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Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

Tenino troubles, Coupeville camp-less

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on July 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville football players continue to put in summer work but won’t be going to a scheduled camp. (Nikki Breaux photos)

A resignation at another school has put a wrinkle in the summer schedule for Coupeville High School football.

The Wolves were slated to hit the road July 20-22, returning to Tenino’s annual summer camp, held on its famed black gridiron.

But things went sideways late last week, when the Beavers lost head coach Cary Nagel and most of his staff.

That has led Tenino to cancel the camp, as it scrambles to find a football staff five weeks out from the start of practice for a new season.

Nagel, a Shelton alum who previously coached at his alma mater and Franklin Pierce, has been in charge at Tenino for six years.

During that time, he turned around a program mired in mediocrity, with the Beavers going 10-2 and 9-2 the past two seasons.

Under Nagel’s leadership, Tenino captured its first league title since 2013, and has back-to-back state tourney appearances.

His 2021 squad won a game at the big dance, the first time the Beavers gridiron squad has achieved that since 1986.

In an interview with The Chronicle, a newspaper based in Centralia, Nagel said his resignation was due to “a series of circumstances the past few months.”

“After talking with my family and my close circle, it was time to close the chapter in Tenino,” he said. “Take a deep breath and move on to something else in the future.”

The Wolves rumble on the black turf in Tenino last year.

Coupeville coaches, coming off their own triumphant season, are scrambling to find something to replace the camp.

That could be something involving other schools, or a team-only event, depending on how things develop.

The Wolves had a very strong team-wide performance at last year’s Tenino camp, and that carried over to the season, when they went 7-2 for first-year head coach Bennett Richter.

Coupeville won its first league title since 1990, then hosted Onalaska at Oak Harbor in the first state playoff game for the CHS football program in 32 years.

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Wolf grad plays in All-State gridiron game

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on June 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Wolf alumni Dominic Coffman hangs out with Grandma Saturday at the Earl Barden Classic in Yakima. (Photo courtesy Brent Coffman)

Coupeville represented in the Eastern heat.

On a sunny Saturday where temps in Yakima crested into the mid-80’s, recent Wolf grad Dominic Coffman participated in the Earl Barden Classic.

The game is an annual all-star event for senior football players from classes 1B, 2B, 1A, and 2A.

In what was termed as “the hardest-fought game in the history of this football game” by event organizers, the East pulled out an 8-6 win in overtime.

Coffman, the Northwest 2B/1B League Offensive MVP during his final season at CHS, had two carries as a running back for the West team.

He also recorded five tackles, delivering several big hits, while “locking up my whole right side on defense.”

The game was scoreless after four quarters of play, with each team having a potential touchdown waved off by antsy refs.

In overtime, the East scored when Kaleb Hernandez of Royal shot in from three yards out, then added a two-point conversion run.

The West put points on the board with a one-yard plunge by Montesano quarterback Jaden McElravy.

Its two-point conversion failed, however, as the East swarmed Mount Baker running back Marcques George right in front of the goal line.

It was the fifth-straight win for the East, which was led by defensive MVP Jaden Radke of Okanogan.

Playing with the big boys. (Photo courtesy Brent Coffman)

By playing in the all-star game, Coffman follows in the footsteps of former Coupeville greats such as Mike Bagby (2006), Josh Bayne (2015), and Ryan Labrador (2019).

He was one of only two players selected from this region, joining Adriaan Castro of 2A Anacortes.

Coffman, a First-Team All-League pick on both sides of the ball, scored a team-high 14 touchdowns during his senior season.

Picking up most of his yards as a rusher after first slamming into, and knocking over would-be tacklers, he helped the Wolves tie the program record for most TD’s on the ground (26), first set back in 2014.

Coupeville went 7-2, won its first league title since 1990, and advanced to the state playoffs for the first time in 32 years under first-year head coach Bennett Richter.

Dominic Coffman rumbles in prime time. (Photo property Tommy Wolf/Lit Media Productions)

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Former Wolf coach rips up gridiron

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on June 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Kwamane Bowens, a fashion icon who can also de-cleat you on the gridiron. (Photo courtesy Bowens)

Don’t hurt ’em, Kwamane!

Whoops, too late.

Former Coupeville High School football coach Kwamane Bowens is pulling double duty these days, working with a new generation of gridiron stars in Anacortes, while still bringing the thunder on the field.

Bowens, who is also finding time to get married, achieve academic excellence, and drop fresh music at a dizzying rate as Groovie Mane, pulls on the pads for the Everett Royals semi-pro squad.

The former NCAA D-I scholarship player leads his current team in tackles, having rung up 20 through the first three games of the season.

The Royals, who also have former Coupeville QB Dawson Houston on their roster, sit in first place in the Impact Eastern Conference of the Gridiron Developmental Football League.

Everett (2-1) returns to the field this coming Saturday, June 24 to host the Wenatchee Valley Storm, who are 0-3.

The Royals have found a great deal of success on the defensive side of the field, with Bowens and Co. holding their foes to a combined 28 points.

The other three squads in their division have all surrendered 60 or more points.

Bowens has played strongly in all three games, recording a season-high nine tackles against the Seattle Seminoles.

A Coupeville student in his younger days, the multi-threat talent returned to Cow Town after his college playing days, working as an assistant to head coach Marcus Carr.

Among the players Bowens helped train is Wolf grad Sean Toomey-Stout, currently playing for the University of Washington.

The football lifer was an assistant coach at Anacortes High School this past fall, helping guide a Seahawk team which went 9-2, falling 10-7 in a state quarterfinal nailbiter to eventual 2A runner-up North Kitsap.

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Two kingdoms, one queen

Posted in Football, Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on June 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School coaches Bennett and Megan Richter await the arrival of the progeny. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Maybe this one I really will get to call “The Chosen One.”

When Coupeville High School girls’ basketball coach (and three-time CHS Female Athlete of the Year) Megan Smith wed Wolf football guru Bennett Richter, two empires united.

And now, unto to CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith, AKA “Pops,” shall be born another grandchild who will one day be a standout Coupeville athlete.

So it is written.

For those following along, news of an impending baby swept through Cow Town, and now, the answer to the question proffered by every Wolf athlete.

Shall it be a boy or shall it be a girl?

To the delight of most of the CHS girls’ basketball team, it shall be a girl.

 

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Husky Stadium nabs state title football games

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on June 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Win big this fall and Wolves (l to r) William Davidson, Zane Oldenstadt, and Logan Downes can close their CHS careers on a big stage. (Michelle Glass photo)

Washington state’s most important high school football games are getting a big stage.

For one year, at least.

After using a mix of sites in recent years, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has signed a one-year deal with the University of Washington.

That puts all six WIAA state title football games at Husky Stadium this fall.

“Gridiron Classic” goes down Dec. 1-2, with three games on both days.

Kickoff is set for 11 AM, 3 PM, and 7 PM, with 1B, 1A, and 3A playing Friday, and 2B, 2A, and 4A taking the field Saturday.

For Coupeville fans, Saturday’s opener is the one where they hope to be front and center.

Moving all the title games back to one location is an embrace of the past.

When the Kingdome was still standing, teams aimed for an appearance at “Kingbowl” between 1977 and 1994.

The event moved to the Tacoma Dome in 1995, where it ran under the name “Gridiron Classic” until 2018.

At the time, the WIAA cited “rising costs and sagging attendance” for abandoning the joint.

Though, there was also considerable blowback from fans, coaches, and players after Tacoma Dome renovations wrecked sightlines for football in the building.

The WIAA went to a format of two games each at three Pierce County high schools after that, with tepid response from all concerned.

Now, in a one-year trial, it’s Husky Stadium or bust for championship-hungry gridiron teams.

After that, the WIAA will solicit bids for its next five-year cycle (2024-2028).

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