The destroyer of souls, the one-man wrecking crew … Joel Walstad. (John Fisken photo)
On a night that ended in cold and fog, Joel Walstad burned brightly.
Throwing for three touchdowns, running for another one and picking off two passes while playing defense, the Coupeville High School junior led the Wolf JV football team to a resounding 40-14 thrashing of visiting Granite Falls Monday.
Controlling the flow of the game whether at quarterback or patrolling the secondary, Walstad was electric, teaming up with Anthony Bergeron to bust open a close game early in the second quarter.
By the time they were done, both teams could have walked away and let the fans and cheerleaders go home and warm up a bit earlier without changing much about the final score.
After trading early touchdowns (the Wolves hit first on a short scoring run up the gut from freshman Jacob Martin, who tore off several impressive long runs in the game), Coupeville lit up the scoreboard in a short span of time.
Walstad shredded the Tiger defense for three scores through the air, hitting Bergeron and Cole Payne with scoring strikes, then unloading the knockout punch. Running to his left, he dropped a pass over the defense and hit Bergeron in mid-stride, as the duo ripped off an 80-yard scoring play.
That touchdown came one play after Walstad picked off the rival Granite Falls quarterback in the end zone to blunt the Tiger’s best chance at staging a comeback.
After that, a stifling defense just got hotter, with Xavier Clark stomping through the backfield and manhandling anyone in his way.
Desperate for a big play of their own, the Tigers went repeatedly to the air, only to have Wolf frosh Steven Cope step in front of one of the passes.
Momentarily surprised to see the ball in his hands, he then kicked it into another gear, out-sprinting a pack of Granite Falls players as he hauled butt 75 yards down the sideline for a touchdown of his own.
Up 34-6 at the half and with the loyal fans starting to blow serious steam as the air got crisper, Coupeville tried to keep the clock running, but couldn’t help itself from coming up with a few more defensive gems.
Walstad snagged his second interception, while two other Wolves came close.
Raymond Beiriger had a pick pop out of his hands at the last second and Payne actually made off with one only to lose it when a teammate was called for a penalty.
It was Payne’s second near-miss of the night, as he came within about two inches of hauling in a spectacular one-handed airborne interception early in the game that made announcer Caleb Valko hyperventilate in the booth.
Capping the night, freshman Uriel Liquidano snagged a fumble recovery, and then big brother Oscar, a starting lineman for the CHS varsity who was running the clock upstairs, punched the horn and the stands emptied as the rush was on to find some warmth in the parking lot.
Except for JV coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh who, working the shorts and impervious to weather of any kind, strode up and down the sideline, a huge grin on his face. Cold or no cold, he was taking a moment to bask in the afterglow.
Coupeville Sports 