Playing in a Coupeville uniform for the first time since 8th grade, Caleb Meyer came up huge in an epic win over Oak Harbor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
They could have broken.
In other seasons, they probably would have broken.
But not this team, not this year.
Kicking off a new campaign with a bang, the Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball squad withstood a gut-wrenching 12-0 run by visiting Oak Harbor at the start of the third quarter Wednesday, then roared back to stun its visitors.
With multiple Wolves dropping haymakers in front of the largest crowd to cram the CHS gym in likely a decade, Coupeville came all the way back to stuff their next-door neighbors 70-64.
Which means that yes, a lil’ 2B school just spanked a much-larger 3A program, and the Wildcats are never going to hear the end of it.
Last time this happened, when Ian Smith and Hunter Hammer were running wild in Wolf uniforms, Oak Harbor didn’t play Coupeville on the hardwood again for nearly 10 seasons.
In the crowd Wednesday, all the first-graders from Wolf Nation could be heard yelling, “We’ve got next!,” while everyone else hopes OHHS officials are willing to lick their wounds and keep the renewed rivalry going.
Three years ago, when this year’s Coupeville seniors were freshmen, the two schools met for the first time in forever, and the Wildcats ran away with a lopsided win.
The next year, Oak Harbor escaped with a two-point win in overtime, then Covid erased all non-conference games last season.
Enter senior season for Xavier Murdy, Grady Rickner, Logan Martin, and Hawthorne Wolfe, the one CHS player to be on the floor for that 2018 varsity loss.
Oh yes, and add one more senior to that group, with the return of Caleb Meyer, who departed Coupeville after 8th grade, and returned Wednesday to drive a stake through the heart of Oak Harbor fans.
The curly-haired lil’ kid who once hung out at his grandmother’s movie mecca, Videoville, is now a curly-haired man, though still with a grin as big as any.
Back on the floor with the guys he grew up with, Meyer shot off the bench like a rocket unleashed during pre-game introductions, then did much of his team’s ball-handling, holding up extremely well under heavy pressure from the Wildcats.
But what will be remembered most is his play in the fourth quarter, as he pumped in 13 of his team-high 19 points, including 11 in a game-busting 13-3 run.
Having survived Oak Harbor’s third-quarter surge, thanks to a collection of big shots from ice-water-in-his-veins sophomore Logan Downes, the Wolves trailed 50-45 heading into the final frame.
That was better than 43-33 after the Wildcats hit four consecutive three-balls coming out of the halftime break, but there was still work to be done.
Perfect time for a little teleplay I like to call Caleb Meyer: Man of Destiny.
A three-point play the hard way, set up by an Xavier Murdy dish.
A runner in the paint, the ball arcing and dropping from the heavens.
A steal and breakaway.
Toss in four free throws, as Meyer was lights-out at the charity stripe all night, and Oak Harbor had little answer for the rampaging Wolf.
The few times the ball left his hands, Coupeville still hit pay-dirt, with Alex Murdy, Xavier Murdy, and Downes draining key buckets, and a banged-up Wolfe swishing key free throws in the waning moments.
The crowd, which mostly listened to CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith and kept its collective face masks pulled up, was bonkers, especially when Oak Harbor melted down, its coaching staff earning a game-capping technical foul for backtalk.
Though the mere fact the refs could hear the sass over the roar of the crowd was sort of amazing.
The furious finale, with Coupeville closing on a 25-14 run in the fourth, capped a thrilling brawl between two teams who brought everything they had to the floor.
Wolfe airmailed home a pair of three-balls in the opening quarter, with Xavier Murdy hitting one of his own, though Oak Harbor clung to a 16-15 lead headed to the break.
Coupeville flipped the script in the second frame, forcing a 31-31 tie at the half by closing on a 10-5 tear.
Meyer dropped in six of those points, with one bucket coming after Xavier Murdy made a phenomenal save on a ball headed out of bounds.
Several Oak Harbor players in the vicinity screeched to a halt, only to see X-Man hurtle past them, bound towards the back wall, and somehow redirect the ball in the millisecond before he crashed out of bounds.
Wolf sophomore Cole White was maybe a little less awe-inspiring, yet still came up almost as big in the moment, stealing the ball away as the ‘Cats stormed down court in a bid to break the tie right before the buzzer.
Riding the wave of excitement, the Wolves opened the third quarter with Meyer drawing a charge on an out-of-control foe, before Wolfe got electric, tip-toeing through the paint for a dipsy-do bucket.
And then disaster struck.
One, two, three, four times, the ball went airborne and Oak Harbor found nothing but the bottom of the net.
The home section of the crowd was stunned. The refs were even a little stunned.
The overflow Wildcat student section was, appropriately, loud ‘n proud.
Though no worries, as by night’s end, they had a whole lot less to be happy about.
But you know who wasn’t stunned? The Wolf players.
Huddled around coach Brad Sherman, Coupeville’s hardwood heroes all showed the same body language.
Heads were up. Ears were open. No pouting, no panic.
Hitting the floor with the same intensity they had before the tsunami hit, the Wolves kept coming.
Downes dropped a trey from the right side, then swished another from the left side just to even things out, before slapping home a layup off of an Xavier Murdy steal.
X-Man swished his own runner in the paint, then Alex Murdy nailed a turnaround jumper, sending their 10,837 family members in the stands into delirium.
That set up the sweet finale, and while 1-0 is just a start for a team with big dreams, it was more than enough to bring a smile to Sherman’s face.
“That was nice. Very nice. A true team win.”
A perfect choice of words, as the scorebook revealed.
While Oak Harbor senior Gage McLeod led all scorers with 21 points, it was Coupeville’s balanced attack which carried the day.
Meyer finished with 19, as four Wolves finished with double-digit scoring.
Wolfe rattled the rims for 16, moving from #24 to #21 on the CHS boys career scoring chart.
With 680 points and counting, he passes Coupeville hoops legends Foster Faris (668), Virgil Roehl (674), and Gavin Keohane (677), and moves within eight points of catching Chris Good (688).
The same Good who once ran the floor alongside Wolfe’s current coach, Sherman.
The circle of life, forever playing out across 105 seasons of CHS basketball.
Downes banked in 14 Wednesday, Xavier Murdy knocked down 11, while Grady Rickner and Alex Murdy rounded out the attack with five points each.
Coupeville got big performances from everyone on the floor, with White showing off nimble fingers on defense, and Logan Martin hitting the boards with intensity.
Meanwhile, Dominic Coffman, Jonathan Valenzuela, and Zane Oldenstadt kept the Wolf bench rockin’ as their teammates etched a win for the ages.
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