Wolf sophomore Chance Kleinfelter busted free for a 14-yard TD run on his first varsity carry Friday night as CHS pounded Chimacum 57-14. (John Fisken photos)
JR Pendergrass hauled down the Cowboy QB for a safety.
There were no Friday Night Lights, just one bright shining star to light up the sky.
Running wild in the daytime Friday afternoon (kickoff was a painfully early 3 PM), Josh Bayne amassed 400 total yards and six touchdowns, powering the Coupeville High School football team to a 57-14 decimation of host Chimacum.
The win snapped a two-game skid for the Wolves, lifting them to 4-3 overall, 3-2 in Olympic League play.
It also guaranteed them a straight-up battle for a playoff spot in six days.
With Port Townsend shredding host Klahowya 27-9 in a late game Friday, the Redhawks clinched at least a tie for the league title.
Port Townsend (5-2, 4-1) will close out league play with a rivalry game against Chimacum (0-7, 0-5) Oct. 24. Coupeville will host Klahowya (3-4, 3-2) the same night, as the Wolves celebrate Homecoming.
Barring an epic upset by Chimacum, the Coupeville/Klahowya grudge match will be for the league’s #2 playoff berth.
The Wolves put themselves into position to play for a playoff berth by reigniting their running attack.
After being shut down a week earlier by Port Townsend, they shredded every last bit of resistance Chimacum could muster, rolling up 528 yards on the ground.
Bayne went for 306 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries, while Wiley Hesselgrave pounded off tackle for another 111.
With the rushing attack working so well, Wolf quarterback Joel Walstad, still a bit gimpy as he recovers from a hip pointer, wasn’t asked to carry a huge burden.
When he did throw, though, he did it with precision, completing six passes for 111 yards.
Half of Walstad’s completions went for touchdowns, with Bayne hauling in all three scoring strikes, with the longest a 33-yard catch-and-run.
With 306 yards on the ground, 64 through the air and 30 on a kickoff return, Bayne hit the magic 400-yard mark right on the head.
Hesselgrave and sophomore Chance Kleinfelter joined Bayne in reaching the end zone, with Kleinfelter turning his first varsity rushing attempt into a 14-yard TD run.
The game was relatively close in the first half, with Coupeville up 21-6 at the break.
After that, it was all Wolves, all the time, as they poured it on with a 36-point second half that included a fourth-quarter safety from JR Pendergrass.
The CHS defense was lights-out for much of the game, with Pendergrass, Matt Shank and Aaron Wright recording sacks and CJ Smith picking off a pass.
Hesselgrave was a beast on the defensive side, collecting 10 tackles and three assists, while Bayne snagged eight tackles.
Shank (5), Wright (5), Hunter Smith (5), Jacob Martin (4), Dominic Dausey (3) and Mitchell Carroll (3) all stepped up as well.
With top receiver Ryan Griggs slowed by an injury, Walstad picked up a few new targets.
Carroll and Cameron Toomey-Stout both hauled in 12-yard passes to back up Bayne (3-64) and Hesselgrave (1-23).
With the running game clicking at all times, Coupeville almost had three backs hit 100 yards.
Sophomore Jacob Martin cruised to 80 yards on seven carries to back up Bayne and Hesselgrave.
Walstad (1-15), Kleinfelter (1-14) and Mitchell Losey (3-2) chipped in.
All total Coupeville rolled up 705 all-purpose yards (528 run, 111 pass, 66 return).
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