Wolf QB Hunter Downes threw for three touchdowns Friday night, one to Jacob Martin (right). (John Fisken photos)
Hunter Smith snagged the other two scoring strikes, giving him six TDs on the season.
This one was a heart-breaker.
Coming off of back-to-back blowout losses, the Coupeville High School football squad made huge strides Friday night, but fell just short in its conference opener.
Unable to hold on to a four-point halftime lead, the Wolves were clipped 23-20 by Charles Wright Academy in a game played in the wilds of Tacoma.
The loss drops Coupeville to 1-3 overall, 0-1 in Olympic/Nisqually League play.
CHS will get a chance to even its record with back-to-back home games the next two weeks, facing Vashon Island and Port Townsend.
With the 1A Olympic League having joined up with the Nisqually League to form an eight-team super conference for football, Coupeville found itself facing off with one of its new rivals to kick off the seven-game league season.
And while the Tarriers scored first, the Wolves hit right back, using an effective air game to pick apart the Charles Wright secondary.
Junior quarterback Hunter Downes rifled three touchdown passes, two to Hunter Smith and one to Jacob Martin, doubling his season output.
The first one went 34 yards on a Hunter-to-Hunter connection, while the second scoring pass, also to Smith, staked the Wolves to a 13-9 halftime lead.
Downes hit Martin for a second-half score as well, but Charles Wright answered with two touchdowns of its own to hold off Coupeville.
The three passing touchdowns was one off the school’s single-game record of four, jointly held by current CHS offensive coordinator Brad Sherman (2001) and Wolf legend Corey Cross (1971).
Cameron Toomey-Stout picked off a Tarrier pass to pace the CHS defense.
In other league games, Klahowya clocked Vashon Island 35-14 and Cascade Christian clobbered Chimacum 47-19.
Port Townsend and Bellevue Christian wrap up the first weekend of league play when they meet Saturday.
Current standings:
| School | League | Overall |
| Cascade Christian | 1-0 | 4-0 |
| Charles Wright | 1-0 | 2-2 |
| Klahowya | 1-0 | 3-1 |
| Bellevue Christian | 0-0 | 0-3 |
| Port Townsend | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| Chimacum | 0-1 | 1-3 |
| Coupeville | 0-1 | 1-3 |
| Vashon Island | 0-1 | 0-4 |
Coupeville Sports 