Hunter Bronec, man on a mission. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Time to start a new run, Wolves.
This Friday, Oct. 11 marks the 15th time that Coupeville and South Whidbey will take to the high school gridiron to play for possession of The Bucket.
Kickoff is 7:00 PM and the action goes down in Cow Town, with the Wolves (4-1) defending Mickey Clark Field against the Falcons (1-3).
But, while CHS has the better record coming into the non-conference tilt, the South enders have history on their side.
For a moment, at least.
South Whidbey holds a 10-4 advantage in the series since there was a prize attached and has a current five-game winning streak.
With the 2020 season thrown asunder by the pandemic, erasing the annual rivalry clash, that means Coupeville hasn’t held possession of The Bucket since 2017.
Take a look at the series and there are three distinct eras.
South Whidbey won the first three games, before Coupeville rose up and claimed four of six, with Wolf coaches Tony Maggio and Jon Atkins each winning twice.
After that, things, as mentioned before, have shifted back to the Falcons.
But, coming off a Homecoming smackdown of Friday Harbor, a team which ran South Whidbey off the field a week before, Coupeville and current coach Bennett Richter come in on a hot streak.
Coupeville’s seniors want to exit as owners of The Bucket.
And this bucket that they’re chasing?
For those new to the whole thing, the trophy has Wolf colors on one side and Falcon colors on the other and comes complete with a dent courtesy a frosty SWHS coach unhappy about a loss.
The winning school holds possession of the trophy, which is brought out with much pomp and circumstance once a year.
While the two Island schools had played many times prior, the bucket became a thing in 2008 when athletic directors Willie Smith (CHS) and John Patton (SWHS) were looking for a way to defuse an uprising.
The “original” bucket once held licorice, but was filled with water by a Coupeville student, who dumped it on the South Whidbey crowd at a volleyball match, setting off a near-riot.
Looking to turn a negative into a positive, Smith and Patton transformed the weapon of mass hydration into a trophy.
Wolf captains Uriel Liquidano (63), Jacob Martin (32), and Clay Reilly (2) celebrate winning The Bucket in 2016.
“Bucket Game” history:
2009 — SW 28-6
2010 — SW 33-7
2011 — SW 35-0
2012 — CHS 18-13
2013 — SW 57-33
2014 — CHS 35-28
2015 — SW 27-14
2016 — CHS 41-10
2017 — CHS 18-0
2018 — SW 48-20
2019 — SW 35-7
2020 — No game
2021 — SW 33-7
2022 — SW 47-28
2023 — SW 48-28
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