Tim Ursu and Coupeville rocked Klahowya, hard. (Nikki Breaux photo)
Hello, Klahowya. Miss us?
Opening a new season with a thunderous roar, the Coupeville High School football squad romped to a 41-21 win Friday in Silverdale.
Coming in Bennett Richter’s debut as Wolf head coach, the non-conference road victory was a landmark for several reasons.
Maybe none bigger than it breaks a seven-game losing streak against Klahowya and gives Coupeville its first-ever football win over their former Olympic League rivals.
The Wolves, who play four of their next five games at home, starting with a rumble with South Whidbey for ownership of The Bucket, endured two separate ferry rides, and a long bus trip, just to get to Silverdale.
The trip home is going to be a joy ride.
Coupeville never trailed, unleashing a run of 27 unanswered points to turn a 14-14 tie into a dominant victory which hushed the Klahowya fans.
The Wolves weren’t perfect, maybe — it was the season-opener, after all — but they were very good when it mattered most.
Three touchdown passes off the fingertips of junior gunslinger Logan Downes, barely missing tying Coupeville’s single-game record of four, jointly held by Corey Cross, Brad Sherman, and big bro Hunter Downes.
Two more scores came on the ground, while Tim Ursu delivered the lightning bolt which fried the Eagles, bolting to daylight on a 75-yard kickoff return which ended with the Wolf senior hitting paydirt in the end zone.
Toss in three interceptions on defense, plus a fumble recovery for Dominic Coffman and a ferocious batted-down pass by William Davidson, and Coupeville was clicking.
And right from the start, as Daylon Houston snapped up the game’s opening kickoff and brought it back almost 80 yards, only getting brought down at the Klahowya six-yard line.
The Wolves seized the early advantage, with Logan Downes rolling to his right three plays later, pegging a touchdown pass to a wide-open Ursu.
Houston drilled the PAT through the uprights, Coupeville held Klahowya to nothing of value on its first possession, and the Wolves looked like they were going to make it two-of-two until one of their few real miscues of the night.
A bad snap on fourth and two from Klahowya’s 30 turned into a loss of 18 yards, and the Eagles responded with their own touchdown to knot things at 7-7.
After that the two teams scuffled for a bit, exchanging defensive stands.
Downes picked off his rival quarterback to stop one Eagles drive, and, for a hot second, the game seemed to be trending towards being a low-scoring affair.
Well, forget about that.
In less than a minute, the rivals combined to score three touchdowns (on just four plays), and the scoreboard started jumping.
Wolf senior Scott Hilborn began the ruckus by blowing through Klahowya’s line en route to a 26-yard jaunt down the left sideline for one touchdown.
Two plays later, Klahowya’s QB threw up a prayer, and had it answered.
Downes almost picked off the long, looping wobbler, but the ball (maybe?) caught a gust of wind and cleared his fingers by a smidge, before dropping in between two other CHS defenders.
Landing, somehow, against all the laws of man and God, on the fingertips of an alert Eagle receiver, it turned into a 68-yard gut-punch of a touchdown.
The game could have gone in either direction at that point. The score was knotted 14-14, the home team had an emotional boost, and…
Enter Tim Ursu.
Goodbye to all your hopes and dreams, Klahowya. Enjoy the nightmares this weekend, and beyond.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ursu snatched the ball off the swanky turf field, stumbled, ever so slightly, then punched the pedal through the metal, leaving 11 Eagles in his wake.
They gave chase, but no one was catching him. And no one was bringing him down.
That immediate payback, turning a 14-14 tie into a 21-14 lead, lit a fire under Coupeville, and the Wolves exploded.
Downes peppered the Klahowya defense, sliding passes into small openings, and the Eagles had no answers for Ralph and Angie’s youngest son.
He dropped a pass over the middle to Coffman, who turned it into a catch-and-destroy 44-yard scoring strike, then came back around to team up with Houston on a 26-yard bonanza.
That stretched Coupeville’s lead out to 35-14, before the Wolf defense slapped a punctuation mark on things right at the end of the first half.
Klahowya was scrambling against the clock and tried to plunge in for a score on the final play before halftime.
Instead, Coupeville’s scrappy gladiators brought the Eagle runner down just short of the goal line, causing Richter and his assistant coaches to punch the air like they were all auditioning for the next Creed movie.
Defense was the word in the second half, with Coupeville picking off two more passes, forcing a fumble and not allowing Klahowya to score again until the clock was under two minutes in the fourth quarter.
On offense, the Wolves rammed the ball up the field, using a variety of runners to pick up yardage and first downs while draining the clock.
Downes kept the defense honest with a few more pass completions, including one to freshman Chase Anderson, but it was the running game which kept Klahowya at bay in the final moments.
Sophomore Johnny Porter tacked on Coupeville’s sixth and final touchdown, turning a two-yard run into a 48-yard romp, shedding would-be tacklers in his wake.
1-0 and headed home. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
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