Coupeville captains Jake Pease (88), Shane Losey (10), Chris Battaglia (74) and Sean Toomey-Stout (31) meet with the refs before a game earlier this season. (John Fisken photo)
Granite fell.
Led by a pounding ground game in which Chris Battaglia ran for 175 yards and three touchdowns, the Coupeville Middle School football squad hit the road Wednesday and came away with a resounding 27-8 win at Granite Falls.
“Great night for the boys in Granite Falls,” said CMS coach Bob Martin. “The first half was close, but the boys came back in the second and aside from a few penalties, played a great game.”
While Battaglia was the star (“he was unstoppable tonight”), Martin gave big props to the Wolf offensive line and assistant coach Ron Wright, who mixed things up and gave his young guns an edge.
Working behind a line that refused to budge or crack, Coupeville had time to pull off a string of spectacular plays.
The Wolves picked off several passes, successfully pulled off a two-point conversion after a touchdown and pulled off two fakes. The first one, on a fake punt, turned into a touchdown run.
“It was a pretty exciting game,” Martin said.
Battaglia’s rushing efforts were backed up by Sean Toomey-Stout, who tacked on an additional 20 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and Teo Keilwitz, who picked up 18 more.
Wolf QB Shane Losey netted 26 yards passing to keep Granite Falls honest. Luke Martin hauled in the longest reception of the afternoon, a 12-yard bomb.
Coupeville’s defense was remarkably balanced, with Toomey-Stout leading the way with seven tackles, an assist and an interception. Losey also made off with a pick.
Battaglia (five tackles, three assists), Jake Pease (four tackles, three assists), Jaushon Clay (two tackles, two assists) and Seth David (two tackles, two assists) all chipped in with strong play.
Rounding out the team-wide tackling trend were Losey (two tackles, two assists), Keilwitz (two tackles, one assist), Gavin Knoblich (two tackles, one assist), Matt Stevens (one tackle, four assists), Trevor Bell (one tackle, three assists), Logan Turner (one tackle, one assist) and Koa Davison (one tackle).
