Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor tons of mud will stop the Wolves from ransacking the Cascade Conference in 2012.
Where’s the beef?
It’s right there on the field for the Coupeville High School football squad, which will roll out a well-muscled front five — led by Anthony Maggio, Nick Streubel and Caleb Valko — who tip the scales at 1,300 pounds of ground-shaking, hole-opening, game-busting controlled fury. With a group of fleet-footed backs and receivers operating behind them in a revved-up version of the wing-t, the hope is to catch their opponents by surprise, roll right over them and then never look back.
A member of the coaching staff that brought Oak Harbor a 4A state title in 2006, first-year Wolf coach Tony Maggio has installed an offense that will offer a wicked mix of pass and run. Even more, he has worked hard to install confidence back in a program that has struggled against much-bigger schools in recent years.
“I want my players to learn how to win, feel what it is like to be competitive every week,” Tony Maggio said. “My goal is to win every game, but also to have short memories if we fall short.
“I hope every player feels like he is part of something special, and that none of the coaches are going to give them anything less then our best,” he added.
With the Cascade Conference agreeing to ease up a bit on Coupeville, small by Class A standards, allowing them to avoid scheduling the three biggest schools — Archbishop Thomas Murphy, Lakewood and Cedarcrest — in a league dominated by large AA schools, the Wolves will face schools much closer to their own size this season. Coupeville will play five non-conference games and then square off with Granite Falls, Sultan, King’s and arch-rival South Whidbey.
“Definitely evens the playing field some; with more wins for CHS, more kids will start becoming excited about what we are doing,” Tony Maggio said. “I compare it to running a race versus Usain Bolt at every meet. We may be fast runners, but eventually we may get sick of the end result. Now we show up to race, no Usain Bolt, and everyone is about the same speed and we actually become faster and better, all because now we have confidence.”
The hope is to keep more bodies on the field, as well. Facing schools which fielded rosters that were twice as large, and comprised almost entirely of juniors and seniors who had put in years in the weight room, a very young Coupeville squad suffered a rash of injuries last year which prevented them from fielding a JV team or playing a final scheduled varsity game.
“I am committed to making a JV team possible this year” Tony Maggio said. “If we have to have every junior come down and play a bit to make that happen, then so be it. We owe it to these young kids who are putting in the work to get rewarded with game time.”
Maggio expects his roster to eventually settle at around 38 players, with the early start of practice (the Wolves kicked off two-a-day practices Wednesday, Aug. 15 to be ready for a road opener at Bellevue Christian Thursday, Aug. 30) likely to leave them several players short at first.
The Wolves boast a wide selection of players capable of making an impact with the ball in their hands, led by junior Jake Tumblin, who will move from quarterback to wing to take advantage of his speed. He will share time there with Bryce Fleming, Josh Bayne and Jared Dickson, while Brett Arnold and Danny Savalza will carry the load at fullback.
Korbin Korzan and Gunnar Langvold are battling to take Tumblin’s old position as the team’s signal caller and whomever wins the battle will likely find Wade Schaef and Kole Kellison manning the receiver positions. Paul Schmakeit and Aaron Wright will see time at tight end, rounding out the skill players who will benefit from operating behind a line anchored by the big three.
Anthony Maggio, an All-League pick at nose tackle last season, Struebel and Valko will be at the forefront of the team’s defensive line, as well. On a small team, there is no rest for the talented.
“We are a small school. We don’t play normal football — we play iron man ball,” Valko said. “The only reason the backs and quarterbacks get glory is because we linemen do the dirty work. The stuff that nobody sees or wants to do. Without us, you can’t win games. It’s simply not possible.”
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