Josh Bayne, seen here last season, had big hits on defense and big catches on offense Friday. (John Fisken photo)
Willie Smith was on fire Friday. The refs, not so much.
Coupeville High School’s baseball coach, who doubles as the PA announcer for Wolf football games, was at the top of his game as he called the match-up between visiting Sequim (his alma mater) and his current employers.
One finger operating his tunes, sending bursts of AC/DC and Guns ‘N Roses out into the early evening air in a bid to rouse a sleepy crowd, he kept the zingers coming.
Even over the course of a game that clocked in at a minute shy of three hours, he never faded.
The guys in black and white, whose habit of throwing one, two, three and sometimes four flags on seemingly every other play, were a bit more of a drag on a night when 2A Sequim (eventually) bounced 1A Coupeville 40-18.
By the time the refs had finished marching off 122.5 yards in accepted penalties against CHS, the Wolves probably felt like they were playing 11-on-16 most of the night.
Though actually, even then, they didn’t play all that badly.
Josh Bayne and Jacob Martin laid down earth-shattering tackles, where they caught Sequim players in mid-stride and lifted them airborne before planting them face-first into the turf.
Toss in fumble recoveries by Lathom Kelley and Gabe Wynn, a blocked PAT by Matt Shank, and a back-pedaling over-his-shoulder interception by Bayne (AKA “Joshsome,” which rhymes with Awesome, courtesy of the man behind the mic) and the Wolf defense put up some big plays.
And we still haven’t talked about the moment when Sequim felt the true impact of “The House of Bayne” after the Wolf senior chased down a receiver and punched the ball out of his hands at the one-yard line, turning a sure-thing touchdown into a turnover.
“Our defense was strong. They got some big hits and, to a man, played hard all night,” said Coupeville assistant coach Orson Christensen.
Coupeville started the first meeting between the two schools since 1930 (Willie Smith’s freshman year?), with Bayne’s interception blunting Sequim’s opening drive.
The Wolves then drove half the field before settling for a 27-yard field goal from Joel Walstad to take what turned out to be their only lead of the game.
A second quarter marred by (what else) penalty flags galore killed Coupeville, as Sequim busted open a close game. Up 7-3 after one, they scored three times in the second 12 minutes to go into the locker room up 27-3.
The final score was a dagger through the heart, as a fourth down at the Sequim 21 blew up in Coupeville’s face when Walstad’s pass was picked off and returned for a 79-yard TD with just eight seconds left on the clock.
Knocking some of his papers off the press box table in the excitement, Willie Smith caught them on the way down.
“I’m like a cat … well, sometimes I’m like a really old cat rolling over after a nap … but still a cat.”
Inspired by his words of wisdom perhaps, Coupeville staged a mini-rally in the second half, ripping off two touchdowns.
Walstad, who was under pressure all night, but avoided it most of the time, hit Bayne for a 15-yard scoring strike, before “Machine Gun” Kelley crashed in for a six-yard scoring run.
The extra point attempt after Kelley’s score threatened to blow up on Coupeville, but quick thinking and nimble fingers saved the Wolves.
When the snap skidded into the grass in front of the holder, Bayne, he snared it and flipped it to Walstad, who cut his foot swing in mid-stride, whirled to the left and lobbed it to CJ Smith, who rumbled home for two points.
Back within two scores, Coupeville’s offense stalled out, however, and Sequim tacked on a late score to stretch the final margin.
Even at the end, however, the refs were still throwing flags (including nailing CHS for an “audible profanity”), causing Willie Smith’s right hand man, clock-operator supreme Joel “The Ice Cream Man” Norris, to get a bit agitated.
“Don’t stop the clock! I’ve got dinner reservations!!” became his mantra over the final, flag-infested half hour.
On the field, Walstad went down firing, completing 21 of 45 passes for a career-high 272 yards (he has 524 yards through two games).
He also spread the wealth, with five receivers hauling in catches. CJ Smith snagged five for 96 yards, followed by Bayne (5-86), Ryan Griggs (4-56), Kelley (4-21) and Martin (3-13).
With the ball flying so much in an effort to cut into Sequim’s lead, Coupeville ran the ball far less than normal, with Bayne (eight carries for 46 yards) the standout.
On defense, Bayne (8 tackles), Oscar Liquidano (7) and Wynn (7) led the way, while Kelley, who missed the opener against South Whidbey, returned to record four tackles and a team-high 10 assists. Martin (6 tackles), Aaron Wright (4) and Shank (3) chipped in.
The Wolves (1-1) return to action Friday, Sept. 19 when they host Chimacum (5:30 kickoff) in their first-ever Olympic League game.
The Cowboys are 0-2 after losing 27-8 to Forks.
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