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Posts Tagged ‘South Whidbey’

Falcon football seeks stability!!

Posted in Football, tagged Cascade Conference, football, Mark Hodson, new hire, South Whidbey on February 22, 2017| 1 Comment »

Highly-respected coach Mark Hodson is returning to lead South Whidbey’s gridiron program after a three-year absence.

South Whidbey football is returning to its roots as it rebuilds.

Former head coach Mark Hodson, who helped lead the Falcons for more than a decade, will be back at the helm next season.

He replaces Michael Coe, who resigned after posting a 1-18 mark in two years at SWHS.

Hodson will be the third head coach in four seasons, as former college coach Chris Tormey, who preceded Coe, only hung around for one 2-8 season before heading to the Canadian Football League.

South Whidbey, which hosts Coupeville in its season opener Sept. 1, has been a program in turmoil recently.

The Falcons went as low as 14 active varsity players at times last season, which forced it to be the first in a line of teams that forfeited to eventual 2A state champ Archbishop Thomas Murphy.

SWHS has now taken an indefinite leave of absence from the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and will play an independent schedule in 2017.

Hodson, who was the league’s coach of the year in 2007, helped lead the Falcon program for 14 seasons before resigning in 2014.

Some of that time involved working with Andy Davis as a co-coach.

The quick turnover in the last three years has been unusual for South Whidbey.

Prior to Hodson taking the Falcon job in 2001, SWHS had gotten a 19-year run from Mick Heggenes and a 30-year stint from coaching legend Jim Leirer.

Hodson played high school football at King’s, then went on to be a member of the 1987 Pacific Lutheran University squad which won a national championship.

He coached at several colleges before settling in as a teacher and coach in Langley.

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Bombs bursting in air!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged CHS Wolves, Mason Grove, South Whidbey, three-balls, thriller on December 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Jered Brown netted 11 Saturday, including a game-busting breakaway bucket off of a steal. (John Fisken photo)

After hitting seven three-point bombs, Mason Grove (center) was so hot the wall turned red above his head. (Kimberly Bepler photo)

The real show was in the side room.

Pitting three-ball flinging mad men against South Whidbey’s big bangers, the Coupeville High School JV boys’ basketball squad pulled out a wild 55-51 win Saturday night.

In a game where the lead went back-and-forth all night, the Wolves, now 3-2, held on to grab victory on the strength of their shooting from behind the arc.

Freshman Mason Grove knocked down seven treys, including three in the fourth quarter, as CHS countered a Falcon lineup which included freshmen who come in at 6’5 and 6’4.

Clinging to a one-point lead entering the final quarter, the Wolves put the ball in Grove’s hands and he answered, scoring half of his team-high 24 points in the final eight minutes.

That point total is the best by a CHS player this year, varsity or JV.

Grove’s treys also came in the white hot spotlight, with one tying the game late in the going and the next one giving Coupeville the lead for good.

Jered Brown, who tossed in 11 points in support, followed up Grove’s back-to-back bombs with a steal that he turned into a breakaway to seal the deal.

Drawing a defender to him while on the fly, the Wolf frosh hit a reverse layup, then added a free-throw after getting hammered at the end of the play.

“Jered is one of the toughest kids I’ve coached, and that’s saying a lot,” said Coupeville coach Dustin Van Velkinburgh.

Also coming up big were Jacobi Pacquette-Pilgrim, who “did the yeoman’s work” in trying to deal with the Falcon’s big duo, and Ulrik Wells and Nikolai Lyngra, who did “a fantastic job” helping the Wolves deal with losing three players to fouling out.

Pacquette-Pilgrim dropped in eight in support of Grove and Brown, while Sean Toomey-Stout (5), Koa Davison (4) and Kyle Rockwell (3) also scored for the Wolves.

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“It was a good night!!”

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged CHS Wolves, comeback win, Hannah Davidson, Island rivalry, South Whidbey on December 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Sarah Wright, seen here during practice, scored 11 points Saturday to spark the Coupeville JV girls to a come-from-behind win. (John Fisken photo)

Never give up. Never back down.

Down by double digits early Saturday, trailing into the fourth quarter, the Coupeville High School JV girls’ basketball squad stormed back to upend visiting South Whidbey.

With sophomore Sarah Wright controlling the game in the final quarter, the Wolves pulled out a stunning 24-20 victory, lifting their record to 2-1 on the season.

“The girls fought hard the whole game,” said CHS coach Amy King. “They changed defenses as needed and even threw on a press they had only practiced once.

“They never gave up. They supported each other the entire game,” she added. “They played as a very united team. They won. It was a good night.”

Having chipped away at the lead quarter after quarter, the Wolves were still trailing 18-17 entering the fourth.

With Wright back on the floor — the JV had the swing player for two quarters — Coupeville went to her and she responded, dropping in five of her team-high 11 points to spur the win.

Three came via free throws, as she iced the Falcons from the charity stripe.

“Sarah really stepped up in the fourth quarter,” King said. “She made good use of her time. She was vocal on defense and did a nice job of grabbing rebounds and dropping points.”

South Whidbey came out hot from behind the arc to start the game, drilling three treys as it built a 12-2 lead at the first break.

Nicole Lester finally got Coupeville on the board when she banked in a shot, and the Wolves started to turn things around when they shifted their defense from a zone to man-to-man.

Holding the Falcons to just eight points over the final 24 minutes, while debuting a new defense, Coupeville blossomed.

“The girls have not practiced this type of defense, but they took instruction and ran with it,” King said. “They really stopped the outside shooting and forced turnovers.

“I can’t gush about just one player, because it was a full team win.”

King praised Maddy Hilkey’s “tough defense,” Lester’s ability to “rip rebounds and use her height as a mismatch” and Ashlie Shank’s “length and speed,” among a long checklist of top performers.

Hannah Davidson “was vital on defense,” hauling down seven rebounds and working with Ema Smith, Lester and Wright to control the post.

The younger guards all stepped up as well, with Scout Smith, Emma Mathusek, Avalon Renninger and Maya Toomey-Stout working as a well-oiled unit.

Mathusek had a nifty steal, followed by her avoiding a double-team with an alert pass, while Toomey-Stout forced one turnover which caused her foe to get so ticked off she almost nailed the Wolf frosh in the face with the ball.

“I quickly called a time out for us to regroup and everyone was so excited with the way we had shut them down,” King said. “Maya had a smile ear to ear.”

Ema Smith knocked in five points to back Wright’s 11, while Lester (4), Shank (2) and Scout Smith (2) also scored.

The prodigal daughter returns:

South Whidbey’s JV roster includes Oliana Stange, who played for Coupeville at the middle school level before moving South with dad Ken, the CHS tennis coach.

As a twice-published author here on Coupeville Sports, she always deserves a shout-out when she comes “home.”

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No hope against Pope!!

Posted in Boys Basketball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, Hunter Smith, Lewis Pope, South Whidbey on December 10, 2016| 1 Comment »

Ethan Spark hit for 10 Saturday, but Coupeville couldn’t derail South Whidbey. (John Fisken photo)

Let’s give credit where it’s due.

Lewis Pope is the best high school basketball player on Whidbey Island, and Kody Newman could not miss a three-ball right now if you paid him to do so.

Riding their terrific twosome, who are backed by a deep collection of tree-toppers, the big, fast, hyper-efficient South Whidbey High School boys’ basketball squad pulled away after a close first quarter Saturday and buried host Coupeville 80-45.

The loss drops the undermanned Wolves, who are playing with an eight-man roster, to 0-5 on the season.

The two teams played fairly even for eight, maybe nine minutes, than the Falcons found a different level and didn’t look back.

Brian Shank dropped in three buckets in the first quarter, and Coupeville led three separate times, the last at 8-7.

Trailing 12-10 at the first break, the Wolves were keeping it a game at 17-13 early in the second, only to then witness the Pope and Newman show come to life.

The final link in arguably South Whidbey’s most successful athletic family, Kody Newman revived memories of his many older siblings, drilling treys from every angle imaginable.

If the net moved even once as he drilled five three-balls on his way to a game-high 21, I didn’t see it happen.

Things were set up for him by Lewis Pope, son of the late, well-loved SWHS coach Henry Pope, who continues to develop into a premier player in every way.

A step ahead of everyone, and always planning out three moves ahead while gliding down the court, he picked apart Coupeville’s defense, both with his shots and his set-ups for his teammates.

The Wolves, while over-matched, didn’t back down, putting together their best run in the fourth quarter, when they fought to a 14-14 tie.

CHS junior Hunter Smith did what he could, throwing down a team-high 19, including two long treys of his own.

Shank, who has come alive on the offensive end in the past few games, attacked the basket relentlessly, eking out 12, while Ethan Spark banked home 10.

Cameron Toomey-Stout sank a three-ball on the game’s final play for his first points of the season, while Gabe Wynn added a free throw to round out the scoring.

Ariah Bepler, Hunter Downes and Kyle Rockwell also saw floor time, with Downes netting attention for two plays.

On one, the Wolf quarterback threw a full-court pass to Smith, who hauls in his bombs on the gridiron as well.

On the other, he put a wayward Falcon down hard to the floor during a battle for a rebound, drawing favorable comparisons to the work of former CHS enforcer Julia “Elbows” Myers, who was in the crowd and gave the play a smile of approval.

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Falcons trash Wolves, gym!!

Posted in Girls Basketball, tagged Basketball, CHS Wolves, litter bugs, Mia Littlejohn, South Whidbey on December 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Lauren Rose hit a long trey Saturday night, one of the highlights in a tough loss to Island rival South Whidbey. (John Fisken photo)

And you will know South Whidbey by the trail of trash it leaves behind.

The Falcon varsity girls basketball players are tall, strong, veteran players, very consistent in running their offense, and completely, utterly incapable of picking up after themselves.

Those are the two conclusions one could draw after watching them pick apart host Coupeville 43-29 Saturday, and then watching them depart the gym leaving a never-ending pile of discarded drink bottles all over the CHS gym floor.

At least when King’s or ATM smack someone around, their players stop to throw their own trash away on the way out the door.

So, let’s give South Whidbey credit for their on-court performance, and arch an eyebrow at their lack of social graces.

The Falcons were certainly consistent in the flow of the game, hammering the ball inside to their post players, then draining treys if they couldn’t get an easy bucket.

Catching Coupeville on a night when a lot wasn’t clicking for the Wolves, South Whidbey dominated the first half, then coasted home after the break for the non-conference win.

Wolf point guard Mia Littlejohn got CHS on the board first, muscling her way into the paint before banking a runner off the glass, but then the Falcons took over.

Three separate three-balls, one from the right side, one from the left, and one from the top, sparked a 14-2 tear and put Coupeville on its heels.

Unable to put together back-to-back scores until a late stand in the fourth quarter, the Wolves had little answer for their visitors in the first half and trailed 25-11 at the break.

The second half was a little different story, as the two squads battled even, but CHS couldn’t get over the hump.

Lauren Rose nailed a very long trey late in the third to get Coupeville within 12, but South Whidbey rolled off nine straight points to end one quarter and begin the next, building its biggest lead of the night.

The Wolves, who fought hard all night — CHS coach David King praised the grit and hustle of Allison Wenzel and Tiffany Briscoe for diving for loose balls and battling for rebounds — finally put together a run in the game’s final five minutes.

With four different players scoring, the Wolves closed the night on an 11-4 run.

Mikayla Elfrank capped things by turning a pair of steals into breakaway buckets against her former school.

Mia Littlejohn paced the Wolves with 10 points, while Lindsey Roberts (4), Elfrank (4), Kalia Littlejohn (3), Rose (3), Kailey Kellner (2), Lauren Grove (2) and Sarah Wright (1) also scored.

Charlotte Langille and Kyle Briscoe also saw floor time for Coupeville.

The Wolves, now 3-2 on the season, are scheduled to play their next six games on the road, starting with a 1A Olympic League game at Klahowya Tuesday.

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