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La Conner debates football future

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , , , on February 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School football coach Bennett Richter is losing one of his two league rivals. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

As the schedule for Coupeville High School’s 2024 football season begins to take shape, new names are appearing, and an old one is vanishing.

While things are still in flux, a partial schedule on the Northwest 2B/1B League web site shows the Wolves picking up home games next fall with Annie Wright and Winlock.

But what’s missing is La Conner, as the Braves gridiron program faces tough times.

With declining enrollment in the school overall and a sharp decrease in the number of athletes playing football, school officials petitioned the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association to play eight-man football in the 1B classification.

La Conner would have remained a 2B school in every other sport.

While schools can play “up” in Washington state, football is the only athletic pursuit in which they can play “down.”

But only with WIAA approval, which La Conner did not get.

Now, La Conner officials are holding a community meeting Feb. 20 to seek input on the best way to proceed.

In a presentation to the school board Monday, Athletic Director Christine Tripp outlined three possibilities.

One, kill the football program and focus on other fall sports such as soccer, as league mate Orcas Island did several years ago.

Two, play eight-man football as an independent school. Under that scenario, the Braves have no opportunity to play in the postseason.

Or three, combine with 2A Anacortes, and send whatever players they have off to join the defending state champs. Just not in a Braves uniform.

Tripp told La Conner’s school board the plan is to make a decision by mid-March.

The group making that call will include the athletic director, a district rep, a coach, and a board member.

With La Conner unlikely to be playing 11-man football any time soon, that leaves Coupeville and Friday Harbor as the only 2B schools in the seven-team NWL to be doing so.

Mount Vernon Christian and Orcas move up from 1B to 2B next fall, but neither have a football program, while Concrete and Darrington are 1B schools already playing the eight-man game.

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Dominator soars, scores on Spanish soil

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on January 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

From Coupeville to Spain, Dominic Coffman continues to tear up the gridiron.

He’s conquering one country after another.

Coupeville grad Dominic Coffman made his Spanish gridiron debut Saturday and immediately blew up the field.

The former Northwest 2B/1B League MVP now suits up for the Las Rozas Black Demons, a semi-pro football team in Madrid.

The squad competes in Liga Nacional de Fútbol Americano (LNFA), the first-tier division for American football in Spain.

In his debut game, Coffman pulled in a swing pass and turned it into a 70+ yard touchdown romp.

In typical Dominator fashion, he blew up the first dude who had a chance to tackle him, then ran right through another would-be tackler as he hit the jets down the right sideline.

Not content to be a one-dimensional superstar, Coffman also blocked a punt as his team won its opener 35-6.

After going to state in three different sports at CHS — football, basketball, and track and field, where he earned a 2nd place medal in the 4 x 100 — he made the jump to a different continent.

So far, so good.

“Just blessed to be here,” Coffman said.

“Thanks to Bennett (Richter), Brett (Casey), my mom and dad. To my teammates, without you guys I don’t know where I’d be right now.

“I will keep playing for the small town in Washington.”

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“Torpedo” shines on the big stage

Posted in Football, Wolves in college, tagged , , , , on January 8, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Sean Toomey-Stout, now with mustache, hits the big time. (Michael Davidson photo)

Sean Toomey-Stout is still enjoying the brights lights of the big stage.

The Coupeville High School grad, the only former Wolf to ever rack up stats for the University of Washington football team, had to take a medical retirement at the start of the season.

But the Huskies have kept Maya’s twin brother as part of their program, and he’s been with his U-Dub teammates every step of the way during a miracle campaign.

That run included an undefeated regular season, with numerous close calls, a #2 ranking in the national polls, a narrow win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl, and, finally, an appearance in the national championship game Monday against top-ranked Michigan.

Sean is in the program, he’ll be wearing his #30 jersey on the sidelines, and he may even make an appearance on ESPN — if they want to see their ratings spike.

Following in the footsteps of older brother Cameron, “The Torpedo” was a football, basketball, and track and field standout at CHS, before beating the odds to become an NCAA D-I gridiron warrior for the storied Husky program.

Making the team as a walk-on, Sean played in six games, collecting five solo tackles and two assists.

He also made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll twice and became the first Coupeville athlete to get his own trading card.

Welcome to ThunderDome. (Michael Davidson photo)

Grabbing a pic with the parentals. (Photo courtesy Beth Stout)

Looking snazzy and snappy. (Photo courtesy Beth Stout)

Part of history. (Photo courtesy Beth Stout)

Family and friends pack the stands. (Photo courtesy Beth Stout)

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Wolf Nation mourns loss of ’90s star

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , on January 4, 2024| 3 Comments »

Gabe McMurray powers to the hoop for a bucket during an alumni game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Gabe McMurray was a beast.

One of the big stars at Coupeville High School during my days as Sports Editor at the Whidbey News-Times in the early ’90s, he dominated in multiple sports and left an enduring impact on a writer only a few years older than he was.

The news that he passed away this week, well before his time, hits hard, and I extend my sympathies to his family and friends.

A 1995 graduate of CHS, Gabe scorched the basketball nets for 592 points, and surely grabbed as many rebounds, while playing alongside Brad Miller in one of the most formidable one-two combos I’ve witnessed during my on-again, off-again years in the Coupeville gym.

Standing at six-feet-two inches, he capped his prep hoops career by being named a First-Team All-League pick by Cascade League coaches.

That year, Gabe poured in a team-high 355 points for Randy King’s squad, still one of the best single-season performances by a Wolf basketball player, boy or girl.

That came on the heels of a 235-point performance during his junior campaign, while his first varsity bucket hit the bottom of the net when he was a sophomore.

Gabe, who was also a standout on the football field, was an inductee in the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame, and came back around in his later years to prove he still had it, throwing down buckets in alumni games while often facing off with younger rivals.

He was one of a kind, as an athlete and a person.

Gabe’s former classmates and fellow Wolf athletes gathered on social media to remember him as word filtered out.

In the words of Natalie (Slater) Fisher on Facebook:

“Today CHS lost a friend. You touched many with your kindness, sarcasm, and contagious smile. You will be missed.”

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La Conner appeals to play 1B football

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on January 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Wolf fans keep an eye on all the gossip from La Conner. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The twists and turns keep coming.

With the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association currently conducting the process to classify schools for sports competition between 2024-2028, the Northwest 2B/1B League will likely look different next fall.

Not necessarily in terms of schools being added or subtracted, but in how the current occupants line up.

Projected numbers indicate Mount Vernon Christian and Orcas Island will move up from 1B to 2B, joining Coupeville, Friday Harbor, and La Conner, while Concrete and Darrington will remain at 1B.

Going from a 3-4 lineup to a 5-2 one helps 2B schools as it increases playoff opportunities in most sports.

Now, though, there’s another quirk, as La Conner has appealed to play down for football.

The Braves, who are a traditional gridiron powerhouse, have struggled in recent seasons, both in terms of wins and losses and roster numbers.

Schools can opt to play above their classification in any sport, but can play down only in football, and only if approved by the WIAA.

La Conner’s bid to move its pigskin program to 1B was confirmed by Coupeville High School Athletic Director Willie Smith, who is the President of the NWL.

Appeals will be heard Jan. 18-19, with the WIAA approving the full 2024-2028 plan Jan. 21.

After that leagues can set schedules, add or subtract schools, and get all their various plans hashed out ahead of the start of the 2024-2025 school year in August.

If La Conner’s appeal to play as a 1B football program is successful, it will leave Coupeville and Friday Harbor as the only 2B schools playing the sport in the current NWL lineup.

While Orcas and MVC are slated to move up, neither field a gridiron team, opting to focus on boys’ soccer instead.

With three 2B teams playing football previously, one earned a ticket to the state tourney. That will remain in effect, barring the NWL adding any other 2B football-playing members to its current lineup.

Darrington and Concrete, the league’s remaining 1B schools, play eight-man football. If La Conner is approved to join them, it’s likely the Braves will also pull three players from the field for future games.

How that would affect the status of future games with Coupeville is unknown at this time.

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