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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

Home or away, rock the joint

Posted in Football, soccer, standings, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on October 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Andrew Williams (left) and Cole White lead a Wolf soccer squad ranked #7 in the state. (Jackie Saia photo)

It’s a perfect split.

Coupeville High School fall sports teams have six contests next week, with three at home, and three on the road.

Wolf volleyball has the sweetest schedule, hosting Friday Harbor Tuesday and Forks Saturday, while CHS soccer gets a split decision.

The high-flying booters, who boast the best record of any Coupeville team at 4-1, hit the road Tuesday for a major matchup with Mount Vernon Christian.

Then the Wolves bring it home under Friday Night Lights, playing host to Grace Academy.

That leaves football and cross country, who will both listen to the sounds of the bus wheels going round and round this coming week.

The gridiron giants travel to Bellingham Friday, while the harriers run Saturday at the Hole in the Wall Invitational in Arlington.

One inch can be the difference between a volleyball win and loss. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

With action flowing along, a look at up-to-the-moment standings through games of Sept. 30:

 

Northwest League boys’ soccer:

School League Overall
Coupeville 1-0-0 4-1-0
Friday Harbor 1-0-0 4-1-0
La Conner 1-0-0 3-3-0
Orcas Island 1-0-0 4-3-0
Lopez Island 0-0-0 2-2-0
CPC-Lynnwood 0-1-0 1-4-0
Grace Academy 0-1-0 0-5-0
MV Christian 0-1-0 6-1-2
PC Christian 0-1-0 3-3-0

 

Northwest League football — (11-Man):

School League Overall
Friday Harbor 2-0 3-1
Coupeville 1-1 1-4
La Conner 0-2 0-4

 

Northwest League football — (8-Man):

School League Overall
Darrington 1-0 5-0
Concrete 0-1 3-2

 

Northwest League volleyball:

School League Overall
La Conner 3-0 4-4
Orcas Island 3-0 6-2
Darrington 1-1 7-2
MV Christian 1-1 5-2
Concrete 1-3 4-4
Coupeville 0-2 1-4
Friday Harbor 0-2 0-7

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Get butter, cause they’re on a roll

Posted in soccer, tagged , , , , , on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Nick Guay dropped a note-perfect mix tape during pregame warmups, then scored his 13th career goal in a big Coupeville win. (Carly Burt photo)

Flawless? No. Thrilling? Yes.

The Coupeville High School soccer squad might not have delivered its best performance of the season Friday, but the Wolf booters still had way too much firepower for visiting Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood.

Raining down goals under Friday Night Lights and using a suffocating defense to allow goaltender Hurlee Bronec plenty of rest time, CHS strolled to a crowd-pleasing 4-0 win.

The victory, coming in both team’s Northwest 2B/1B League opener, lifts Coupeville to 1-0 in conference play, 4-1 overall.

The core of a first-place team. (Jackie Saia photo)

Now, the Wolves will carry a four-game winning streak on the road next week, traveling to Mount Vernon Christian for a matchup with a dangerous Hurricanes squad.

Coupeville will need to clean up its passing to hang with MVC, a perennial state tourney contender, but the goal-scoring, enthusiasm, and team camaraderie is already present.

The Wolves have proven quite adept at bashing away and scoring goals this season, and that was on display Friday night.

Cole White broke open a scoreless tie in the game’s 21st minute, peppering the CPC goalie with a laser, before fellow senior Nick Guay popped in a shot seven minutes later.

Around the two first-half scores, the Wolves had numerous other chances which just missed.

Preston Epp and Guay slapped shots which drifted just a bit at the end, sliding past the net, while Ayden Wyman was robbed by a nice save from the visiting netminder.

Awarded a penalty kick after being knocked around in a scrum, Wyman, who tallied 13 goals in two years with the Wolf girls’ team, came dangerously close to becoming the first CHS female to score in a boys’ game.

While she was (barely) denied, Coupeville picked up another two goals after the halftime break.

White punched in his second score of the night 15 minutes into the second half, before Preston Epp went on a rampage, beating the CPC goalie on a breakaway to cap the offensive output.

Facing off with a defense led by Hank Milnes and Andrew Williams, Cedar Park had few chances to score.

Jedi master Hurlee Bronec compels the ball to stop using just his mind. (Jackie Saia photo)

CPC’s best try came courtesy a penalty kick, but the shooter went wide right, perhaps chilled by the sight of Bronec coldly staring him down.

Or the gathered Wolf fans screaming and thumping the metal seats, creating a wall of sound which rippled across the prairie.

With his two scores Friday, White moves into a tie with Guay for the season lead, as both gunners have tallied five apiece.

Now with 13 career goals, Guay jumps a rung, and is tied with Wolf grad Aidan Wilson for #6 all-time, while White has nine celebrations.

That ties him with pitch legend Jon Chittim for #12.

Preston Epp, just a junior, has two goals on the season, and seven for his career, as he also continues to move up the list.

He already owns the family record, edging older brother Cameron, who scored four times during his own strong prep career.

#7 has scored seven times in his CHS career. (Jackie Saia photo)

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Playoff hopes dinged, not erased

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , , on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Davin Houston caught his first varsity TD pass Friday night. (Andrew Williams photo)

The path is perilous, but the road hasn’t washed out.

Coupeville’s goals of winning back-to-back Northwest 2B/1B League football titles, and returning to the state playoffs, took a ding Friday night, that’s true.

But nothing has been decided yet.

Falling 37-26 on Friday Harbor, the Wolves slip a game behind the Wolverines in the standings with two conference tilts left on the schedule.

Friday Harbor sits at 2-0 in league, 3-1 overall, while Coupeville is 1-1, 1-4.

La Conner brings up the rear in the three-way battle for 2B supremacy, at 0-2, 0-4.

The Wolves have non-conference rumbles the next two weeks, travelling to Bellingham, then hosting Forks for Homecoming.

After that comes a road trip to La Conner Oct. 20 and Senior Night Oct. 27 against Friday Harbor.

The Braves and Wolverines play for a second time Oct. 13.

Win out in their two league games, and Coupeville can earn at least a share of the league title and force a tiebreaker with Friday Harbor to decide which NWL team advances to the 2B state tourney.

To do so, the Wolves will need to slow down the Wolverines ground attack, which tore them up in round one.

CHS sophomore Aiden O’Neill punched in a touchdown — his team-leading fifth of the season — off of a short pass from Logan Downes, but Coupeville found itself staring at a 27-7 deficit midway through the third quarter.

Downes strafed Friday Harbor for three more TD’s through the air in the second half.

The first two went to sophomore Chase Anderson and the final one landed in the arms of fab frosh Davin Houston with 14 seconds to play.

Chase Anderson hauled in two scoring bombs from Wolf quarterback Logan Downes. (Bailey Thule photo)

Unfortunately, Friday Harbor had an answer at every turn, whether it was Victor Velasquez cranking a long field goal or Chris Gustafson and associates tearing off huge chunks of yardage on the ground.

Trying to play catch-up, Coupeville went for two-point conversions after its final two scores but failed on both attempts.

The Wolves defense stood tall near the end, holding on a fourth-and-three, only to see Friday Harbor return the favor on the very next possession.

With his four touchdown passes, Downes has 12 on the season, and becomes the third CHS quarterback to crack 30 scoring lobs for his career.

He has 32, trailing just his basketball coach, Brad Sherman (33), and older brother Hunter Downes (35), who holds the school record.

Anderson accounted for 14 of Coupeville’s 26 points Friday, with two touchdowns and two PAT’s.

That moves him atop the season scoring chart, where he currently edges O’Neill 31-30.

And last, but not least, Davin Houston snagging a pass and bolting past a defender for six means all three of Daniel and Alia’s sons have been involved in a touchdown while repping the red and black.

With the score, the young gun joins a football fraternity which includes older siblings Dawson and Daylon.

 

A side note:

Dear sweet baby Jesus, if Friday Harbor can sell a sweetfully sinful Mac ‘n Cheese hamburger in their snack bar, why can’t Coupeville?

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Home cooking, flying feet

Posted in Cross Country, tagged , , , , , on September 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

George Spear flies down the trail Wednesday at Fort Casey State Park. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The rain stayed away, but the top times flowed down.

Putting three runners in the top seven Wednesday, the Coupeville High School boys’ cross country team defended its home turf at Fort Casey State Park, winning a six-team home meet.

Meanwhile, the Wolf girls, paced by another stellar performance from Noelle Western, pushed Mount Vernon Christian hard, with only nine points separating the two teams in the final tally.

Led by individual champ Evangeline Fikkert, the Hurricane girls finished with 23 points to Coupeville’s 32.

Noelle Western cruises to a 5th place finish.

On the boy’s side of things, the Wolves edged MVC 39-55, though the ‘Canes did have an individual winner in Isaac Betz.

Friday Harbor (73), Orcas Island (86), and Evangel Classical (98) rounded out the team standings.

Lummi Nation also sent runners but didn’t have a full squad.

All the Wolves come off the starting line at the same time.

Wednesday’s meet, the lone home event for Coupeville, played out on a redesigned course covering 5,000 meters.

With retired CHS track coach Randy King on hand to be the official race starter, things kicked off with a big rush, as the girls and boys competed at the same time.

With the weather cooperating, and Coupeville Middle School coach Amber Wyman stepping up to take the reins as race director, it made for a pleasant day all around.

“Great afternoon!!!,” said CHS harrier coach Elizabeth Bitting.

“So many compliments on the beautiful course, wonderful volunteers, shout out to the middle schoolers who stepped up and helped out. Can’t wait for them to run this course next season.”

Volunteers like Sherry Bonacci were invaluable to bringing off a successful meet.

With coaching duties calling to her, Bitting needed someone to run the race, and Wyman knocked it out of the park.

“This was very hard for me to do — give control of my baby to somebody else,” Bitting said with a laugh.

“But Amber is AMAZING and did GREAT!”

Coupeville returns to action this Saturday, Sept. 30, when it travels to the Cedarcrest Golf Course in Marysville for the 16th annual Twilight XC Invitational.

 

Wednesday results:

 

GIRLS:

Noelle Western (5th) 24:47.69
Ari Armstrong (14th) 27:41.44
Aleksia Jump (15th) 28:28.76
Erica McGrath (17th) 30:23.69
Reagan Callahan (18th) 30:27.44

 

BOYS:

George Spear (4th) 19:17.39
Carson Field (5th) 19:32.77
Landon Roberts (7th) 19:41.55
Ezekiel Allen (10th) 20:02.63
Kenneth Jacobsen (13th) 20:18.80
Thomas Strelow (14th) 20:27.07
Nicholas Wasik (25th) 21:47.88
Preston Howard (29th) 22:14.56
Santi Ojeda (30th) 22:17.71
Axel Marshall (31st) 22:30.01
Zach Blitch (43rd) 30:54.28
Damy Giacobbe (44th) 33:52.55

Coupeville Athletic Director Willie Smith ponders the meaning of the universe while tabulating times.

 

To see more photos from this race, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/CHS-Cross-Country-2023-2024/XC-2023-09-27-at-Ft-Casey/

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Booters rise in state rankings

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , on September 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Preston Epp and Coupeville are shooting, and scoring. (Zak Weatherford photo)

The respect grows.

Coming off a win over pitch powerhouse Orcas Island, which has played in the state championship game in back-to-back seasons, the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer team is moving up in the rankings.

The Wolves, who were #9 among 2B/1B schools in the first RPI (Rating Percentage Index) list released by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, jump two slots to #7 a week later.

Coupeville, which is 3-1 heading into a Friday home showdown with Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood (1-3), is the second-highest ranked public school.

Defending state champ Friday Harbor (3-1) sits at #4, while fellow Northwest 2B/1B rival Mount Vernon Christian (6-1-1) is #5.

Wolf super fan Greg White keeps a watchful eye on the pitch happenings. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

After some shuffling, the current top three is comprised of Summit Atlas (3-0), Auburn Adventist (3-1), and Upper Columbia Academy (2-0).

Puget Sound Adventist (3-0) is #6, with Columbia Adventist (1-1), Rainier Christian School (2-1), and Riverside Christian (2-1) rounding out the top 10.

The NWL holds down slots #11-#14, with Orcas (3-3), Lopez Island (2-1), Providence Classical Christian (2-2), and La Conner (2-3), while CPC-Lynnwood is #19 and Grace Academy (0-4) #23.

While RPI is often hotly debated, it does have some value, as the WIAA uses it as part of its formula for seeding teams for state tournament play.

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