Dakota Eck and many of his teammates were playing for the third straight day Saturday. (John Fisken photo)
They will sleep well, that’s for sure.
With many of their players pulling on a uniform for the third straight day, having played back-to-back middle school games, the Coupeville 7th grade boys’ SWISH basketball squad was probably a bit tired Saturday.
And it showed, as the Wolves fell 44-26 to Ferndale in their season opener, with turnovers (30+) being the ultimate killer.
Coupeville’s squad is actually a mixture of 6th and 7th graders (plus one precocious 4th grader) so Wolf coach Pat Kelley gave his younger players some serious floor time to allow them to adjust to the new level of play.
“Just played the boys 50% each since we had 10 kids and let the cards fall where they did,” he said. “Our plan was to just get the 6th graders to acclimate to SWISH and get them to settle down. Learned a lot.”
Two of those younger players made an early impact, with Daniel Barajas and Connor Barton drawing praise.
“Danny Blues as we call him made a name for himself. The boy has game,” Kelley said. “Connor showed he can move the ball against the press and the rest will learn their role over the season.
“This team has a very bright future.”
Matthew Kelley paced the Wolves with a double-double, tossing in 11 points to go with 10 rebounds.
Daniel Olson and Jake Mitten (who added a soccer game in the morning to his long weekend) added four points apiece, while Hawthorne Wolf (3), Barton (2) and Alex Jimenez (2) also scored.
Mitten pulled down 10 rebounds and rejected three shots, Olson snagged four caroms and pilfered two steals and Caleb Meyer and Barajas both snatched three boards apiece.
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