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Posts Tagged ‘CHS Wolves’

Great athletes, better people!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on January 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Hall

   Courtney Boyd (left) is joined by (top to bottom) Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil (in purple), super fans Lisa and Eddie and Allen Black.

The three Wolf greats entering the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame today — two honored for their careers, one for creating one of the most memorable moments in school athletic history — all were very good in the arena.

But Courtney Boyd, Allen Black and Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil continue to make an impact every day, and, with six kids between them, are already starting to fill out future rosters (one hopes) for CHS teams to come.

As those children grow, their moms and dad can point to the top of this blog, where they’ll be in residence under the Legends tab, and say, “Hey, you have to listen to me, people think I’m a big deal around here!!”

Might work…

But before we get to the terrific trio, our other two inductees today are the biggest fans Coupeville sports have had in recent years.

Lisa and Eddie are at every Wolf volleyball, football and basketball game — Eddie is a master of the halftime half-court shot contest at CHS hoops games — and they truly live and die for their players.

And they are THEIR players, as the duo know them all and take a personal pride in their accomplishments.

Woe be to the ref who makes a call against Coupeville, because Lisa will take them out to the woodshed, verbally, and spank the offending official all night long.

It’s always nice to see when Wolf athletes choose to interact with the pair, and return a bit of the love the couple send out to all Coupeville kids.

It’s things like that which truly set small town sports apart from all other things.

Joining them in the hall is the smack-talking (at least back in the day) hoops hotshot himself, Allen Black, who schooled numerous teams in the early 2000’s.

A First-Team All-Northwest League pick during his senior season in ’04, an honor he shared with fellow Hall o’ Famer Mike Bagby, Allen was the real deal on the court.

He remains so even now, as he haunts the gym he once ruled, content to play with his adorable little girl (mom is the very  talented former softball diamond queen Mandi Murdy).

Sometimes I wonder, when I see former greats sitting inches away from the current players, do these young ones have any idea of the kind of ball that “old” guy could play?

I kinda think Mr. Black could take the court today and drop 20+ on these guys, but is content not to.

He seems very happy in his relative anonymity, and, having seen him come of age hanging out endlessly at Videoville, it’s nice to see him doing so well these days.

Sorry, not sorry, to blow your cover, superstar.

Our next inductee, Courtney Boyd, literally grew up in Videoville, hanging out behind the counter, running my computer, “liberating” my pastries and telling everyone I was her dad and “when are you going to pay mom her child support?!?!?”

On the field, she was an All-Conference midfielder in soccer and a three-year letter winner in basketball, where she was a feisty force of nature.

After graduation, she’s gone on to produce two of the cutest children to ever walk the Earth and can really do no wrong in my eyes.

Yes, she’s that amazing — though still quite capable of harassing me in front of strangers.

O’Neil, completing the trend started above, has three super-cute kids and is that rarity, a busy mom who can, and does, keep a million plates flying in the air at once.

Today we’re honoring her for a moment, one which still stands tall almost eight years later.

The night was Jan. 18, 2008, the opponent was that most dastardly of foes — King’s — and the Coupeville girls’ basketball squad looked doomed on its own home court.

After fighting from behind all game, the Wolves trailed by two with seven seconds to play in overtime, and had the ball in Hayley Ebersole’s hands.

The senior guard drove the ball up-court, where she threaded the ball to Kassie on the left side of the circle as the clock continued to run down to nothing as quickly as possible.

Every fan, every defender expected the same thing — a drive up the lane in an effort to net a foul call and a chance to tie.

Instead, Kassie threw convention out the window, went straight up and banked a three-ball off the glass a whisper before the buzzer, winning the game 33-32 and setting off a riot of celebration.

The win clinched a #1 playoff seed for the Wolves, caused most of the King’s players to break into tears (one would like to think, at least) and sealed the deal on the then-Miss Lawson being a legend.

Kassie would go on to play college ball before she started to build her own all-star team of young lads, but that one moment, when she showed guts and went for the glory, failure be damned, will remain her defining on-court moment.

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Rose blooms!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on January 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Lauren Rose, seen here playing defense, was (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)

   Lauren Rose, seen here playing defense, was all about the offense Saturday, scorching the nets for a career-high 17 in a win. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)

Lauren Rose doesn’t have time to bleed.

The Wolf spark-plug, a woman of many nicknames (“Mouse,” “Keebler Elf”) and much talent, bounced right back from a recent injury and spent much of Saturday inflicting pain on others.

Raining down a career-high 17, the super sophomore lifted the Coupeville High School JV girls’ hoops squad to a thrilling 34-32 win over visiting Mount Vernon Christian.

The win, the second in the last three games for the young Wolves, lifted them to 4-6 heading into a nine-day break.

That will give Rose a chance to heal up, though hopefully not cool down.

“Lauren made a statement tonight with her game,” said CHS coach Amy King. “Still playing with a wrapped ankle, she led the team — directing on offense, finding open lanes to drive through, as well as hitting a much-needed three.

“She just seemed to be everywhere, stealing, driving, cutting and taking shots when open. Lauren really did a nice job of leading the team,” she added. “This is her best game this season. You could see her confidence growing and it was so nice watching her take over the game.”

Rose got a fair amount of help, with freshman Sarah Wright providing the defensive muscle to complement the offense.

She hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds, rejected a shot and sparked her teammates all night.

“It seemed like Sarah was everywhere all game long,” King said. “She is very strong with the ball, rebounding, dribbling up the floor and driving to the basket.

“On inbound plays under our basket, she is seeing the defense and placing herself in the perfect position for an easy pass and shot.”

With Wright’s energy and Rose’s hot hand leading the way, Coupeville held the lead from start to finish, stretching it out to nine at one point before a late Hurricane rally.

The fourth quarter went back and forth, with the Wolves refusing to relinquish the game.

Back within a bucket with 27 seconds left on the clock, Mount Vernon opted not to foul and try for a steal instead, but Rose played smartly and flawlessly dribbled out the game.

“I think overall, this is the strongest our team has looked for the majority of the game,” King said. “Everyone did something great.

“We had several give-and-go plays that resulted in either a lay up, short jumper or foul,” she added. “The big thing that makes me so happy, is that these girls are starting to recognize gaps in the defense or creating a play or shot out of something we have gone over in practice.”

When Rose wasn’t draining buckets, the Wolves got scoring from five different players, led by Wright with eight.

Ema Smith banged home four, while Nicole Lester (2), Skyler Lawrence (2) and Allison Wenzel (1) all chipped in.

It was Lester’s first basket of the season, and the freshman scored off of a put-back on a rebound, causing “the gym to erupt.”

Wenzel (5) and Lawrence (4) combined to snag nine rebounds, while Lindsey Laxton (3), Smith (3), Ashlie Shank (2), Lester (2) and Maddy Hilkey (1) all worked the boards.

Rose made off with four steals, Brittany Powers pilfered another pair and Brisa Herrera “asserted herself on defense with a really strong grip; nobody was going to take it (the ball).”

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So, so close!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

James Vidoni, seen here in an earlier game, scored a bucket Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

   James Vidoni, seen here in an earlier game, scored a bucket Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

A quick look at the final score wouldn’t tell the whole story.

As far as the stat keepers care, the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball team fell 65-54 to visiting Mount Vernon Christian Saturday.

The loss dropped the Wolf young guns to 2-8 on the season, and they’ll now be off until Coupeville travels to Chimacum Jan. 19.

But what that score doesn’t tell you is how CHS almost pulled off a stunning comeback.

Despite being saddled with severe foul trouble most of the game, which forced Wolf coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh to get creative with his lineups, the Wolves used a big fourth quarter to storm back into the game.

Trailing by 19 at the half, Coupeville cut the lead to five with 1:30 to play.

Unfortunately, they had to foul in an effort to get the ball back and the Hurricanes closed out the game at the line, tacking on a three-ball with 15 seconds left to balloon out the final score.

Freshman Ty Eck, the only player to score in every quarter, paced the Wolves with a team-high 18, tossing in four treys along the way.

Cameron Toomey-Stout added 13, with nine of those coming during the 22-point fourth quarter rally, while Brian Shank was steady with 10, all coming in the second half.

Ariah Bepler (5), Gabe Eck (4), James Vidoni (2) and Hunter Downes (2) rounded out the Wolf scorers, while Beauman Davis and Andre Avila also saw floor time.

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“This was a big win for us!!”

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Kailey Kellner, keeping it low-key here, was a demon on defense Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

   Kailey Kellner, keeping it low-key here, was a demon on defense Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Ten players operating as one, each doing their part to make the team stronger.

It’s the driving philosophy behind the success of the Coupeville High School girls’ basketball squad, and it was on display all afternoon Saturday.

Even with their leader, Makana Stone, under the weather — she still scored 15 and grabbed 12 boards — the Wolves got big performances from a number of role players and soundly thumped visiting Mount Vernon Christian 41-26.

The non-conference win, in which CHS only trailed once, very early, lifted the Wolves to 8-3.

They’re now off for nine days, then return with three games in four days, including conference showdowns with Chimacum and Port Townsend.

The break will allow Stone to recover from her illness, and the Wolves to continue to fine-tune things, but CHS coach David King exited the gym with a smile on his face Saturday.

“This was a big win for us after we sputtered a little in our last game,” he said. “Offensively we really moved the ball well along with crashing the boards and going back up with it.”

The game was close for a quarter, with the Hurricanes actually leading 5-4 at one point (Mia Littlejohn and Lauren Grove promptly responded with back-to-back buckets) and Coupeville only up by a point at the end of the first eight minutes.

Mount Vernon beat the buzzer with a three-ball, after a loose ball bounced off of six different sets of hands (it seemed, at least) before plopping right onto the fingertips of a Hurricane shooter.

That pulled them within 10-9 heading into the second, and it looked like it would be a back-and-forth battle.

And then it wasn’t, as Coupeville clamped down extra-tight on defense, holding the Hurricanes to just four more field goals the rest of the way.

Flustered by the Wolf ‘D’, Mount Vernon stayed alive for a bit with decent free-throw shooting, but that was far from enough when Coupeville was hitting from all angles.

Tiffany Briscoe kick-started the second quarter by banging home a layin off of a loose ball, Littlejohn drained all three free throws after being hacked while shooting a trey, and Lauren Grove swished a long jumper to close the half.

In between all that, Stone sliced through the Hurricanes for seven of her 15 in the second quarter, picking her moments to shine as she (and King) conserved what energy she had.

The highlight reel play for the night came late in the quarter, when Stone rejected a Hurricane shot, snagged the ball out of midair, hit sprinter speed and shot the length of the court, draining the layup and the resulting free throw she got after a straggler whacked her in the shoulder.

The transcendent senior, even ill, filled up the stat sheet, with three blocks, two steals and an assist to go with her double-double.

“Makana was pretty under the weather today. Even not feeling well she showed up and gave every ounce of energy she could,” King said. “She really played in control and didn’t speed things up like she can do at times.”

As they have all season, Stone’s younger teammates stepped up at crunch time, whether it was Littlejohn’s slick ball-handling, Briscoe’s relentless rebounding or Grove’s sudden offensive explosion.

Throwing down a season-high 10, the wily junior, who is known for her ball-hawk defense, was en fuego on both sides of the court.

“What can I say, her on-ball defense is outstanding right now,” King said. “She understands her scoring opportunities right now will come off of steals or drives to the basket.

“Today she took advantage of what she could and pumped life into our offense.”

He also complimented Littlejohn (“today she was the floor general this team needs”), freshman Lindsey Roberts (“she has been playing better ball for us; her defense and rebounding is getting better, too”) and ever-scrappy Kyla Briscoe, who snagged two boards and gave the squad crucial energy all night.

Tiffany Briscoe and Kailey Kellner got a special mention for being willing to sacrifice on defense.

“Undersized in the post, they both stepped up big time with their defense,” King said. “I told them they had to play taller than they are.

“They both worked so hard in there, I think that interior defense was a key to taking control of the game in the second quarter through the end of the game,” he added. “Both of these players have bought into the reality that defense wins games.”

Tiffany Briscoe and Littlejohn dropped in seven apiece in support of Stone and Grove, while Roberts nailed a jumper and snagged four boards.

Grove pilfered five steals, Tiffany Briscoe corralled five caroms and swing players Allison Wenzel, Lauren Rose and Skyler Lawrence all saw floor time, with the first two each grabbing a rebound.

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Just ’bout that team win, boss!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , , on January 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Risen Johnson

   The power of the man bun compels you. Risen Johnson scored five of his team-high 15 in the fourth quarter Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

The answer was loud and clear.

After a three-game stretch in which the Coupeville High School boys’ basketball squad struggled, Wolf coaches challenged their players.

To unite as a team. To buy into their roles. To commit to each other. To get back to how they had opened the season.

Saturday, the players responded, and they did so as one.

It wasn’t just that they won, holding off visiting Mount Vernon Christian in a 69-68 non-conference thriller.

That was big, yes, and it brought Coupeville back to 5-6 on the season.

But more than merely winning, it was how they won. As a true team.

“Everybody stepped up, and everybody stepped up when we needed them to,” said Coupeville coach Anthony Smith. “We found a way to win, a way to get back to how we were before.”

The Wolves could have fractured on this night, and badly.

Up 53-45 after JJ Johnson swooped to the hoop for a bucket to open the fourth, Coupeville hit its only rough stretch of the night.

Taking advantage, the Hurricanes reeled off 10 straight, with a pair of three-balls which were true daggers, as one came off of an in-bounds play and another on a really long rebound that skittered right through the hands of several Wolves.

Suddenly trailing by two, CHS needed a big emotional burst and it got it thanks to teamwork.

Wiley Hesselgrave, who fought like a savage yet had a grin on his face most of the night, came up with a loose ball, spun and dropped the ball into the hands of a flying Dante Mitchell.

Without a trace of hesitation, the lanky senior put the ball on the floor once, snatched it back and shot past his defender for a running layup.

Cue an explosion of joy which ripped through the pro-Wolf crowd and a fist pump of approval from Hesselgrave.

That knotted the game at 55, while setting up an absolute war that played out over the final three-and-a-half minutes.

The two teams exchanged buckets like heavyweight boxers standing in the middle of the ring, slugging it out, daring the other guy to back down, but secretly happy when they didn’t.

A thunderous right — Hesselgrave tearing a rebound out of a Hurricane’s hands and drilling a jumper while three guys landed on top of him.

Then a series of jabs to the spleen —Risen Johnson spinning down the baseline, shedding defenders on his way to three points the hard way; Jordan Ford banking in a bucket off of a bullet pass from Risen Johnson that slid and curved through a maze of rival arms.

Each time Mount Vernon responded with their own nerves-of-steel play, until Coupeville finally broke its will.

Trailing 66-65 with 1:04 to go, the Wolves got a pair of free throws from Hunter Smith to snatch back the lead, then held the Hurricanes scoreless for 62 of the final 64 seconds.

Risen Johnson worked an absolutely textbook give-and-go with Hesselgrave, getting the ball back and hitting a runner while laying the ball up backwards over his head to put CHS up by three.

The Hurricanes went for the tie, missed and got a reprieve when a ref called Risen Johnson for traveling after he leapt, snatched the rebound, but inadvertently rolled over a body coming back down to Earth.

The next trey missed as well, though, and while a Hurricane slipped through to put the rebound back up and in, the clock ran out on the visitors.

Taking the ball out of the net with 1.9 seconds to go and the clock running, Ford alertly never in-bounded the ball, squeezing it to his chest as his teammates celebrated.

The late theatrics capped a game that was smartly played by both teams, a scrappy affair where Coupeville survived MVC runs by getting big-time shots at just the right moments.

Risen Johnson had the play of the first half, in which he stole the ball and zipped in for a layup, making not one, but two, different Hurricanes crash to the floor on the play.

Still, the Wolves trailed 28-21, until they turned it around with a 14-3 run to close out the half.

Mitchell and Gabe Wynn each knocked down a bucket and free throw during the run, but it was long-range gunner JJ Johnson who made the crowd swoon.

The Wolf senior nailed a trey from the right side with 20 seconds to play, then raised the ante by nailing another one with less than a single tick on the clock, backpedaling with a grin as his large fan section lost its ever-loving mind a few feet away.

Coupeville wasn’t done with the crowd-pleasers, hitting three treys in the third, including an even longer one from JJ Johnson.

The final one was the most unexpected, as Ford, far from the paint he normally patrols, rolled out, took a pinpoint pass from Hesselgrave and dropped his own three-ball from the deep, dark corner on the right side.

As the ball started to settle through the twine, the third quarter clock read 0:00, one more time in which the Wolves pulled off perfection thanks to note-perfect team play.

The commitment to getting something from everyone carried over to the scoring totals, where eight of Coupeville’s 11 players scored, with four notching double digits.

Risen Johnson led the way with 15, while Ford banged home 12 and Hesselgrave and JJ Johnson each added 11.

Smith dropped in seven, Wynn popped for six, Dante Mitchell went for five, Ryan Griggs added a bucket and Desmond Bell, DeAndre Mitchell and Jared Helmstadter all chipped in with strong work on the defensive end.

Coupeville is now off for six days, returning to action with a home non-conference game against Stevenson Friday, Jan. 15. That game (varsity only) tips at 5 PM.

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