positions.

On the heels of Emily Stevens and Amanda Jones being offered cheer coaching positions — https://coupevillesports.com/2017/05/11/alumni-return-to-coach-chs-cheer/ — CHS has tabbed new assistant football coaches and a new girls head soccer coach.

Jerry Helm and Michael Golden will join second-year man Brad Sherman as assistants to Wolf gridiron coach Jon Atkins.

Meanwhile, Kyle Nelson will pull double duty, adding the girls soccer squad to his duties with the Wolf boys.

Nelson joins CHS tennis coach Ken Stange as the only coaches to be in charge of two varsity programs at the school.

Approval of all five hires are on the agenda for Monday’s school board meeting.

Coaching jobs still open include high school boys basketball (head and assistant coach), high school volleyball (assistant coach) and middle school girls basketball (head coach).

Nelson, who replaces Troy Cowan, has been the Wolf boys head soccer coach since 2014.

He inherits a girls team which went 8-7-1 last season and should return a solid core in Mia Littlejohn, Sage Renninger, Kalia Littlejohn and Lindsey Roberts.

Helm is CHS royalty, a four-sport star in his time in the red and black before graduating in 1998. He is a captain with Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue.

To find out more about his story, check out this “Where Are They Now?” piece I wrote a few years back:

On the track or at work, Jerry Helm blazes a successful path!!

Of the new hires, Golden is the one most in need of an introduction.

A native of Alabama, where he played and coached football, he moved his family to Whidbey last fall to bring his startup — http://wolf-tek.com/ — closer to the bustling West Coast tech community.

Golden’s wife Laura is a published author who works with Random House, and they have two sons, Cade and Tanner.

Both are following their dad, but in different ways.

Cade, who trains with Seahawks QB Jake Heaps, “is a lover of all things football and carries a football everywhere,” while Tanner is “a young tech genius who’s already writing software code and likes to write like his mother.”

Golden grew up in Pell City, Alabama, following a family tradition which saw his grandfather, dad and brother all embrace gridiron life in a state which loves football and then some.

“I’ve always had a passion for football at a very young age and carried a football everywhere I went until I was 30,” Golden said.

He was a QB for Pell City from 1991-1993, and continued playing for local teams while focusing on academics while in college at Gadsden State and Auburn University.

While playing in the Birmingham Metro League, Golden got the coaching bug, which has carried him through highly-successful stints with little league, middle school and high school teams.

That included a ten-year run with Pell City, a 6A high school which went to the playoffs every year.

His love of football and technology have always meshed well.

“I love studying plays and trying to figure out how to outsmart our opponents,” Golden said. “I look at myself more as a football engineer or architect.

“I believe in ‘build the offense or defense around your team, not the team around the offense or defense’.”

Golden also believes in putting in the work, both as players and coaches.

“I truly believe fundamentals and correct techniques are the success of any championship program,” he said. “I also believe in having fun and being a good role model for the kids.

“I want to help kids not only be successful on the field but also be good students in the classroom.”

While he and his family have only been in Coupeville for a relatively short time, they’ve already come to love their new home.

“Last year I coached with the locally famous Bob Martin on the middle school team,” Golden said. “Bob is one of the best coaches I’ve worked with and I truly appreciate all his hard work.

“I really appreciate the warm welcome this lovely town has given us over the last year,” he added. “We truly appreciate being here and can’t wait to get more involved in the community.”

Read Full Post »

New game, same success!!

Posted in Boys Soccer, Football, tagged , , , , on March 16, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Josh Robinson hangs out with big sis Rebecca after a CHS football game. (Photo courtesy Robinson)

It’s a nice trade-off.

When Josh Robinson joined the Coupeville High School boys soccer squad, the booters gained an imposing presence to plug into their defensive backfield, while the Wolf sophomore found a way to improve his speed for football.

A two-way lineman for the CHS gridiron squad, he’s one of a number of first-time players who have made a solid contribution in the opening soccer games — a tie with 2A Olympic and a league win over Chimacum.

“This is the first year I’ve played soccer; I started this year, because my friends encouraged me to, and I wanted to get faster,” Robinson said. “I enjoy how quickly the game moves, and how fast it changes.”

As he learns the game under the tutelage of coaches Kyle Nelson and Gary Manker, Robinson is adapting quickly.

“I think I am decent at defense, but am relatively new to the sport, and am still working on my ball handling skills,” Robinson said.  “I’m hoping to get better at the sport, and increase my speed and agility.”

While football came first, at least at the high school level, soccer is catching up fast for a guy who’s also a rock-solid student who stars for the school’s Science Olympiad squad.

“I’m not sure yet if I have a favorite,” Robinson said. “I enjoy how physical football is, and like the game play, but soccer is enjoyable too.”

A big fan of Forrest Gump and the Fast and Furious franchise, he can often be found in the shop working on cars.

Regardless of the sport or activity, Robinson is like a sponge, picking up lessons from everyone he comes into contact with.

“All of my coaches have definitely had a big impact on me, as well all of my teammates, who constantly push me to do better.”

Read Full Post »

Wolf Nation, help one of our own!!

Posted in Football, Fundraisers, tagged , , , , on March 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Bord Langvold

Bord Langvold

Former Coupeville High School quarterback Gunnar Langvold’s father has passed away, and his family needs help with funeral expenses.

Bord Langvold, a longtime employee of the Washington State Ferry system, died Tuesday after years of battling debilitating medical conditions.

He had been medically unable to work since 2013, which put a financial strain on the family.

Gunnar, a two-year starter under center at CHS, is one of my personal favorites.

When I wasn’t covering his games or listening to his wild rambling tales, we worked together in the dish pits at Christopher’s on Whidbey.

I knew his dad for many years, as well, as Bord frequently haunted Videoville during my lazy, hazy video store years.

For more info, and a chance to help Gunnar and his family, pop over to:

https://www.gofundme.com/burial-assistance-for-bord-langvold

Read Full Post »

Falcon football seeks stability!!

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on February 22, 2017| 1 Comment »

Highly-respected coach Mark Hodson is returning to lead South Whidbey's gridiron program after a three-year absence. (Photo poached from Hodson's Facebook)

   Highly-respected coach Mark Hodson is returning to lead South Whidbey’s gridiron program after a three-year absence.

South Whidbey football is returning to its roots as it rebuilds.

Former head coach Mark Hodson, who helped lead the Falcons for more than a decade, will be back at the helm next season.

He replaces Michael Coe, who resigned after posting a 1-18 mark in two years at SWHS.

Hodson will be the third head coach in four seasons, as former college coach Chris Tormey, who preceded Coe, only hung around for one 2-8 season before heading to the Canadian Football League.

South Whidbey, which hosts Coupeville in its season opener Sept. 1, has been a program in turmoil recently.

The Falcons went as low as 14 active varsity players at times last season, which forced it to be the first in a line of teams that forfeited to eventual 2A state champ Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

SWHS has now taken an indefinite leave of absence from the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and will play an independent schedule in 2017.

Hodson, who was the league’s coach of the year in 2007, helped lead the Falcon program for 14 seasons before resigning in 2014.

Some of that time involved working with Andy Davis as a co-coach.

The quick turnover in the last three years has been unusual for South Whidbey.

Prior to Hodson taking the Falcon job in 2001, SWHS had gotten a 19-year run from Mick Heggenes and a 30-year stint from coaching legend Jim Leirer.

Hodson played high school football at King’s, then went on to be a member of the 1987 Pacific Lutheran University squad which won a national championship.

He coached at several colleges before settling in as a teacher and coach in Langley.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »