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Posts Tagged ‘Northwest League’

Wolf league rival nets state title

Posted in Boys Soccer, tagged , , , , on November 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville’s Aidan Wilson rampages against Friday Harbor, which won the 2B/1B boys soccer state title. (Morgan White photo)

Coupeville plays in the toughest 2B/1B boys soccer conference in the state.

Since returning to the Northwest League three seasons ago, the Wolves have seen league rivals win both state titles contested, while claiming six of eight trophies.

There was no state tourney in 2020 because of the pandemic, but Orcas Island won the crown in 2021, and Friday Harbor claimed the 2022 title Saturday.

The Wolverines capped a 15-2 season — in which one of their two losses came to Coupeville — by edging Orcas 2-1, denying the Vikings back-to-back titles.

Friday Harbor won three of four against Orcas this season, handing them all of their losses during a 16-3 run.

Earlier Saturday, Mount Vernon Christian fell 3-2 to Saint George’s in the 3rd/4th place game.

That means the NWL claimed 1st, 2nd, and 4th this season, matching last season when Orcas beat Providence Classical Christian in the final, and Friday Harbor brought home a 4th place trophy.

Saturday’s title is the first for a Friday Harbor boys’ team, with Wolverine volleyball having claimed the 2B state crown back in 1986.

Orcas and Friday Harbor clashed all season, with the Wolverines winning 1-0 in the team’s first meeting.

The Vikings bounced back to claim a 3-2 victory the second time out, earning them the NWL regular-season crown.

Friday Harbor won when it mattered most, however, knocking off Orcas 2-1 in the championship game of the bi-district tourney, before collecting Saturday’s KO.

While Coupeville was eliminated from bi-districts by Summit Atlas, the Wolves can circle Sept. 23, a day when they beat Friday Harbor 3-1 at Mickey Clark Field.

For one day at least, the Wolf booters were better than the (eventual) state champs.

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La Conner spikers four-peat

Posted in Football, soccer, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on November 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Ellie Marble, unleashed. (Photo property Washington Interscholastic Activities Association)

The final chapter was a best seller.

La Conner High School volleyball coach Suzanne Marble capped a 30-year run Friday, guiding her squad to a fourth consecutive 2B state title.

The Braves knocked off Okanogan, Lind-Ritzville-Sprague, Manson, and Colfax to claim the crown, the seventh overall in program history.

Marble and La Conner claimed titles in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022.

There was no state tournament in 2020 because of the ongoing pandemic.

The Braves finished 18-3 in Marble’s final season and dropped just one set at state.

Seeded #3 in the 12-team 2B field, La Conner upset #2 Manson in the semifinals, revenge for a late-season non-conference loss during an Eastern Washington road trip.

Top-seeded Kalama, which was 22-0 entering play Friday, also suffered an upset, falling to #4 Colfax in the semifinals.

It turned out to be back-to-back losses for the Chinooks, as Manson spiked them in the 3rd/4th place match.

Adna (5th), Lind-Ritzville-Sprague (6th), Okanogan (7th), and Tri-Cities Prep (8th) also brought home trophies.

While the 2B championships were a 12-team affair, with La Conner beating Coupeville in the bi-district finals to claim the one ticket to state available for Districts 1 and 2, it was a much-bigger draw in 1B.

Three Northwest 2B/1B League rivals which Coupeville blitzed in the regular season made the 20-team field in that tourney.

Mount Vernon Christian was seeded #6, Orcas Island #16, and Darrington #19, but it was the lowest of those three seeds which surprised everyone by claiming a trophy.

Darrington won three of five matches to finish 8th, while the two other NWL schools went 1-2.

Neah Bay, another school Coupeville scorched during the regular season, beat the Loggers in the 7th/8th place game, while top seeded Oakesdale won the 1B title.

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“Love this team! Love this town!!”

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , , on November 9, 2022| 1 Comment »

After busting big plays all season, Coupeville senior Dominic Coffman is the Offensive MVP of the Northwest 2B/1B League. (Renae Mulholland photo)

The Wolves ruled both sides of the ball.

Fresh off winning its first league title in 32 seasons, and just days before opening the state playoffs, the Coupeville High School football team dominated All-League selections.

Northwest 2B/1B League coaches selected CHS seniors Dominic Coffman (offense) and Scott Hilborn (defense) as conference MVPs, while Benett Richter was tabbed as Coach of the Year.

Coupeville finished the regular season 4-0 in NWL play, clinching the program’s first title since 1990, and 7-1 overall.

The Wolves open the 12-team 2B state tourney Saturday in Oak Harbor, when they host Onalaska in a loser-out game.

The winner advances to the state quarterfinals to face Okanogan.

Richter, in his first year as CHS head coach after several seasons as an assistant, offered thanks to everyone involved in the Wolf program.

“Coach of the year was made possible by the hard work of my dedicated and passionate staff and the unbelievable buy in and hard work of the kids who truly do the heavy lifting,” he said.

“Without these guys, I’m just another Joe Schmo with a whistle! Love this team! Love this town!!”

Josh Upchurch, a huge key to Coupeville’s impressive play on both sides of the line. (Brittany Kolbet photo)

 

Coupeville’s honorees:

 

OFFENSE:

 

MVP:

Dominic Coffman (RB)

 

First-Team:

Logan Downes (QB)
Scott Hilborn (RB)
Tim Ursu (WR)
Kai Wong (OL)
William Davidson (OL)
Zane Oldenstadt (OL)

 

Honorable Mention:

Daylon Houston (WR/K)

 

DEFENSE:

 

MVP:

Scott Hilborn (LB)

 

First Team:

Dominic Coffman (LB)
Tim Ursu (DB)
Logan Downes (DB)
Josh Upchurch (DL)
William Davidson (DL)

 

Honorable Mention:

Jonathan Valenzuela (LB)
Kevin Partida (LB)

Wolf juniors (left to right) William Davidson, Zane Oldenstadt, and Logan Downes all earned All-League honors. (Michelle Glass photo)

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Wolf spikers notch All-League honors

Posted in Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on November 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville volleyball aces Grey Peabody (8), Maddie Georges (5), and Ryanne Knoblich (back) earned All-League honors. (Jackie Saia photo)

They were honored individually, and as a team.

When Northwest 2B/1B League coaches handed out All-Conference awards, Coupeville High School volleyball players were named six times.

The Wolves shared the league’s Team Sportsmanship honor with Orcas Island, while five CHS spikers were singled out for their play.

Jill Prince awaits the serve. (Jackie Saia photo)

Seniors Alita Blouin and Maddie Georges were named First-Team All-League picks, with junior Grey Peabody and senior Ryanne Knoblich landing Second-Team honors.

Jill Prince rounded out the Wolf honorees, earning Honorable Mention for her senior season.

In the year’s biggest non-surprise, La Conner senior Ellie Marble repeated as league MVP, while mom Suzanne Marble was named Coach of the Year in her 30th, and final season, with the Braves.

Alita Blouin launches a serve. (Bailey Thule photo)

 

First-Team All-League:

Alita Blouin – Coupeville – Senior
Bethany Carter – Orcas Island – Junior
Maddie Georges – Coupeville – Senior
Josie Harper – La Conner – Senior
Makayla Herrera – La Conner – Senior
Morgan Huizenga – La Conner – Junior
Claire Wright – Darrington – Sophomore

 

Second-Team All-League:

Mia Blackmon – Friday Harbor – Senior
Kelsey Edwards – Concrete – Sophomore
Allie Heino – Mount Vernon Christian – Junior
Kenadie Hoglund – Darrington – Senior
Ryanne Knoblich – Coupeville – Senior
Grey Peabody – Coupeville – Junior
Milana Schneider – Orcas Island – Junior
Abby Udlock – La Conner – Junior

 

Honorable Mention:

Ava Ashcraft – Orcas Island – Sophomore
Ayana Berube – Friday Harbor – Senior
Jill Prince – Coupeville – Senior

Ryanne Knoblich, comin’ at you. (Jackie Saia photo)

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Bow to our league, one and all

Posted in Football, soccer, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on November 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville football is one of nine NWL fall sports teams still chasing state title dreams. (Bailey Thule photo)

Support your school, but also support your league.

While most of the readers of this blog want Coupeville High School sports teams to whomp on their rivals, there is some small satisfaction in seeing fellow Northwest 2B/1B League schools do well when they play outsiders.

Listen, all the titles should be hanging in the CHS gym, end of story.

But, if they can’t, when La Conner wins a state volleyball crown, or Orcas Island captures a boys soccer title, or Mount Vernon Christian girls’ basketball rules the hardwood, it helps builds a rep for the NWL.

We want people from far-flung locales to stop chattering about their own leagues and realize, “Hey, maybe we should learn some facts about the upper left corner of the state, cause those teams are kickin’ our sweet fannies.”

Coupeville comes first, but every time a fan from say, Kalama or Liberty (Spangle) goes quiet as their team loses to someone from our league, it’s a win for all of us in this region.

With that in mind, there are nine teams from six NWL schools still in there swinging for a state title.

Mount Vernon Christian (girls’ soccer, volleyball, boys’ soccer) tops the list, while Concrete is the lone league school with no shot left at hanging a new banner this fall.

Where NWL teams stand heading into this weekend:

 

BOYS SOCCER:

The NWL has three of the eight teams in the 2B/1B state tourney, with Friday Harbor seeded #1, defending state champ Orcas at #3, and Mount Vernon Christian at #7.

Orcas won the regular-season league crown, but Friday Harbor toppled the Vikings 2-1 in the bi-district championship game to claim front-runner status.

Fun fact – the top-seeded Wolverines have lost twice this season, and one of those was a 3-1 defeat while visiting Coupeville in late September.

Our seven-team league expands to nine schools for boys’ soccer, with Concrete and Darrington avoiding the pitch, while Grace Academy, Providence Classical Christian, Lopez Island, and Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood join the party.

Grace almost gave the NWL a fourth team at the season-ending tourney, but the Eagles were nipped 2-1 by Puget Sound Adventist in a loser-out, winner-to-state clash.

 

FOOTBALL:

Coupeville stands alone, the league champs and seeded #7 in the 12-team 2B tourney.

The Wolves first state playoff game in 32 years is Saturday against Onalaska at Oak Harbor’s Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

Darrington fell a game short of the big dance on the 1B side, blown out by Mossyrock in a loser-out, winner-to-state game.

 

GIRLS SOCCER:

The 2B/1B state tourney has 12 teams in the draw, with NWL champ Mount Vernon Christian seeded #2, behind just top-ranked Kalama.

Friday Harbor had a shot at joining the Hurricanes, but came up a win short, KO’d by Crosspoint Academy at bi-districts.

 

VOLLEYBALL:

Three-time defending 2B state champ La Conner heads back to Yakima, ranked #3 in a 16-team field after beating Coupeville in the bi-district final.

While there was just one ticket to state available for 2B teams in this region, it’s a far different tale over on the 1B side of things.

With a 20-team(!) state tourney, three NWL schools which were all handily beaten by Coupeville during the regular season advance to the SunDome.

MVC (#6), Orcas Island (#16), and Darrington (#19) are still alive, though the latter two teams do have to open with a loser-out match.

Win those rumbles, and the Vikings and Loggers join the double-elimination portion of the state tourney like the Hurricanes and La Conner.

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