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Wolves storm the big stage!!

Posted in Wolves in college, tagged , , , , , , , on July 31, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Former Wolf gridiron star Jacob Martin will be pulling on this jersey for Feather River College this fall. (Photo courtesy Martin)

Ally Roberts, and her trusty steed, continue to tear up the equestrian world while attending Western Washington University. (Jennifer Roberts photo)

It’s still the middle of summer, but fall sports are closer than you might expect.

That goes for college athletics as well, where at least five former Coupeville standouts are slated to compete at the next level in the coming months.

Nick Streubel, Jacob Martin, and Zane Bundy will be on the gridiron, Mia Littlejohn will be running the soccer pitch and Ally Roberts will be astride her trusty steed.

A look at what’s ahead for each:

Bundy:

A two-sport star during his days in Coupeville (soccer, football), he’s one of two kickers currently listed on the roster at Tabor College in Kansas.

The Bluejays open their season Sept. 1 against the University of St. Mary’s.

Littlejohn:

The CHS girls soccer single-season and career scoring leader is beginning her freshman year at Santa Monica College, where she plans to play both soccer and basketball.

The Corsair booters have two scrimmages in mid-Aug., then open the regular season Aug. 28 against Oxnard.

Martin:

A two-way gridiron terror during his days as a Wolf, the red-shirt freshman is headed back to Feather River College in California.

He’s aiming to use his time on the field with the Golden Eagles as a springboard to netting a D-II offer.

“I’ll be a strong safety/outside linebacker hybrid, otherwise known as “Rover,” and I’ll be a big special teams player,” Martin said. “Heads will be knocked this year!”

Feather River opens Sept. 1 against the College of the Sequoias.

Roberts:

A sophomore at Western Washington University, she’s quickly moving up in the equestrian world.

After competing on the English team last year, Roberts has been placed on the Western section squad this time around, and kicks off her season in Nov.

Streubel:

The oldest of the former Wolves, and the one with the most college championship rings.

“The Big Hurt” is on target to graduate this year, but is a red-shirt junior on the field at Central Washington University.

Streubel is coming off a season in which he was a First-Team All-Conference and All-Region pick while anchoring a very-effective Wildcat line at left guard.

CWU went 11-0, won a league title, and went into the playoffs as a #1 seed, where it fell 34-31 in an epic double overtime game to eventual NCAA D-II national champ Texas A & M – Commerce.

The Wildcats, who open the season Sept. 1 against Eastern Washington, are ranked #6 in the College Football America Yearbook preseason poll.

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Send in the experts!!

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , , on July 25, 2018| Leave a Comment »

If Coupeville makes it to the state football playoffs, their first-round foe will be decided by experts and not blind luck. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Oak Harbor High School head football coach Jay Turner. (Photo property of Oak Harbor School District)

The world is in shock right now. Shock, I say.

For maybe the first time in its checkered history, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has listened to the complaints and is changing something for the better.

The change in question revolves around the state football playoffs, and the answer comes in the form of seeding committees announced Wednesday afternoon.

In previous years, the 16 teams in each classification involved in the playoffs were paired off by blind draw.

Which meant the process often ended up pairing up two of the top teams, sometimes even #1 and #2, in the first round.

What should have been a likely state title match-up went down way too early, while, by the luck of the draw, #15 and #16 sometimes matched up for a spot in the quarterfinals.

But, after much venting, that changes this fall.

Qualifying for the state playoffs remains the same as before, with each district allocated a certain number of slots.

But, once the 16 teams in each division are set, a committee of 12 experts, comprised of current and former coaches, AD’s, journalists and computer rankings whiz kids, will sit down and rank the gridiron squads.

One of those who made it through the application process was Oak Harbor High School head football coach Jay Turner, who landed on the 3A/4A committee.

Other notable names include Pat Alexander, who had a 41-year run as Defensive Coordinator at Tumwater (including my time as a T-Bird).

Sultan head coach Jim Wright gives Coupeville’s new league, the North Sound Conference, a voice, while the inclusion of outside experts Ryland Spencer of Cascadia Preps and Scott Odiorne, AKA The Score Czar, prove that, for once, the WIAA actually thought something out.

The 2018 football seeding committees:

1B and 2B:

Brian Bailey – Head Coach at Entiat
Jon Davidson – Retired Head Coach who currently assists at Toutle Lake
Jay Hawkins – Head Coach at Tonasket
Jim Holman – Head Coach at Asotin
Kyle Kimble – Head Coach at Pomeroy
Buck Marsh – Superintendent/AD/Head Coach at Darrington
Tom Sanchez – AD/Former Head Coach at South Bend
Aaron Van Tuyl – Sports Reporter at The Daily Chronicle
Matthew Evans – Publisher of Evans Rankings
Doug Ashmore – Former Coach at Napavine, Onalaska, Centralia
Ryland Spencer – Cascadia Preps
Scott Odiorne – ScoreCzar Rankings

1A and 2A:

Elia Ala’ilima-Daley – Former Head Coach; AD at Cascade (Leavenworth)
Pat Alexander – Retired – 41-year Assistant Coach at Tumwater
Brycen Bye – Head Coach at Clarkston
Jay Dodd – Head Coach at Blaine
John Hallead – Head Coach at Columbia (White Salmon)
Cody Lamb – Head Coach at LaSalle
Shawn Perkins – Head Coach at Mark Morris
Dan Teeter – Head Coach at Lakewood
Jeff Weible – Head Coach at North Kitsap
Jim Wright – Head Coach at Sultan
Ryland Spencer – Cascadia Preps
Scott Odiorne – ScoreCzar Rankings

3A and 4A:

John Barrington – AD at Mead
Ross Filkins – Head Coach/AD at Peninsula
Matthew Gracey – Head Coach at Heritage
Monte Kohler – Head Coach/AD at O’Dea
William Marsh – Retired AD/Head Coach at Eastside Cathholic
Adam Mathieson – Head Coach at Mountain View
Scott Nordi – AD at Lakes; Gridiron Classic Co-Coordinator
Mark Perry – AD at Snohomish
Jay Turner – Head Coach at Oak Harbor
Lauren Smith – Sports Reporter for Tacoma News Tribune, The Olympian
Ryland Spencer – Cascadia Preps
Scott Odiorne – ScoreCzar Rankings

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Shaw excels in classroom, on field!!

Posted in Football, Track, tagged , , , , , on July 20, 2018| 1 Comment »

Gabe Shaw soars to the hoop for a bucket during a middle school game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Gabe Shaw is a young man of many talents and many interests.

He’s a three-sport athlete who excels in football, basketball and track — though driver’s ed may sideline him during the upcoming hoops season.

Shaw is also a math and science buff who plays the trumpet and makes time to volunteer with the local Boys and Girls Club.

And, if it’s sweet sounds you seek, he has the musical answer.

As long as you’re like him and give big respect to the power of “old-school hip hop from the ’90s.”

Put it all together and you have one of the brightest rising stars on the horizon, a talented student/athlete who makes his debut at Coupeville High School this fall.

When he makes the jump from CMS to CHS, Shaw will kick things off by playing his favorite sport, a perfect way to ease into his new world.

“Football (is my favorite), because you only can succeed if everyone does their job,” he said. “Plus you get to hit people!”

Shaw, who enjoys “staying in shape, and the competition,” has assessed his game and sees positives and areas where he’d like to improve.

“I would like to increase my breakaway speed and decrease my off days,” he admitted, but he’s proud of being a “great team player.”

“I’m not afraid to lead when called upon,” Shaw said.

The young star hails his parents (dad has been a CMS football coach), his brother and his uncle, Mark, along with “all the people who have dedicated the time to coach me.”

One way Shaw will aim to thank those who have helped him is by continuing to work hard, every day, on the field and off.

“I want to keep my grades as high as possible, and contribute to the team(s) everything I can.”

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Young gun ready to shoot for the big time!!

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, tagged , , , , on July 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Cody Roberts (11) muscles in for a bucket during a game last season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Roberts is a key member of an undefeated Coupeville Babe Ruth squad headed to the state tourney next week.

Cody Roberts has been in the game for a while now.

The youngest of three brothers, he started playing baseball when he was three. Now, like older siblings CJ and Brian, he’s ready to make an impact at the next level.

A three-sport athlete (he suits up for the Wolves in football, basketball, and baseball), Roberts will be a freshman at Coupeville High School in the fall.

Part of a strong group of young Central Whidbey athletes, he has his eyes firmly set on success.

“I plan to stay with all three sports; my goal is to stay fit and hopefully lead a couple teams to some state championships,” Roberts said.

He’s in the running for a title this summer, playing a key role on a Coupeville Babe Ruth baseball team which is rolling along with a 16-0 record.

The Wolves are off to Ephrata next week for the state tournament, another chance for Roberts to take the diamond and play the game he loves most.

“Baseball is my favorite because it’s what I am best at and I have been playing it since I was three,” he said.

Roberts, who enjoys spending time with friends and hails math as his favorite class, works hard to “always have some play money.”

But, around that, he devotes a lot of his time to athletics, and continues to fine-tune his skills set as he matures.

“I like being an athlete because it gives you a goal,” Roberts said. “And also a reason to keep your grades up and it keeps you off the streets.”

When he assesses his own game, he sees areas he likes and areas he wants to strengthen.

“My weakness is going down easily when losing,” Roberts said. “But my strength is helping my team stay up even when we’re tired.”

As he looks backwards at his run through little league, youth sports and middle school, and then turns and gazes at the wide-open possibilities which high school will offer, the young star always goes back to pay tribute to those who believed in him from the start.

“My mom (Heidi), and my dad (Brent), have had very big impacts on my sports life,” Roberts said. “And my grandma, cause she takes me to all my sports and encourages them.

“My mom coached me in baseball for a couple years and my parents put me in sports and kept me in them.”

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“We are on our way!!”

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on July 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

After building a winning program in Concrete, Marcus Carr has returned to Whidbey to coach the Coupeville High School football team. (Photo courtesy Carr)

Marcus Carr is ready for the challenge.

While recent history has not been kind to Coupeville High School football — Carr is the fifth head coach in nine seasons, and none of his four predecessors posted a winning record — positive change can happen quickly on the gridiron.

Having made the jump from Concrete, where he won 13 games across two seasons, the new Wolf head coach is tackling the past head-on, while aiming for future success.

“It is hard on the players with the amount of turnover,” Carr said. “I have had several meetings with the players to discuss the state of the program and my goals and their goals for our future.

“I let them know it will be a process to get where we want to be,” he added. “With hard work and dedication from myself, the assistant coaches and the players, I am confident we will turn things around!”

After playing high school football as a young man in Oklahoma, Carr joined the Navy but never strayed far from the game he loves.

“I like the competition, and teamwork. It’s truly a team sport, no one person can do it alone,” he said. “It also creates great camaraderie.”

He’s led numerous youth teams in Virginia, Texas and Washington state, coaching both in Oak Harbor and Mount Vernon after he and his family arrived on Whidbey in 2005.

Carr moved into high school coaching as an assistant with Mt. Vernon, put in time as an offensive coordinator with the Arlington Grizzles semi-pro team, then took the reins as head coach in Concrete in 2016.

Under his guidance, the Lions went 6-3 in 2016 and 7-3 in 2017, winning the Northwest League title last season.

Since retiring from the Navy in 2012, Carr has balanced living in Oak Harbor with working off the Island. He’s currently doing IT for the Mount Vernon School District.

While he enjoyed his time with the Concrete football program, the chance to run a team on Whidbey had a special lure.

“I have wanted to coach high school football on the Island for several years,” Carr said. “I am excited to have the opportunity.”

With CHS assistants Brad Sherman and Jerry Helm stepping down in an effort to carve out a little more time in busy lives while balancing young children and real-world jobs, the Wolves coaching staff will have a different look this year.

But it should be one operating on the same page, as Carr will be joined by “a staff of coaches that I have coached with before.”

As Coupeville moves into the new 1A North Sound Conference this fall, joining Sultan, King’s, Granite Falls, South Whidbey and Cedar Park Christian-Bothell, the football players will be among the first Wolves to see action.

As they do, their new coach is aiming for success, both in the present and in the future.

“We want to re-energize the program,” Carr said. “Win league and make the playoffs.

“I want our team to be one of the top 10 teams in 1A year after year,” he added. “It won’t happen overnight, it’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication.

“But, with the energy that the coaching staff has brought in and the hardworking, enthusiastic players we had in spring football, we are on our way!”

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