Coupeville Sports

Jake Tumblin

Back where he belongs.

After missing most of the first two games of his senior season with an injured hamstring, Coupeville High School’s top offensive weapon, wing Jake Tumblin, returned to full-on ball-carrying duty Friday night, rambling for 125 yards on 12 carries.

For a team hampered by wide-spread injuries, it was a beautiful sight.

It wasn’t quite enough to lift the Wolves to a second win, however, as a plucky Lynden Christian defense held off their hosts and escaped with a razor-thin 13-6 non-conference victory.

The loss dropped Coupeville to 1-2 on the season, but was a marked improvement from the previous week, when it was stomped by Port Townsend.

The Wolves finish their non-league games with a trip to Nooksack Valley Friday, Sept. 27, then have a bye week before starting a four-game run against Cascade Conference foes with a game at Granite Falls.

Coupeville’s next home game is not until Oct. 18, when it hosts South Whidbey (currently 3-0) for Homecoming.

Missing starting center Carson Risner (out with a possible torn ACL) and starting quarterback Gunnar Langvold (knee), the Wolves struggled to ignite on offense in the first half.

“We had some troubles in our red zone early with snaps and turnovers, really hurt us,” said CHS coach Tony Maggio. “Jake did a nice job rushing, but we are still having the dropped ball blues, both on defense for interceptions and on offense.

“We played very hard on defense, but are having trouble figuring it out on offense.”

Coupeville finally broke through when backup QB Josh Bayne plunged in from the one-yard line on a quarterback sneak in the third quarter.

Trailing 7-0 at the time, Coupeville had a chance to tie, but missed the extra point.

The visiting Lyncs (2-1), who scored their opening touchdown on a 12-yard pass play, then capped the scoring when Jordan Jansen busted loose for a 53-yard run to the promised land.

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Wolf QB Josh Bayne fights for extra yards in a game against Port Townsend. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

It’s official. No football in week five.

Friday, Oct. 4 will be a bye week for the Coupeville High School football squad, after the school was unable to find an opponent to play a non-conference game against that week.

CHS had to scramble after its original opponent in that slot backed out of the game, leaving an opening on the schedule. Administrators came close to finding a replacement, but were unable to nail down a game in the end, as most other schools had their schedules set.

The Wolves will play non-conference foes the next two weeks (hosting Lynden Christian Sept. 20, then traveling to Nooksack Valley Sept. 27). Then, after the bye, they will start a four-game stretch against fellow Cascade Conference teams with a road game at Granite Falls Oct. 11.

Playing in the second-year of a two-year plan to ease pressure on an undermanned squad, Coupeville, the smallest 1A school in the 1A/2A league, is playing fellow 1A schools South Whidbey and King’s and the two smallest 2A squads — Granite Falls and Sultan.

The Wolves will not play the biggest conference schools — Cedarcrest and Lakewood — or the league’s football factory, Archbishop Thomas Murphy, this season.

Without the built-in ease of having a full conference schedule, CHS had to work extra hard to find far more non-conference games than normal.

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Matt Kelley (18) takes a breather after another big run. (Pat Kelley photos)

Jake Mitten is ready to go.

Sage Downes prepares for battle.

“Any of those opposing players rough up my Coupeville boys, and I’m coming over there!!”

The Coupeville connection continues to pay off.

Bolstered by their Whidbey warriors, the Anacortes Midget Sea Hawks football squad improved to 3-0 with a win over Burlington that wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.

While 32-28 sounds like a nail-biter, Burlington scored twice in the final six minutes against the second-string Anacortes defense to tighten things up. Until then, it was all Sea Hawks all the time.

The Wolf trio of Matt Kelley, Sage Downes and Jake Mitten all made their impact felt, with Kelley scoring a dramatic touchdown. Wearing bright red shoes that made him stand out, Kelley shed five tacklers on his way to a 28-yard scoring romp down the right side right before halftime.

Downs busted out three runs of plus-15 yards himself, setting up a Sea Hawks score when he plunged to the one-yard line, while Mitten laid down key blocks from his tight end position.

Cameron Berow paced Anacortes with two touchdowns, while Brock Illston and Kelley each popped for another. Gaige Berow converted four two-point PATs.

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