Joel Walstad (left) and Josh Bayne savor the final moments of their senior football season. (Shawn Walstad photo)
Sophomore Dominic Dausey was a hard-hitting force on defense Friday night, with five solo tackles, two assists and a sack for a loss. (John Fisken photo)
This is how you say farewell.
Playing in their final game Friday night, Coupeville High School seniors Josh Bayne and Joel Walstad lit up the scoreboard and filled the stat sheet, carrying the Wolves to a huge 55-38 win over visiting Bellevue Christian.
The non-conference victory, capped by a 28-point fourth quarter in which CHS scored on the very first play of a drive three times, lifted the Wolves to 5-5.
That gave Coupeville its most wins in a season since 2007 and its first .500 or better year since 2005.
In their first season in the Olympic League, the Wolves were the only team to beat league champ Port Townsend, which got knocked out of the playoffs 24-14 by Charles Wright Friday.
Driving the high-powered Coupeville offense (which finished with 597 yards) were Bayne, who rushed for 311 yards and netted six touchdowns (four on the ground, two through the air) and Walstad, who threw for 182 yards and four scores (two to Bayne, two to junior Ryan Griggs.)
Both seniors went past 1,500 yards — Walstad in the air and Bayne on the ground — a feat that departing coach Tony Maggio had wanted to hit in the group’s swan song.
Maggio, who increased the team’s win total in each of his three seasons at the helm and beat Island rival South Whidbey twice, is stepping down to spend more time with family.
His final game on the gridiron started as a rout, turned into a nail-biter, then went back to being a rout.
Running Bayne right, left and every which way in the first quarter, Coupeville jumped out to a 14-0 lead before Bellevue Christian ran a single offensive play.
The Wolves hit pay dirt on an eight-yard scamper to the end zone by Bayne, who finished with 25 touchdowns on the season.
They then recovered the ensuing onside kick and handed the ball right back to Awesome Joshsome, who plunged in again, this time from five yards out.
The Vikings finally got their hands on the ball, with quarterback David Postma, a burly beast of a boy, running the ball up the gut repeatedly on QB draws.
Coupeville’s defense stiffened, holding Bellevue to a 31-yard field goal, before seemingly blowing the game wide open with back-to-back spectacular plays.
First Griggs soared through the crystal clear sky, scraping the moon itself to haul in a one-handed reception in which he caught the ball while reaching back over his body.
Not to be outdone, Walstad and Bayne hooked up on a beauty of a scoring play two seconds later.
Shakin’ and bakin’, sidestepping three would-be sackers, Walstad kept the play alive to the very last possible second, then zipped a ball down the right sideline, where it banked sharply and dropped into Bayne’s fingers.
Having snagged the ball, Bayne promptly juked two Viking defensive backs out of their spikes, leaving them sprawled on the ground as he twirled into the end zone.
But, just as things seemed to be headed towards a leisurely stroll for Coupeville, BC refound its mojo.
The Wolves tossed in another Bayne score — this one on a 64-yard sprint down the sideline — and Wolf freshman Julian Welling blew up a return man while playing on special teams, but Bellevue surged back into contention with three scores of its own.
Having pulled within 27-24 and suddenly short-circuited Coupeville’s offense in the third quarter, the Vikings had the ball and were driving for the go-ahead score.
Enter Jacob Martin, who can normally be found operating as a smash-mouth rusher who loosens up defenses so Bayne can then exploit gun-shy tacklers with bursts of speed.
This time, with the game tottering in the balance, Martin stepped in front of a Bellevue pass and hauled in his first interception of his high school varsity career.
Sparked by the play, the Wolves came out to start the fourth and wasted no time in scoring. At all.
Bayne busted out a 58-yard TD run, then Walstad went berserk.
He nailed Griggs on a 33-yard scoring bomb, hooked up with Bayne on a 59-yard catch-and-run, then went back to Griggs on a 42-yard strike.
In all, Coupeville scored four touchdowns on four possessions, using just five plays — Martin had a two-yard run before the scoring pass to Bayne — in less than five minutes.
Bellevue countered with two touchdowns of its own, as the two squads combined for 42 points in a torrid six and a half minutes, but the Wolves refused to crack.
Sophomore Gabe Wynn shot through a crack in the Viking line to drop Postma for a loss on a sack and Bayne plucked an interception out of the air to blunt a final BC charge.
The victory brought an end to the runs of Wolf seniors Walstad, Bayne, Carson Risner, Aaron Wright, Matt Shank, Oscar Liquidano and Isaac Vargas.
While they will be greatly missed, the cupboard is stocked for next season, with three-year lettermen Lathom Kelley and Wiley Hesselgrave (who spent his birthday crackin’ heads and takin’ names) set to lead what will be a strong senior class.
The Class of 2016 also boasts players like Griggs, speedy receiver (and possible Walstad replacement at QB) CJ Smith, fullback Mitchell Losey, multi-talented Cole Payne and linemen Brenden Gilbert, Jake Lord and Josh Lord.
Toss in current sophomores Martin, Wynn and Mitchell Carroll and freshmen such as Hunter Smith and Cameron Toomey-Stout and whomever replaces Maggio will have a decent talent pool to draw from.
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