The look on former Wolf lineman Oscar Liquidano’s face just about sums it all up. (John Fisken photo)
At the end Friday night, there was a burst of raw emotion, of joy finally spilling out and sweeping over football players who had endured much.
That euphoria, that relief, however, did not emanate from Coupeville High School’s side of the field.
For the Wolves, this will go down as one of the most gut-wrenching losses in school history, in any sport.
Nothing, no pretty words, no rah-rah statements, will change that, and, if lessons are learned and pay off down the road, that still isn’t going to totally wipe away the sting.
You do not lose 14-9 when you surrender a touchdown with 1.6 seconds to go, on your home field, at Homecoming, to a school that entered the game with an 18-game losing streak, and walk away un-scarred.
But, before we go any further, we need to step back a moment and give Chimacum credit. The Cowboys seized the moment that was given them, and they fully deserve to enjoy erasing two years of futility.
So now, Coupeville (1-6) and Chimacum (1-6) sit with identical 1-4 records in 1A Olympic League play, having split the two games they played.
Port Townsend (5-0, 7-0) and Klahowya (3-2, 4-3) are guaranteed the league’s first two playoff spots. The RedHawks shredded the Eagles 43-6 Friday, and have now outscored their opponents 342-12.
With one league game left, the third and final playoff spot is still Coupeville’s to claim.
While Chimacum will be giddy for a day or two after Friday’s win, they should be easily stomped by Port Townsend next Friday.
So, if Coupeville can go on the road and knock off Klahowya, the postseason berth is theirs.
If both the Cowboys and Wolves lose and finish 1-5, then we would go to a tiebreaker, and what that is, I have no clue.
Not that it really matters at the moment.
Right now, what will linger for some time is that Chimacum overcame a 9-0 deficit in the fourth quarter Friday, driving 80 yards in the final three minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of almost certain defeat.
The Cowboys did so, somehow, despite throwing five incomplete passes on the drive — one of which was almost picked off — and twice being stung by Wolf junior Jacob Martin hauling down runners for losses in the backfield.
The second tackle, coming with 25 seconds on the clock, set up a 4th-and-12 from the 17-yard line.
Then Chimacum pulled off a miracle. Somehow.
A 12-yard completion (or a 10-11 yard completion and a really nice spot from the ref) gave them a first and goal, and then the Cowboys lobbed the ball into a scrum and came away with a five-yard touchdown pass.
In the mob of players, it was virtually impossible to tell who caught the ball and it took forever for any of the refs to throw their hands up in the air.
When they did, signalling a Cowboy score, the Chimacum sidelines unleashed an earthquake, while the (for once) intensely-noisy Coupeville fans collapsed, a great sigh of disbelief trembling off of every lower lip.
The two-point conversion completed the swing from 9-6 Coupeville lead to 14-9 deficit, and even though the Wolves got the ball back for one final Hail Mary, it fell well short of the end zone.
Only as the final buzzer sounded did the loss seem halfway real, because, up until then, there seemed no way it was going that direction.
Coupeville dominated the game everywhere but on the scoreboard, mixing crisp passing from freshman Gabe Eck with power running from Wiley Hesselgrave.
Eck piled up 164 yards through the air, spreading the love out among five receivers.
Hunter Smith racked up 89 of those yards, including 22 on a second quarter touchdown hookup with his QB that staked the Wolves to the full 9-0 lead.
Even though they were unable to tack on the extra point, due to a bad snap, the score added to a 24-yard field goal kicked earlier in the quarter by Zane Bundy.
When the Wolves were on defense, they were even more effective, and it all started with Smith.
The sophomore sensation picked off not one, not two, but three Chimacum passes, running his season total to seven picks.
That breaks the mark of six in a season currently sitting on the school record board under the name of Josh Bayne.
Lathom Kelley also recovered a fumble forced by Wiley Hesselgrave, then shot through the line later to block the extra point after Chimacum’s first touchdown.
Hesselgrave added seven tackles and a sack, while Martin (five tackles) and freshmen Chris Battaglia (eight tackles) and Ty Eck (five tackles) flew all around the field.
But, while Coupeville came dangerously close to blowing the game open on both sides of the ball, it didn’t.
The Wolves turned the ball over on downs three times and used punter Clay Reilly frequently, including on both of their fourth-quarter drives.
On its final time with the ball, Coupeville went from its own 26-yard-line down to Chimacum’s 21, riding Gabe Eck’s legs (a 33-yard scramble) and arm (a 22-yard pass to Ryan Griggs.)
Clinging to the three-point lead, and close enough for Bundy to kick another field goal, Coupeville then hit an unexpected wall.
A sack, an incomplete pass and a penalty turned a 1st-and-10 at the 21 into a 4th-and-22 at the 33, while also turning a potential field goal try into a punt.
The ball went back to Chimacum, and then, well, let’s not talk about the final three minutes any more.
Tomorrow is another day.
