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Posts Tagged ‘road win’

Thompson terrific, Wolves win

Posted in soccer, tagged , , , , on October 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Brian Thompson fuels up after a busy day on the soccer pitch. (Robert Wood photo)

The ancient prophecy states – a young gun will carry them to nirvana.

If you believe that, then Tuesday’s trip to Marysville played out perfectly for the Coupeville High School co-ed soccer team.

With Wolf 8th grader Brian Thompson banging home the first two goals of his prep pitch career, the Wolves nipped host Grace Academy 2-1, and now find themselves battling for the top spot in the Northwest 2B/1B League.

CHS is 4-4-1 overall, 2-0 in conference action, tied with Lopez Island, La Conner, and Orcas Island atop the nine-team league.

At least for the moment, as Orcas also played Tuesday, and a win against Friday Harbor will put them a half-game up on everyone else.

Next up for Coupeville is a home rumble Friday, Oct. 18 with Mount Vernon Christian (0-2, 5-3-1).

Kickoff is 6:00 PM at Mickey Clark Field, and it’s free to attend.

After playing four of their last five on the road, the Wolves now close with four of six on their home pitch.

Tuesday’s road game wasn’t the prettiest ever played, but CHS came up big when it needed to, according to Wolf coach Robert Wood.

“A chaotic game. No real substantial form, but success when needed,” he said.

“Brian’s touch and focus were absolutely perfect when it counted.”

The Wolves return home to play at Mickey Clark Field this Friday. (Parker Hammons photo)

 

Schedule change:

The end of the regular season has been tweaked due to a need to conclude things earlier than originally planned.

That’s mainly to give NWL teams time to play tiebreakers for playoff spots, if needed.

Coupeville’s regular season finale, a home clash with Orcas Island, set for Nov. 6, has moved up to Saturday, Nov. 2.

The new kickoff time is 12:30 PM, and there will be a modified JV game following the varsity contest.

With that change, Coupeville’s Senior Night festivities have also moved, landing on Oct. 29, when the Wolves host Providence Classical Christian.

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Wolves make a new town cry every night

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , on December 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Cole White hit a personal milestone Tuesday, while Coupeville cruised to another road win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re running the gauntlet, and not just surviving, but thriving.

The Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball squad has opened with four of five games on the road, and three of those against bigger schools.

And yet, a quarter of the way through the regular season, with their Northwest 2B/1B League opener set for this Friday, Brad Sherman’s squad is a shiny 4-1.

The latest thrill came Tuesday, when the Wolves got points from eight different players — two of whom hit career milestones — as they shredded host Granite Falls 63-52.

Coupeville led from first bucket to last basket against a 1A school which may move up to 2A in the next round of classification musical chairs and pushed that lead out to as much as 23 at one point.

All it took to deflate Granite Falls was one play.

Wolf senior Logan Downes, who passed hardwood immortals Denny Clark and Brad Sherman on the CHS career scoring chart Tuesday, got things started with a bang.

Slicing through a narrow gap in the defense, he went hard to the hoop, knocked down a driving layup while being hammered, then calmly sank the ensuing free throw for a three-point play the hard way.

Very next possession, sophomore Chase Anderson got his own three-point play, minus the whole “being hammered while shooting” part, as he lofted a trey from the parking lot.

Chase Anderson, ready to terrorize defenses everywhere.

Up 6-0 before the hometown fans could even begin to complain about the refs, the Wolves kept gnashing, tearing off chunks of points.

Anderson scored on a layup set up by a superb Downes pass, then the duo flipped the script, with an Anderson steal leading to his older teammate flying coast to coast for a bucket.

Toss in Cole White peppering the net (while not bleeding during a game for possibly the first time this season), and mom Morgan’s Facebook Live fans were busy doing the wave in the comfort of their own homes.

Up 18-9 heading into the second quarter, Sherman unleashed the Battling Bronec Brothers — rebound-hungry twins Hunter and Hurlee — and high-flying Nick Guay, giving the Tiger defense 99 more problems to deal with.

Coupeville pushed the lead out to 27-12 late in the half, then took a brief team-wide nap, allowing Granite to claw back to within 27-21 at the break.

Perhaps the Wolves pounded some caffeine during the halftime sit-down, or maybe Sherman chose his rally speech well.

Or maybe this squad of hardcourt assassins just likes to live dangerously at times.

Whatever the case may be, the Wolves dallied for a minute or two in the third quarter, then looked at each other and said, “Now we unleash Hell.”

Raining down shots from all angles, Coupeville closed the third frame on an 18-5 game-buster of a tear, with Anderson accounting for eight of those points.

The Bronec Bros?

Each of them bounded high to snare a crucial rebound, before promptly sticking the ball right back through the hoop, dropping a one-two haymaker of destruction which deflated whatever remained of Granite’s resistance.

Things threatened to get out of hand in the fourth, with Wolf big men William Davidson and Zane Oldenstadt moving with the grace of (muscular) ballerinas as they notched buckets, sending their fans into hysterics.

Up by 23, Sherman doled out minutes to everyone in the rotation, giving hard-working Timothy Nitta and Mikey Robinett their first on-court action of the season.

Five players firing as one.

Downes finished with a game-high 26, running his career total to 895 points.

He breaks a tie with Denny Clark (869), passes Brad Sherman (874) and is coming up fast on Pete Petrov (917) for 7th on a career scoring chart which stretches across 107 seasons.

Also hitting a personal milestone was White, who notched the 250th point of his high school career on a twisting layup set up by a steal.

Anderson, who’s just getting rolling on his own prep tale, tallied 13 points to back Downes, while White (8), Hunter Bronec (6), and Guay (4) also kept the scorekeeper busy.

Davidson, Oldenstadt, and Hurlee Bronec rounded out the attack with a bucket apiece, while Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, Ryan Blouin, Robinett, and Nitta all saw floor time for the Wolves.

Tuesday’s win was the start of a busy week for Coupeville, which travels to Friday Harbor this Friday, then pops home for a rare visit Saturday, with South Whidbey coming to Cow Town.

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Road warriors throttle Turks

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

On their way to deliver another beat-down. (Michelle Glass photo)

Call him Knute Rockne.

Whatever Coupeville High School varsity boys’ basketball coach Brad Sherman said at halftime Saturday, it lit a fire under his squad.

Down by six at the break in Sultan, the Wolves tore up the floor in the second half, turning a nailbiter into a 58-48 romp.

The non-conference road win over a 1A school which is slated to move to 2A next year lifts lil’ 2B Coupeville to 3-1 on the season.

It also gives the Wolves a nice bounce back after taking their first loss of the season and sends them into a busy week on a high note.

CHS hits the road again, and again, playing at Granite Falls Tuesday and Friday Harbor on Friday, before nabbing a rare home game Saturday against archrival South Whidbey.

Playing in front of a chippy crowd in Sultan, the Wolves hung tough during a back-and-forth first half.

Chase Anderson got Coupeville on the scoreboard first, hauling in a long football-style pass from Logan Downes, before the latter nailed a soft jumper of his own.

The Wolf senior had a memorable opening frame, firing another long outlet pass to Cole White for a breakaway layup, and netting the first of his five three-balls.

Downes also put up a shot which got stuck in the gap between the rim and the backboard, though he shrugged that off and kept firing.

Most of a 3-1 team. (Michael Davidson photo)

Up 11-10 at the first break, after thwarting two Sultan shots in the final three seconds, Coupeville opened the scoring in the second quarter thanks to a nifty play from Anderson.

Intended or not — and that was the subject of much debate — the super sophomore froze the defense, appeared to pass the ball to himself by bouncing it off a rival, then slashed to the hoop for a sweet layup.

Sultan responded by mounting its best run of the night, closing the half on a 15-6 run.

A trio of three-balls hurt, while a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper really stung.

Coupeville got a pair of treys, one from Downes and one from Ryan Blouin, during the stretch, but found itself trailing 25-19 at the break.

Not to worry, as Sherman said whatever he said, and, to a man, the Wolves responded.

First up was Downes, who went off for 16 of his season-high 33 points in the third quarter, sticking in knives from every angle and twisting them with wild glee.

Back-to-back three balls tied the game up, and a three-point play the hard way staked Coupeville to a lead it would not relinquish.

White, trying not to get hit in the face by a defender for the third straight game, stayed a step ahead of the Turks, draining a short jumper before slashing to the hoop for a gorgeous layup.

With William Davidson and the Battlin’ Bronec Brothers, twin titans Hunter and Hurlee, hitting the boards with passion, CHS thwarted the Turks from grabbing many second-chance opportunities.

CHS coach Brad Sherman strolls back to the bench as his Wolves prepare to attack. (Michelle Glass photo)

Sultan, down 40-28 late in the third, did cut the deficit back to 42-38 heading into the fourth, but Coupeville had an answer every time.

Anderson, bounding airborne and yanking down a pass like the football receiver he also is, came up with a crunch time bucket, while the Wolves closed things out at the free throw line.

After a Turk three-ball cut the lead down to 50-46 with about 90 seconds to play, Downes crashed through the defense for a game-sealing bucket.

From there, Anderson, White, and Downes calmly flicked charity shots through the rim, each flip of the net a slap to the face of Turk Nation.

Along with the win, the night was rich in history, as Downes moved from #13 to a tie for #9 on the CHS boys’ career scoring list.

Now sitting with 869 points and counting, he’s even with Denny Clark, just six points away from unseating Sherman (874) for #8 on a chart compiled over the course of 107 seasons.

Downes passed Wolf legends Hunter Smith (847), Bill Jarrell (855), and Arik Garthwaite (867) Saturday.

White and Anderson each banked in nine to support Downes and his 33, with Blouin (3), Hunter Bronec (2), and Hurlee Bronec (2) also scoring against the Turks.

Nick Guay, Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim, and Davidson rounded out the rotation.

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Second half surge, first class win

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Lyla Stuurmans played strongly on both ends of the floor Saturday in Coupeville’s first win of the season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

The crowd got rowdy, but the Wolves had sharper teeth.

Closing the game on a 19-2 run Saturday, the Coupeville High School varsity girls’ basketball squad claimed its first victory of the season, thunking host Sultan 33-25.

The non-conference win, coming in a wild game that featured two technical fouls (and a Sultan fan being ejected from the gym), lifts the Wolves to 1-2.

It should also give Megan Richter’s team a confidence boost heading into a busy week.

Coupeville hosts Orcas Island next Wednesday, in a non-conference bout between Northwest 2B/1B League rivals.

After that comes a road trip Friday to Friday Harbor — which will count in the league standings — before a home showdown Saturday, Dec. 16 with South Whidbey.

That third game will also feature a 50th anniversary celebration for the CHS girls’ hoops program.

The road trip to Sultan got Coupeville back on the floor against a rival for the first time in a week, and the game was a memorable one from the get-go.

Operating their whistles at a merry pace, the three refs in attendance handed out techs to Coupeville (for aggressive defense) and Sultan (for naughty words), with the Turks top player fouling out less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Before that, the Wolves built a 9-4 lead in the first quarter behind big shots from sparkplug Katie Marti.

The junior point guard knocked down a three-ball from the right side, then hit a pullup jumper while boldly staring down the defense.

With some scoring help from her teammates, both from the field and at the free throw line, Marti and her crew were looking strong.

And then promptly went all eight minutes of the second quarter without hitting a single field goal.

Sultan, when its fans weren’t being given the heave-ho by refs who didn’t appreciate the chirping comin’ from the cheap seats, used a 12-3 surge to claim the halftime lead.

Mia Farris and Lyla Stuurmans both slipped charity shots through the net in the second frame, with CHS scoring leader Farris breaking her season-long streak of only scoring in the fourth quarter.

Mia Farris, about to make off with another steal.

But the Wolves were still down 16-12 at the break, and things got a little bleaker before they got beautiful.

Coupeville, still unable to hit a field goal through the first chunk of the third, fell behind 23-14 and desperately needed a spark.

At which point Farris revealed her alter ego, that of Superwoman.

Ripping a ball loose, the three-sport standout made off with a steal, fired up the jet pack she likely had hidden under her jersey, and roared away from the crowd.

Beating everyone to the other end of the floor, Keaton’s lil’ sis slapped home a layup to write another chapter in her family’s stellar hoops history and the entire game shifted.

Two free throws from Marti, then back-to-back jumpers from Marti and Farris capped an 8-0 run, pulling the Wolves within one at 23-22.

While Sultan countered with a bucket off a lob, that was the last point the Turks would get on this night.

Jada Heaton arched a pair of free throws through the twines to pull Coupeville within 25-24 heading into the fourth, and the final frame belonged to the Wolfpack.

Farris added six of her season-high 12 points in the fourth — keeping alive her status as the Wolf most likely to shank you in the game’s closing moments — and CHS pulled off a flawless 9-0 frame.

With the 50th anniversary celebration a week away, it was the kind of performance which reminds one of how much can change in a single game, and why stats matter.

With her 12-point burst, Farris passes 15 former Wolves on the career scoring chart, and the roll call covers memorable names like Courtney Boyd, Anya Leavell, Andilee Murphy, and Janiece Jenkins.

All have played a part in the success of the Coupeville hoops program, and the rise of one player brings reminders of the greatness which came before.

The Wolf juniors are a talented, tight-knit bunch.

The current Wolf squad is led by its juniors, with that five-pack accounting for all of Saturday’s scoring.

Marti dropped in nine points to back Farris, while McMillan (5), Stuurmans (4), and Heaton (3) also kept the scorekeeper busy.

Teagan Calkins, Skylar Parker, Reese Wilkinson, and Kayla Arnold also saw floor time for the Wolves, with Wilkinson hitting the boards with a savage fury.

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Balanced scoring + aggressive defense = big win

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged , , , , , on December 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Aiden O’Neill (grey hoodie) and Johnny Porter (black hoodie) combined to score 20 Saturday in a road win. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

It all started with defense.

Clamping down on Sultan’s shooters Saturday, the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball squad ran away with a 52-40 win.

The non-conference road victory lifts the Wolves to 2-1 heading into a busy week.

Coupeville’s young guns travel to Granite Falls (Tuesday) and Friday Harbor (Friday), before finally getting their first home game of the season Saturday, Dec. 16 against South Whidbey.

The Wolves have proven adept at staring down rowdy road crowds, and they did it again in Sultan.

Trailing 13-11 after the opening quarter, CHS surged in the second frame.

Getting nine points from the Porter twins (Johnny nipping Jack 5-4), the Wolves used an 11-3 run to claim the lead for good.

Up 22-16 at the half, Coupeville put together its strongest offensive run in the third, pushing the advantage all the way out to 39-24.

Four different Wolves banged home points in the quarter, with Aiden O’Neill leading the way with six.

Flexin’ on fools.

While Sultan stayed competitive in the final frame, the Turks never had a chance to rally, as Landon Roberts and crew closed out things strongly in crunch time.

CHS co-coaches Jon Roberts and Craig Anderson liked a lot of what they saw, though there are areas the Wolves still need to work on.

“We played a good pressure defense game,” Jon Roberts said. “It was scrappy and wild at times.”

Coupeville spread its scoring out, with eight players recording points.

Jack Porter knocked down a team-high 13, with O’Neill (12), Landon Roberts (9), Johnny Porter (8), Camden Glover (4), Easton Green (2), Makai Myles (2), and Riley Lawless (2) also scoring.

It was the first buckets for Myles and Green.

Malachi Somes, Davin Houston, and Jayden McManus also saw floor time for Coupeville.

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