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Ryanne Knoblich filled up the stat sheet Tuesday in a big road win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Rested, and ready to savage anyone in their way.

After some down time, including a rare weekend off during Homecoming festivities, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball team returned to action Tuesday night.

And the Wolves marked the occasion in style, routing host Friday Harbor in straight sets.

Cruising to a 25-6, 25-13, 25-9 victory, Coupeville improves to 4-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-2 overall.

Next up is a good test of where the Wolves are, as they’ll host next-door neighbor South Whidbey Thursday in a non-league rumble.

The first time the schools met, in mid-September, the Falcons (6-2) slipped away with a hard-fought four-set win on their home court.

Coupeville’s win Tuesday stretched its winning streak to four matches and drew a nod of approval from coach Cory Whitmore.

“It was a good outing today on the island,” he said. “After a week without a match, we came out strong and focused, ready to go.

“Not only did we hit some goals with aces, but we also limited our errors on the serve and attack,” he added.

“Fun to get back on the game court and we are looking forward to Thursday.”

 

Tuesday stats:

Alita Blouin — 7 digs
Mia Farris
— 9 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces
Maddie Georges
— 1 kill, 4 digs, 24 assists, 7 aces
Taygin Jump
— 1 dig, 1 ace
Ryanne Knoblich
— 6 kills, 2 digs, 3 aces, 1 solo block
Katie Marti
— 1 ace
Madison McMillan
— 1 dig, 2 aces
Grey Peabody
— 8 kills, 1 dig
Jill Prince
— 3 kills
Lyla Stuurmans
— 1 kill, 6 aces

Oktober Frost and the Coupeville JV volleyball team are 6-1 on the season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The layoff didn’t hurt them.

Returning to competition for the first time in a week-plus Tuesday, the Coupeville High School JV volleyball team picked up right where it left off.

Thumping rivals and taking names.

Roaring to a 25-8, 25-8 victory at Friday Harbor, the Wolves ran their winning streak to four matches, improving to 6-1 overall, 4-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play.

Now, it’s a much-smaller gap between matches, with South Whidbey due to come to Coupeville Thursday for a non-conference tilt.

As she headed home on the ferry Tuesday, Wolf JV coach Ashley Menges was in a good mood.

“It was a solid night!” she said. “I was very happy to see that after a whole week off of games, we didn’t miss a beat.

“We got to work on a lot of new things in practice, and you could already see it implemented tonight, which was great to see.”

Coupeville used 10 players in the match, with eight Wolves making the stat sheet, while Carly Burt and Oktober Frost chipped in with hustle and desire.

“All the girls are starting to work on new skills, which I love,” Menges said. “Lots of them working on spot serving and jump floats.

“It was just a really good game to work through new stuff,” she added. “Everyone got to get some court time too, which is always appreciated.”

 

Tuesday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 1 kill, 1 dig, 1 assist, 6 aces
Teagan Calkins — 3 kills, 9 aces
Jada Heaton — 2 kills, 2 aces
Katie Marti — 2 kills, 1 dig, 6 assists, 8 aces
Chloe Marzocca — 1 ace
Madison McMillan — 2 kills, 3 aces
Grier Mooney — 1 assist, 2 aces
Aby Wood — 1 kill

Carolyn Lhamon notched her first goal of the season Tuesday against Friday Harbor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Playoffs? We’re probably not talking about the playoffs.

Despite putting up a strong defensive effort Tuesday, the Coupeville High School girls soccer team fell 4-2 to visiting Friday Harbor.

The loss drops the Wolves to 0-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 1-6 overall.

While Coupeville has plenty still to play for, and a somewhat-easier schedule the rest of the way, Tuesday’s loss all but eliminates it from postseason contention.

Only two NWL girls’ teams make the playoffs, and Mount Vernon Christian (2-0 in conference action) is a state title contender with few weak spots.

Tuesday’s win lifts Friday Harbor to 3-1 in league play and gives it a season sweep of Coupeville.

Even if everything breaks right for the Wolves — sweeping two games from winless La Conner, then pulling off a major upset of MVC, a team they fell 10-0 to earlier this season — the best they can finish is 3-3 in league play.

Friday Harbor can be no worse than 3-3, and owns the tiebreaker, while it would be mindboggling if MVC tumbled from the top spot.

But even without a path to the playoffs, Coupeville has five games left to play — or maybe six, if Sultan is rescheduled — and stacks up well with most of those foes.

Play with the same intensity they brought to the pitch Tuesday, and the Wolves will claim more victories as the season winds down.

CHS struck first in its rumble with Friday Harbor, thanks to a window-rattling free kick off of the foot of Carolyn Lhamon in the 10th minute.

The senior captain curled her shot over a wall of Wolverine players, the ball splashing home in the top left corner of the net.

It was Lhamon’s first goal of the season, and the fourth of her stellar prep career.

Friday Harbor answered right back, though, banging home two scores in a five-minute span.

McKenna Clark tied the game up with a blast from the left side, before freshman Stella Carli alertly knocked in a rebound off of a missed shot which bounced back right to her foot.

While those shots got in, Wolf goaltender Anna Myles was superb in the net, blocking several close-range shots, punching balls away to allow her team a chance to rally.

Anna played her heart out,” said CHS coach Kyle Nelson. “She really did her best to keep us in the game.”

Coupeville forced the game’s second tie in the game’s 18th minute, when Ayden Wyman converted on a penalty kick.

Tripped up and taken down hard as she made a run, the Coupeville sophomore collected her thoughts, then lashed home her team-high fourth score of the year.

That gives Wyman eight goals through 1.5 seasons, tying her with Sophie Martin and Sage Renninger for #6 on the all-time CHS girls scoring chart.

While the teams combined to rattle home four scores in the first 18 minutes, they then went 49 minutes before either team found the back of the net again.

The ultimate tiebreaker came from Stella Carli, slapping in a shot after being awarded a penalty kick after what seemed like a fairly standard rumble in front of the net.

Friday Harbor tacked on an insurance goal with under three minutes to play, with Ava Martin nimbly hauling in a deflection before flicking in a chip shot.

Myles, who twice went to the pitch hard and ended the game limping, stood tall in the net to the end, coming up with several crowd-pleasing saves even as the final seconds ticked away.

Her play, and that of defenders Nezi Keiper, Sophia Broderick, Edie Bittner, Jackie Contreras, and the battlin’ Parker sisters, Skylar and Brynn, deserve a round of applause.

Brynn Parker, looking to get rowdy. (Bailey Thule photo)

Marcelo Gebhard has helped make Coupeville’s line a true strength. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Johnny Porter, who celebrates his 16th birthday today along with twin brother Jack, is third on the team in rushing yards. (Jackie Saia photo)

Teamwork makes the dream work.

The Coupeville High School football squad is off to a red-hot 4-1 start, with its only loss to an undefeated team from a larger classification.

How have the Wolves gotten there? Largely by sharing the load.

Seven guys have scored, while nine have snagged a reception and 10 have carried the ball on the ground.

The numbers are even bigger on defense, with 19 different Wolves having recorded a tackle.

While Coupeville’s players are sharing, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a chance some individual records might fall this season.

Barring a ballistic second-half performance, several of the program’s single season marks seem pretty safe.

Ian Barron (1,753 rushing yards and 16 rushing TDs), Hunter Smith (916 receiving yards), Joe Kelley (142 tackles), and Nick Streubel (10 sacks) aren’t likely to lose their spots on the big board.

You can probably add Ian Smith’s 1,848 passing yards to that list as well, though current QB Logan Downes, with 713 yards and counting, is not out of the race just yet.

The three single season records most in range belong to Joel Walstad (18 passing TDs), Hunter Smith (11 receiving TDs) and the duo of Smith and Dan Nieder (7 interceptions).

Downes has flung nine scoring strikes, twice hitting on three in the same game, while also making off with three picks on defense.

Joining him on the hunt is Tim Ursu, who has hauled in five TDs through the air.

With four regular season tilts left to play, and the very real chance Coupeville will earn at least one playoff game, there’s plenty of opportunity for the Wolves to put some new names on the record board.

 

A look at stats through five games:

 

OFFENSE:

Passing:

Logan Downes — 56-100 for 713 yards with 9 TDs
Chase Anderson — 4-8 for 31 yards with 1 TD

 

Receiving:

Tim Ursu — 20 receptions for 212 yards
Daylon Houston — 11-189
Scott Hilborn — 14-164
Dominic Coffman — 5-83
Hunter Bronec — 4-48
Aiden O’Neill — 1-25
Johnny Porter — 1-14
Cameron Breaux — 1-5
Marquette Cunningham — 1-(-3)

 

Rushing:

Coffman — 55 carries for 396 yards
Hilborn — 35-283
Jo. Porter — 18-107
Ursu — 11-31
O’Neill — 5-17
Jack Porter — 1-8
Anderson — 2-6
Alexander Stinnett — 2-5
Downes — 14-3
Devinion Hill — 1-1

 

Total Yards (Rush/Pass/Rec):

Downes — 716
Coffman — 479
Hilborn — 447
Ursu — 243
Houston — 189
Jo. Porter — 121
Hun. Bronec — 48
O’Neill — 42
Anderson — 37
Ja. Porter — 8
Breaux — 5
Stinnett — 5
Hill — 1

 

All-Purpose Yards (Rush/Rec/KR/PR/IR):

Hilborn — 538
Coffman — 479
Ursu — 464
Houston — 360
Jo. Porter — 121
O’Neill — 49
Hun. Bronec — 48
Downes — 28
Ja. Porter — 8
Anderson — 6
Breaux — 5
Stinnett — 5
Hill — 1

 

Pancake blocks:

William Davidson — 1
Zane Oldenstadt — 1

 

Touchdowns:

Hilborn — 8
Ursu — 8
Coffman — 4
Houston — 2
Jo. Porter — 2
Downes — 1
O’Neill — 1

 

PATs:

Houston — 11
Anderson — 10

 

Field Goals:

Houston — 1

 

Points:

Hilborn — 48
Ursu — 48
Houston — 26
Coffman — 24
Jo. Porter — 12
Anderson — 10
Downes — 6
O’Neill — 6

 

DEFENSE:

Tackles:

Hilborn — 48
Ursu — 40
Kevin Partida — 37
Coffman — 30
Peyton Caveness — 25
Jonathan Valenzuela — 25
Davidson — 20
Downes — 15
Josh Upchurch — 14
Mikey Robinett — 13
Houston — 9
Kai Wong — 8
Marcelo Gebhard — 5
Oldenstadt — 5
O’Neill — 5
Hurlee Bronec — 2
Coen Killian — 2
Anderson — 1
Ja. Porter – 1

 

Tackles For Loss:

Hilborn — 8
Valenzuela — 5
Upchurch — 3
Ursu — 3
Caveness — 2
Coffman — 2
Robinett — 2
Partida — 1

 

Interceptions:

Downes — 3
Hilborn — 1

 

Fumble recoveries:

Caveness — 2
Coffman — 2
Hilborn — 1
Partida — 1
Upchurch — 1
Ursu — 1
Valenzuela — 1

 

Sacks:

Coffman — 2
Hilborn — 1
Robinett — 1
Upchurch — 1
Valenzuela — 1

 

QB Hurries:

Coffman — 4
Davidson — 4
Oldenstadt — 3
Hilborn — 2
Robinett — 1
Wong — 1

 

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Punts:

Downes — 6-218

 

Kickoff returns:

Houston — 4-171
Ursu — 3-120
Hilborn — 2-88
O’Neill — 1-7

 

Punt returns:

Ursu — 5-101
Hilborn — 1-3

Coupeville football is 4-1 and earning the favor of our computer overlords. (Jackie Saia photo)

Movin’ on up.

Coming off of a 35-3 dismantling of league rival Friday Harbor, the Coupeville High School football squad jumps three rungs in the latest computer rankings.

Newman, the often-diabolical computer employed by stats hound Matt Evans on his site, Evans Rankings, has bumped the Wolves from #10 among 2B schools to #7.

Coupeville is a perfect 2-0 against fellow 2B schools this season, with wins over La Conner and Friday Harbor, while going 2-1 against 1A competition.

The Wolves beat Klahowya and Sultan, with their lone defeat coming to South Whidbey, which is 5-0 and also ranked #7 in its classification by Newman.

Next up for CHS is a home non-conference game Thursday against 2A Bellingham, which sits at 2-3 on the season.