Kevin Partida and associates host Onalaska next weekend in the first round of the 2B state football playoffs. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The journey begins (almost) at home.
Making its first appearance in the state playoffs since 1990, the Coupeville High School football team was seeded #7 Sunday in a field of 12 teams chasing the 2B gridiron crown.
That means the Wolves host #10 Onalaska in a loser-out first round game.
The game will be played either Friday, Nov. 11 or Saturday, Nov. 12, with the date and kickoff time to be announced Monday.
And where will the royal rumble go down?
Barring a late plot twist, it will be at Oak Harbor’s Wildcat Memorial Stadium, which means just an 11.3-mile jaunt for the Wolves.
Onalaska’s players, meanwhile, get to enjoy a 195-mile trek. Or almost 400 miles round trip.
And why is Coupeville not hosting the game on its own home field?
Because, if I understand correctly, we’re being dinged for not having covered seating for road fans, which the 3,000-seat Wildcat Memorial Stadium offers.
CHS football managers extraordinaire Brenna Silveira (left) and Melanie Navarro — the rain never bothered them anyway. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
But hosting the game in Oak Harbor is a homecoming, of sorts, for first year Coupeville head coach Bennett Richter.
He was a sophomore on the 2006 Oak Harbor gridiron squad which won a 4A state title despite not being allowed to play postseason games at home because its World War II-vintage stadium was crumbling into dust.
I’m just saying, from my perch in the press box at the ol’ junk heap in the ’90s, I once watched a little girl bounce on the wooden bleachers, then vanish out of sight as a board broke.
Simmer down. She was only on the third row up.
She was unhappy (lord, was she unhappy), but she survived.
The stadium not so much, and by 2006, it had been condemned, before the giddiness of the state title convinced Oak Harbor to go build a brand new, swanky home roost.
Sort of the “House Bennett Built,” if you will.
What do you mean former Wildcat (and Wazzu) QB Marshall Lobbestael, he of the heavenly passes which sparked the title run, would like to have a word with me??
Anyways…
Back in 2022, the winner of the Coupeville vs. Onalaska tilt advances to the state quarterfinals to face second-seeded Okanogan, one of two undefeated teams in the field.
You can find the bracket here:
https://www.wpanetwork.com/wiaa/brackets/tournament.php?act=view&tournament_id=3666
And while you’re waiting for next weekend (or working for the weekend, if you want Loverboy’s approval), here’s how Coupeville and Onalaska stack up.
Records:
Coupeville (7-1)
Onalaska (5-5)
Leagues:
Coupeville — Northwest 2B/1B League
Onalaska — Central 2B League
Mascots:
Coupeville — Wolves
Onalaska — Loggers
Head Coaches:
Coupeville — Bennett Richter (1st year)
Onalaska — Mazen Saade (14th year)
Results:
Coupeville:
Beat Klahowya (41-21)
Lost to South Whidbey (44-28)
Beat Sultan (30-13)
Beat La Conner (46-0)
Beat Friday Harbor (35-3)
Beat Bellingham (48-6)
Cascade (Leavenworth) CANCELLED by smoke
Beat La Conner (78-0)
Beat Friday Harbor (43-14)
Onalaska:
Beat Oroville (30-0)
Lost to Napavine (68-0)
Lost to Goldendale (20-0)
Lost to Tenino (40-6)
Lost to Toledo (38-12)
Beat Kalama (48-30)
Beat Stevenson (44-14)
Lost to Adna (7-6)
Beat Wahkiakum (50-28)
Beat Morton White-Pass (26-8)
Last trip to state:
Coupeville — 1990
Onalaska — 2021
Total trips to state:
Coupeville (4) — (0-4)
Onalaska (18) — (14-16) — Two state titles (1986 and 2019)
Plus, we have a rock.
And they have a rock.
Time to rock ‘n roll.
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