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State playoffs, here they come!

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , , on October 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville High School football players Daylon Houston (left) and Aiden O’Neill, off to Friday Harbor on a business trip. (Davin Houston photo)

One year, two epic streaks spiked.

First, the Coupeville High School boys basketball team broke a 34-year dry spell, advancing to the state tournament for the first time since 1988.

And now, after a 43-14 dismantling of host Friday Harbor — it was 43-0 when CHS pulled most of its starters — the Wolf football squad is state-bound for the first time since 1990.

The win, Coupeville’s sixth-straight on the gridiron, lifts it to 7-1 on the season and caps a flawless 4-0 run through the Northwest 2B/1B League.

After previously clinching at least a tie for their first conference title since the ol’ ball coach, Ron Bagby, was still sportin’ short shorts, the Wolves won the NWL crown outright Friday night.

It’s the third league title for CHS football, with the 2022 squad joining the 1974 and 1990 teams, and this will be the fifth trip to state for the program.

The 12-team 2B state tourney kicks off Nov. 11, and the Wolves won’t know their foe or the site of their opening game until the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association seeds the teams Sunday, Nov. 6.

For a look at the still-blank state bracket, pop over to:

http://www.nw1a2bathletics.com/m2/tourn.php?act=vt&tid=3666

To punch their state ticket, the Wolves took a business trip to Friday Harbor and, quite simply, punched their hosts in the mouth.

Do the CHS football players, ages 14-18, really understand how ferocious Mike Tyson was in his prime in the ’80s and ’90s?

You know, those years where each time he stepped into the boxing ring you thought he might actually kill the poor sap trying to hide in the other corner, weeping into his gloves?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But, to a man, they imitated Iron Mike Friday, inflicting damage, both physical and emotional.

Peyton Caveness, warrior. (Brenna Silveira photo)

Dominic Coffman and Scott Hilborn, operating behind a line of big ol’ boys like William Davidson, Zane Oldenstadt, and Josh Upchurch, ran over Friday Harbor.

Then Wolf QB Logan Downes gashed the already-hurting defense, with fleet-footed receivers like Daylon Houston, Tim Ursu, and Hunter Bronec hauling in buttery-soft passes.

Coupeville scored on each of its first six possessions Friday and wasn’t subtle about it.

Coffman capped an opening 50-yard drive, plunging into the end zone on a short bull run, garnering what would be the first of four touchdowns on the night for the CHS senior.

Tack on a Daylon Houston PAT, force and recover a Friday Harbor fumble three plays later, then score again, and the tone was set.

Touchdowns #2 and #3 also came via Coffman — a 13-yard burst to freedom around the left side, followed by a 25-yard jaunt down the right sideline.

In between those scores, Friday Harbor put together its best drive of the game and got absolutely zip to show for it.

The Wolverines ran 15 plays, starting in the first quarter and ending in the second, went from their own 33-yard line to Coupeville’s 19, but had back-to-back running plays absolutely blown up at the end by CHS defenders.

Facing a fourth-and-nine, Friday Harbor went for the field goal, only to watch in horror as the ball ended up somewhere down around the ferry parking lot instead of splitting the uprights.

Coupeville tacked on a fourth touchdown right before the half, with Downes lofting a scoring strike into the waiting hands of Ursu.

Tim Ursu, unleashed. (Photo courtesy Ashleigh Casey)

Pushing the Wolf advantage to 28-0, it capped a drive in which CHS, facing a fourth-and-four, laughed at the danger and pulled off a 23-yard pass play with Bronec using a death grip to pluck the incoming ball from the heavens.

If Friday Harbor thought it might pull off a miracle second-half comeback, those hopes were dashed.

Quickly.

Hilborn outran a Wolverines receiver in a sprint downfield, then came back to the ball to pick it off, a roundhouse right to the temple for Friday Harbor.

Seconds later (OK, three plays), it was time for the Wolf weapons to detonate one more time.

Knocking Friday Harbor defenders off their feet, Hilborn shot in from 20 yards out for a touchdown, then Coupeville muffed the snap on the PAT.

Which might have been the plan all along, as Daylon Houston stopped in mid-stride, dropped his kicking leg back to Earth, snatched the ball off the sod, and flipped the jets.

Showcasing his wheels, Daniel and Alia’s middle son took off like a bat out of Hell, and beat a pack of defenders to the corner, waving bye-bye-bye as he notched his first two-point conversion of the season.

“Hey Dawson … mom says I’m faster than you.” (Alia Houston photo)

Tack on touchdown #4 for Coffman, this one on a 63-yard rumble down the left sideline, and a final Houston PAT and we had arrived at 43-0 and the end of the third quarter.

Now, give Friday Harbor some credit.

Trying to retain a bit of dignity as the league title was ripped from their hands on the night they celebrated Homecoming, the Wolverines scored twice in the waning moments against Coupeville’s younger players.

Which is fine and dandy, but Coupeville has still outscored its foes 349-101 this year, with Friday’s six-touchdown effort giving the Wolves 50 TD’s.

Riding his four-score effort, Coffman reclaims the team lead with 13 TD’s, while Ursu and Hilborn each have 12.

Downes first-half scoring pass was his 17th touchdown heave of the season, leaving him one off of Joel Walstad’s single-season CHS record of 18, set back in 2014.

As a team, the Wolves have rushed for 24 TD’s and thrown for 18 — freshman Chase Anderson connected on one while subbing for Downes earlier this season.

The school single-season team records, both set in 2014 by Josh Bayne, Walstad, and Co., are 26 TD’s on the ground and 20 through the air.

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Gridiron giants get historical

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on October 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Josh Upchurch went out a winner on Senior Night. (Brittany Kolbet photo)

Everything’s coming up roses for Bennett Richter.

The first-year Coupeville High School head football coach got married to Wolf basketball guru Megan Smith over the summer, uniting two empires.

The agenda for Monday’s school board meeting includes approval of Richter’s hire as a paraeducator for the school district.

And Friday night, having led his Wolf gridiron squad to a 78-0 shellacking of visiting La Conner at Mickey Clark Field, he accomplished something Coupeville’s previous five football coaches were unable to do — win a league title.

With the victory, the Wolves roar to 3-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-1 overall, and clinch at least a tie for the NWL crown.

The six wins are the most for a CHS football team in one season since 2005, while the conference title is the third in program history, and first since 1990.

Back then Ron Bagby was the ol’ ball coach, and Mr. Richter was a new arrival.

The future bearded one popped into the world in September 1990, while the Wolves wrapped a 9-0 regular season before hosting, and losing, a state playoff game Nov. 10 against Rainier.

Jump forward 32 years, and Coupeville controls its own playoff destiny.

The Wolves travel to Friday Harbor Oct. 28 for the regular-season finale, where a win over the Wolverines (2-1, 3-4) gives CHS outright possession of the crown and punches their ticket to the 12-team 2B state tourney.

According to Washington Interscholastic Activities Association records, it would be the fifth time Coupeville football qualified for the big dance, following one-and-done trips in 1974, 1986, 1987, and the aforementioned 1990.

If the Wolves fall at Friday Harbor, the schools share the league title and meet in a tiebreaker game the following weekend to decide which team advances to state.

Before moving on to the Wolverines, though, Coupeville needed to take care of business against a La Conner squad which has improved since the Wolves routed them earlier this season.

The Braves snapped an eight-game losing streak — a period when the Braves failed to score a single point — beating Charles Wright Academy 30-6, then scored 18 points in a loss to Friday Harbor.

That offensive success came to a screeching halt against Coupeville, however.

Arriving in town with a very-thin roster, La Conner never came close to scoring against the Wolf defense, while Richter’s squad got touchdowns from nine different players – including five who hadn’t scored before.

Senior Tim Ursu led the way, hitting paydirt three different ways, via a touchdown catch, a pick-six, and a punt return which he took to the house.

That leaves him tied with Scott Hilborn atop the team scoring chart, as both game-busters have recorded 11 touchdowns.

Having outscored their foes 306-87 this season, Coupeville also got a school single-game record five touchdown passes from quarterback Logan Downes.

Logan Downes gets historical. (Brenn Sugatan photo)

Connecting with five different teammates on scoring strikes, the Wolf junior surpassed the previous record of four, jointly held by Corey Cross (1971), Brad Sherman (2001), and big bro Hunter Downes (2016).

With 16 TD passes through seven games, Logan Downes is two off of Coupeville’s single season record of 18, set by Joel Walstad in 2014.

The Friday night ruckus between longtime foes was actually a scoreless tie six minutes into play.

With rain cascading down, Coupeville fumbled the opening kickoff, before La Conner suffered the first of its three interceptions, with Wolf senior Jonathan Valenzuela picking off the wayward heave.

A punt from both teams followed, and we were stuck in a stalemate.

And yet … Coupeville scored 44 points in the first quarter alone. With all those points coming in a five-and-a-half-minute span.

Seriously.

The Wolves broke through on a 45-yard run to daylight from Scott Hilborn, as he shot up the middle, juked all 11 defenders out of their shoes, then hit the jets en route to the promised land.

Tack on a two-point conversion run by Ursu, who snatched a bad PAT snap off the turf and created magic out of nothing, and the scoreboard lurched to life.

Then it never stopped clicking forward.

La Conner fumbled the ensuing onside kick, and Downes immediately made the Braves pay, zipping a 25-yard scoring pass to a wide-open Ursu on the very next play.

Then came a parade of first-time scorers, with unsung defensive stars rising to the moment and unleashing pandemonium among their classmates in the stands.

William “The Show Pony” Davidson, who spent most of the night chasing down La Conner’s QB and planting him on his head, got electric.

A would-be pitch was batted upwards in the air, where the rampaging Davidson snatched the ball, cradled the pigskin and dragged most of the Braves along with him, not stopping until he crossed the plane of the end zone.

Not to be outdone, hard-hitting defensive ace Peyton Caveness recovered a blocked punt a few seconds later, taking it in for his first score.

Peyton Caveness, here to crush La Conner’s dreams. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Another blocked La Conner punt went through the end zone for a Wolf safety, pushing the lead to 30-0, but things were just getting started.

Downes lofted TD pass #2, connecting with senior Henry Ohme, who turned his first varsity reception into a 35-yard scoring play, before a pick-six from Ursu (and a conversion run from Hilborn) ended the first quarter carnage.

After a consultation with La Conner’s coaching staff, the refs went to a running clock at the start of the second quarter — a full quarter before it’s normally triggered — but the Wolves proved adept at beating said clock.

Three second-quarter touchdowns sent the Wolves to the locker room up 65-0, with CHS getting creative in how it scored in the second frame.

Downes dropped a gorgeous, perfectly timed 35-yard scoring pass into the arms of a leaping Daylon Houston, Ursu outran everyone on a punt return, and Dominic Coffman crushed heads on a 38-yard run to the end zone.

Dominic Coffman, hanging with #1 fan Abby Mulholland, scored his ninth touchdown. (Renae Mulholland photo)

Playing in front of their home fans for the final time this season, the Wolves made history in the late going, with Downes pegging a 40-yard TD pass to freshman Chase Anderson and a 13-yard scoring strike to Hunter Bronec.

It was the first touchdown for both receivers and came on a night when youngsters like Malachi Somes and Yohannon Sandles collected their first-ever varsity tackles.

The Wolves, playing in front of sell-out crowds, went 4-1 at home this season, and finding a way to both honor his seniors and give the next gen stars a chance to shine brought a huge smile to Bennett Richter’s face.

While they still have a way to go, every game after this will be on the road for the Wolves.

Making their final appearance on their home field were Coffman, Hilborn, Houston, Coen Killian, Ohme, Kevin Partida, Josh Upchurch, Ursu, Valenzuela, Kai Wong, and four-year managers Melanie Navarro and Brenna Silveira.

Kai Wong (left) and Aiden O’Neill, key players for the best Wolf football team in a very long time. (Becky Terry photo)

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Big win, bright future

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on May 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Scott Hilborn (left) and Sage Sharp both had two hits Tuesday in a 19-2 win. (Morgan White photos)

They closed with a vengeance, so now they sit back and wait.

Drilling 16 hits Tuesday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad savaged host Darrington 19-2 to clinch at least a share of a league title.

With the win, the Wolves finish 11-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 13-6 overall.

Meanwhile, defending league champ Friday Harbor (10-1) travels to Orcas Island (6-4) Thursday in a must-win season finale.

Coupeville split their season series with the Wolverines, winning 11-8 at home after falling 3-2 on the road.

A Friday Harbor win Thursday sets up a third meeting between the schools May 12 on a neutral field in La Conner.

The winner of that game is the lone NWL team to advance to the 2B state tourney, while the loser is done.

However, if Friday Harbor loses at Orcas, Coupeville stands alone atop the NWL and punches its ticket to state without having to participate in a play-in game.

The Wolves made sure they would be in a prime position, jumping on Darrington from the first pitch.

Leadoff hitter Hawthorne Wolfe reached base on a Logger error, then his teammates cranked out four hits during a four-run top of the first inning.

Scott Hilborn, Cody Roberts, and Sage Sharp delivered the big blows, each rapping a double during the opening assault.

It was blowout city from there, as Coupeville slapped seven more runs on the scoreboard in the second and eight in the third, stretching the lead out to 19-0.

Eight different Wolves collected a base-knock in the game, with nine reaching base, as Darrington’s pitchers had nowhere to hide.

Jonathan Valenzuela reached base four times at Darrington.

CHS hurlers Hilborn, Sharp, and Wolfe were much-more effective, limiting the Loggers to just three hits on the afternoon.

Sharp’s stint on the mound was one of three positions he played in the game, as he also did duty at second base and shortstop.

That allowed the Wolf senior to finish his prep hardball career having played at least once at all nine positions on the field.

 

Tuesday stats:

Chase Anderson — 1 single
Peyton Caveness — 1 walk
Scott Hilborn — 2 doubles
Xavier Murdy — 1 single, 1 walk
Cody Roberts — 1 double, 1 walk
Sage Sharp — 1 single, 1 double, 1 walk
Jonathan Valenzuela — 1 single, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 walk
Cole White — 2 singles
Hawthorne Wolfe — 4 singles

Hawthorne Wolfe, ready to cause havoc.

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Bend? Break? Just win, baby!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on January 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Caleb Meyer and Coupeville won their 12th straight game Thursday, matching the best start in program history. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Two milestones reached, several more to go.

With a 57-47 win at Mount Vernon Christian Thursday, the Coupeville High School varsity boys basketball squad equals the best start in program history, while clinching at least a tie for its first league title in two decades.

The Wolves, now a pristine 9-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 12-0 overall, have matched the starts of the 1969-1970 and 1996-1997 teams.

With three regular season games left on the schedule, including NWL showdowns with Friday Harbor and La Conner, the CHS boys will add their first new plaque to the school’s Wall of Fame since current coach Brad Sherman was a player.

Coupeville can finish no worse than 9-2 in league play, while MVC, at 6-2 with three conference clashes left, can finish no better than 9-2.

If that happens, the schools will technically share the title, though the Wolves swept the season series against the Hurricanes, giving them an edge which can’t be denied.

One more Wolf win in league play, or one more MVC loss, however, and Coupeville sits alone atop the NWL.

The last time a Coupeville boys basketball squad claimed a league title was the 2001-2002 season, when Sherman was a junior sharpshooter rattling the rims for 275 points and Randy King was Wolf coach.

Chris Good led that team in scoring, followed by Sherman, Geoff Hageman, Sean Callahan, Casey Clark, James Meek, Brian Roundy, Dustin Vanvelkinburgh, Brian Fakkema, Rob Fasolo, and Joe Kelley.

20 years after playing on the last Wolf boys hoops team to win a league title, Brad Sherman has led this year’s team to the first level of the promised land. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

This year’s Wolf squad, which travels to Granite Falls Saturday for a non-conference rumble and a crack at the first 13-0 mark in 105 seasons, faced down one of its toughest tests Thursday night.

The game was a one-point affair with six minutes to play, but the Wolves refused to bend or crack.

Having frittered away a 14-point second quarter lead, Coupeville saw MVC tie the game up twice in the second half, but never trailed against the Hurricanes after Logan Downes slapped a rebound home to stake his squad to an early 8-7 lead.

Clinging to a 43-42 advantage with the clock headed under six to play, the Wolves stiffened on defense and swarmed to the ball.

Forcing bad passes, hitting the boards with intensity, and plucking the ball away from the Hurricane ballhandlers, CHS closed the game on a 14-5 run which drove a stake through the heart of every MVC fan in attendance.

We dine on your private school tears, and it is sweet. So sweet.

The Wolves did it from distance, with Downes and Xavier Murdy draining three-balls, with the former making the net jump off a pinpoint pass from Hawthorne Wolfe, and the latter hitting a step-back trey.

And Coupeville’s players did it at the free throw line, hitting six of eight freebies in the waning moments after getting hacked and molested on their way to the hoop.

Caleb Meyer put the cherries on top of the sundae, swishing four consecutive free throws to end things, while Grady Rickner and Downes also tickled the twines for a crucial point.

Toss in Wolfe rippling the nets for a foul shot early in the quarter — netting the 750th point of his prep career — and CHS dominated at the line.

Coupeville hit 12 of 18, while MVC was a modest 3-7.

Coupeville Middle School stars made the trek to Mount Vernon to support their high school counterparts. (Riley White photo)

The game tipped off with Xavier Murdy and Meyer in fine form, as the senior duo combined for 19 points as CHS built a 21-12 lead by the first break.

Meyer knocked down back-to-back treys, with one set up by a Wolfe steal, and things were headed in a positive direction.

Barely a minute into the second quarter, after X-Man converted off of an offensive rebound and Downes drilled the bottom out of the net on a three-ball, the romp was on at 26-12.

But then the romp was back off, at least for a bit.

Coupeville hit a dry spell, MVC went on a run, and then the Hurricanes got lucky to tighten things up considerably.

A 10-0 Hurricanes surge cut the lead, while a three-ball which beat the shot clock and halftime buzzer by about .00002 of a second pulled the host team all the way back to within 31-29.

The lid on the bucket refused to budge for the Wolves during much of the third quarter, but Coupeville’s ramped-up defense kept them in front.

A three-point play the hard way from Meyer cracked a 31-31 tie, while Downes put a rebound back up and in to push the lead to 39-35 heading into the final frame.

That set up a rough-and-tumble fourth quarter, with the game tied at 40-40, then CHS up 43-42 when it made its heroic stand.

By getting the final margin out to 10, the Wolves won by double digits for the 11th time in 12 games this season.

The only team to lose by single digits was 3A Oak Harbor in the season opener, when lil’ 2B Coupeville made a major statement (and harvested many a sweet, sweet tear) with a 70-64 win.

Sherman used seven players in the title clincher, with six scoring.

Xavier Murdy led the way with 23 points, while Meyer banked in 18 and Downes rattled the rims for 12.

Alex Murdy (2), Wolfe (1), and Rickner (1) rounded out the scoring, with Logan Martin a terror on the boards.

“Un-de-feated!!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

 

What’s ahead:

Saturday’s non-conference game pits CHS against a 2-8 Granite Falls team, then the Wolves close the regular season with road tilts against NWL foes Friday Harbor (Feb. 4) and La Conner (Feb. 10).

Those games are important, as the three 2B schools in the conference are fighting for two playoff berths — with those slots decided not by the team’s overall record, but their mark against each other.

The league’s four 1B schools — MVC, Darrington, Concrete, and Orcas Island — go their own way in the postseason.

Coupeville is 2-0 in the four-game 2B mini-rumble, having beaten La Conner and Friday Harbor the first time around, with La Conner at 1-1 and Friday Harbor at 0-2.

Districts are Feb. 15-17, with CHS hosting.

The second-ranked 2B team from the NWL plays Auburn Adventist in a loser-out game, with the winner advancing to play the #1 seed.

Both teams in the district championship game earn a trip to state, which would be the first for the Coupeville boys since 1988.

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Number one with a bullet

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on May 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“Who’s the best softball team in the North Sound Conference?”

“We are!!” (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

We’re #1.

Most likely.

Capping a wild regular season, the Coupeville High School softball team thrashed host South Whidbey 18-5 Tuesday, giving them a three-game season sweep of their Island rivals.

With the victory, the Wolves clinch at least a share of the North Sound Conference title, and put themselves in position to be the league’s #1 seed to districts.

The Wolves, who have won eight of their last 10 games, finish 9-3 in league play, and are 12-7 overall heading into the postseason, which starts May 16.

Coupeville won’t know for sure until Thursday if they are the #1 or #2 seed to districts.

That day Granite Falls (8-3, 11-7) travels to Sultan (1-10, 1-13) and Cedar Park Christian (8-3, 13-4) hosts South Whidbey (2-9, 5-12).

Here are the possible outcomes, with Coupeville earning the #1 playoff seed in three of four scenarios:

**Granite and CPC lose = Coupeville is undisputed league champs.

**Granite wins, CPC loses = Coupeville finishes in a tie with Granite.

Tigers get #1 seed based on tiebreaker, thanks to beating Wolves in two of three games.

**Granite loses, CPC wins = Coupeville finishes in a tie with CPC.

Wolves get #1 seed, since they took two of three against Eagles.

**Granite and CPC win = it’s a three-way tie for the title.

Head-to-head tiebreakers don’t work here, as each team won two of three against one foe, while losing two of three against the other opponent.

In this scenario, the most likely of the four, the seeding decision comes down to a blind draw done before the season by league AD’s.

And this is where it gets golden for Coupeville, since Willie Smith beat the odds and pulled the best number, which would make CHS the #1 seed.

However it breaks down Thursday, the Wolves are headed to the playoffs with a full head of steam.

Tuesday, CHS came out locked and loaded offensively and defensively, racking up 13 hits while also pulling off a season-best three double plays in the field.

The game started with one kind of splat — Wolf lead-off hitter Scout Smith being drilled with a wayward pitch — and ended with another, as Coupeville blew up the scoreboard for eight runs in the final inning.

Before the sting of being bonked had time to ease, Smith was on the move around the base-paths.

The Wolf junior scooted to second in a hurry when South Whidbey bobbled an Emma Mathusek grounder, before shooting home on an RBI single smacked sharply to left by Chelsea Prescott.

An out later, it was time for Mollie Bailey to remind folks that while her family has been anchored on the Coupeville prairie for decades, she’s more than willing to tear it up all over the Island.

Turning viciously on the ball, she paddled the offering back up the middle, skipping it between defenders and sending Mathusek and Prescott scrambling for home.

With Smith tossing BB’s from the pitcher’s circle, Coupeville carried the 3-0 lead into the top of the third, then tacked on a few more runs.

The first run came around thanks to an absolute laser off of the bat of Wolf catcher Sarah Wright, who smoked a double to deep left.

The next score might have been even better, because it came after South Whidbey intentionally walked the scariest batter they’ve known this season.

Wolf first-baseman Veronica Crownover smashed fences-clearing home runs in both the previous games this season between the Island rivals, and the Falcons were feeling a bit gun-shy in their third tango.

Twice Tuesday they waved her to first base on intentional passes, then breathed deep sighs of relief as she stopped twisting her bat o’ death, gave the Falcon hurler a long, quietly-menacing stare, then jogged down to first-base.

Your season totals for South Whidbey pitchers: three intentional walks to Crownover, counting one in an earlier game, but none to a single other Wolf.

The Falcons still paid in the third inning, though certainly not with the same sting a grand-slam would have offered.

Mackenzie Davis, following Crownover to the plate, whipped a low, blistering shot off the pitcher’s mitt, plating one Wolf, then Nicole Laxton sent a final run across the plate on a ground-out, garnering the first of her four RBI in the game.

Up 6-0, Coupeville was humming, but hit a brief bit of trouble in the third.

Rallying from two outs and nobody aboard, the Falcons strung together three straight hits and put their own three-spot on the scoreboard.

But, while it was a stumble, it was a brief one.

The Wolves answered right back in the fourth, with Laxton crushing a two-out, two-run single to stretch the margin back to 8-3, before the entire team started throwing down stellar defensive plays.

The first came from Smith, who moved to second base in the fourth, with freshman Izzy Wells stalking to the pitcher’s circle to take the ball.

Smith pulled off a nifty double-play to end the bottom of the inning, snagging a hot chopper, tagging a runner trying to sneak by, then pegging the ball deep into Crownover’s mitt.

The two teams exchanged two-run rallies in the fifth, then both went scoreless in the sixth, keeping the Wolf lead semi-safe at 10-5.

Bailey had the big blow in the fifth, walloping a two-run double, while Prescott and Crownover pulled off their own double plays to end the fifth and sixth, respectively.

Prescott scooped up a grounder, jumped on second for one out, then nailed the runner headed to first, all in one fluid move.

Crownover went her one better, moving only a single step for her twin-killing.

Glove snapping up, she yanked a liner out of the air, then nonchalantly stepped backwards and onto the bag at first, subtly waving bye-bye-bye to a Falcon runner who had taken off at bat contact only to find herself stuck in no man’s land.

While Coupeville led the entire way, the five-run margin still might have made for some tight collars, so the Wolves erased any doubts in the top of the seventh.

The first 10 batters in the inning reached base, and South Whidbey didn’t get an out until the field ump went blind and called Prescott out after she beat out a bunt by a good three steps.

Not that it mattered, as the Wolves had pushed eight runs across in the frame at that point, with the biggest hits being yet another RBI single by the smokin’ hot Laxton and a two-run double from Smith.

“We came out and scored in the first and never looked back,” CHS coach Kevin McGranahan said. “They fought us for a little while, but, in the end, we outhit them and played good defense.”

Coupeville spread its offense around, with Prescott (three singles), Wright (two doubles), Bailey (1B, 2B), Mathusek (two singles), and Laxton (two singles) leading the way.

Smith added a double, while Coral Caveness singled.

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