Dustin Van Velkinburgh played receiver, defensive back, kicker and punter in 2001. (Allison Roethle photo)
Joe Kelley, seen here with wife Lindsey, recorded 142 tackles during his senior season. (Photo poached from Lindsey Kelley)
Every season has its stories.
The 2001 Coupeville High School football season wasn’t an especially spectacular one.
The Wolves went 3-6, losing their final four games, while 9/11, which occurred between the first and second games of the season, cast a pall over things.
But, there were highlights, from a rampaging duo on defense to a high-rolling offense, all while current CHS coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh was money as a lights-out kicker.
As I’ve been plowing through a mountain of paper work left behind by Wolf assistant coach Tom Roehl, I found bits and pieces of info from a lot of seasons.
But, for some reason, 2001 was the one single season where every stat sheet fell into my fingers with ease, and it’s the one season I can recreate in its entirety, despite not having covered the action in person, as I was deep into my Videoville days at the time.
So, here we go.
Why? Why not.
Game 1: The best and worst game wrapped into one, as Coupeville takes a 14-0 lead into the fourth at King’s, but can’t hang on.
Daniel McDonald busts in to the end zone twice, on runs of four and 35 yards, to stake the Wolves to the lead, while Matt Helm picks off two passes, but the host Knights scramble back for two late scores.
King’s QB Chris Faidley scores on a 15-yard keeper, then tosses a scoring strike to Robb Waidburger to force overtime. Once there, he hits Charlie Waidburger for the go-ahead touchdown.
Coupeville answers back, with Brad Sherman finding Helm on a touchdown toss, but in a move lost to time, the Wolves go for the win on a two-point conversion, and fail.
Van Velkinburgh went 22 for 23 kicking extra points, but CHS coach Ron Bagby opts to roll the dice and loses 21-20.
“We went for two on a 31 TE hot. Fake the dive and throw to the tight end. It was intercepted,” Van Velkinburgh said. “We controlled most of that game and King’s made every conceivable play down the stretch to force overtime.”
Game 2: Sherman lights up Tacoma Baptist for 374 yards through the air and four touchdowns (three to Brian Fakkema, who rolls up 168 yards), but the Wolves get killed on the ground in a 49-26 loss.
Josh Bousman rambles for 220 yards as the hosts amass 384 rushing yards, and while Wolves Joe Kelley and Mike Smart each collect 11 tackles, not enough of them are of the big-play variety.
Game 3: Making its home debut, Coupeville romps to a 42-13 dismantling of Charles Wright Academy.
Showing their best balance of the season, the Wolves get 211 yards rushing (McDonald has 172 and scores three times) and 187 yards passing (Helm has 101 yards receiving and two TD’s).
The future Coach V is a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points, while Kelley is on a rampage, with 19 tackles. It will not be his largest total of the season, however.
Game 4: The Wolves are starting to roll, decimating Life Christian 50-7 as everyone goes wild.
Sherman tosses three touchdowns, all to different receivers, McDonald tosses in two scores on the ground and J.D. Myers and Casey Mitchell get their first touchdowns of the season.
The ground game? Kind of a blowout, as CHS pounds the visitors 371 to (-13).
The Wolf defense is pumped up all night long, with nine sacks, picks by Kelley and Scott Fisher and a fumble recovery from Brandon Mazdra.
Game 5: The winning streak hits three, as Coupeville crushes Concrete 31-17 on the road behind a 199-yard, three-touchdown performance from McDonald.
The Wolf junior crosses the 100-yard rushing barrier seven times in nine games in 2001, amassing 1,184 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Schuyler Porter has his second straight two-sack game on defense, Kelley tosses in 15 more tackles and Smart amasses a stat line that goes off the sheet (12 tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery).
Game 6: A step back, as the Wolves fall 24-8 at Archbishop Murphy.
Smart and Kelley net 19 tackles apiece, but they spend a lot of time on the field, as ATM sophomore running back Jevon Butler rolls up 227 yards.
It is a feeling other teams will experience a lot, as Butler goes on to rush for 227 yards against Royal while leading the Wildcats to a 1A state title game win in 2002.
He’s a two-time 1A state player of the year and later plays at the University of Idaho.
His time as a Vandal is marred, however, when he is charged with battery following an incident in which Butler and companions allegedly jump from a vehicle and attack two men on a street in Moscow.
Game 7: Bad start, late rally, as Coupeville falls behind 21-0 after the first quarter, scores twice in the fourth, but can’t get all the way back in a 21-13 loss at home to Friday Harbor.
A pass defense that held ATM to six yards a week before gives up 222 to Friday Harbor slinger Brett Percich, the only time CHS will be severely stung through the air in 2001.
McDonald counters with 167 yards on the ground, Kelley and Smart combine for 32 tackles and Craig Youderian nets two tackles for loss. Van Velkinburgh recovers a fumble, but misses a PAT for the only time in his stellar senior campaign.
Game 8: Three straight wins, now three straight losses as the Wolves fall 35-21 at Orcas Island, despite out-gaining their hosts on the ground (176-94) and through the air (161-153).
Of all the games in 2001, this is the one where if you only have the stats, as I do, it doesn’t make much sense.
McDonald ran for another 153 yards, Sherman hit Fakkema on a 66-yard scoring strike and three Wolves were in double digits for tackles, led by Kelley’s season-high 20.
Nothing much stands out for Orcas. They scored 22 in the second quarter — obviously the difference-maker — but none of the scoring plays look especially impressive on paper.
Sometimes stats lie. Apparently I needed to be there to understand this one.
Game 9: The late-season collapse hits its finale, as CHS falls 20-10 to La Conner at home, leaving the Wolves at 1-4 in conference play.
The only time the Wolves went under 100 yards with their passing attack, the game does feature a 27-yard field goal off of Van Velkinburgh’s toe, a Geoff Hageman interception and 19 more tackles from Kelley.
The game marks the end of the run for seniors Van Velkinburgh, Smart, Kelley, Austin Porter, Rob Fasolo, Chris Wynkoop, Hageman, Helm, Schuyler Porter, James Meek, Ken McGregor and Sean Callahan.
While the 3-6 record isn’t pretty, Kelley records an astonishing 142 tackles (which SHOULD be the single-season record on the school’s board), Smart collects 119 on his way to being named team MVP and the offense rolls up 3,013 yards (334.7 a game).
14 years later, the team is spread out, young men now turned into guys in their early 30’s. A tragic car accident claimed Smart in 2005, but his memory lives on through his teammates.
2001 wasn’t a title team, maybe, but it owns a potent piece of Wolf football lore. A piece that lives on thanks to a stack of stat sheets jammed into a filing cabinet.
Coupeville Sports 