Brenden Gilbert: American Bad-Ass. (John Fisken photos)
When Brenden Gilbert graduates this spring, it will leave a huge hole.
A one-man wrecking crew, he anchored the line for the Coupeville High School football squad, doing his best to hold things together even when being bull-rushed by a swarm of Port Townsend big bodies.
And while the Wolves weren’t always able to put together the kind of season they wanted this past fall, any shortcomings weren’t because of their senior leader.
Every time #74 strode on to that field, he more than held his own, going down swinging on every last play.
Kid had no quit in him, and there’s a reason his coaches and fellow players looked to him as a rock.
As Coupeville’s younger players continue to improve and the wins start coming back, a large chunk of any future success will come from players following the work ethic Gilbert always exemplified.
But even more than his athletic ability, what will be missed will be his personality.
Brenden, who celebrates a cake day today, could be a fearsome beast on the gridiron.
But, unlike a lot of other high school football players, he always looked like he was having fun playing his game of choice.
Huge grin creasing his face, he could mess around for photos, then snap back into being deadly serious when it was time to protect his quarterback or try and decimate the other team’s gunslinger.
Gilbert played hard, but he never missed out on the enjoyment part, and that is huge.
That wisecracking personality is always on display, as he is also one of the most faithful of fans when it comes to rooting for his classmates.
Every volleyball match possible, every basketball game, he’s right there, at the heart of the CHS student section, easily the loudest and proudest of any of them.
Waving a Wolf flag, leading the cheers or just laying back and dropping one-liners, he’s the king of the castle.
I hope this birthday, and the many to come, are great, Mr. Gilbert.
From all your Wolf fans (and there are a lot, believe me), thank you for leaving it all on the field.
But also, thank you for just being a righteous dude.
