Joel Walstad’s first start as a varsity QB was an electrifying one, as the senior threw for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns Friday. (John Fisken photo)
“It was a great moment, a great game, a great time for the community of Coupeville. I am very, very proud to be a Wolf tonight!!”
As half the town celebrated on its home field Friday, Coupeville High School football coach Tony Maggio sported the biggest smile of his time in Cow Town.
Despite being able to only suit up 24 players, despite missing two key injured starters (Lathom Kelley and Carson Risner), despite the presence of a former major college coach running the program on the other side of the field, the Wolves pulled off one of the greatest wins in school history.
Josh Bayne’s 35-yard sprint to the end zone with less than four minutes to play, followed up by a remarkable defensive stand that ended when CJ Smith denied a possible game-tying catch in the end zone, sealed the deal, lifting Coupeville to a 35-28 victory over arch-rival South Whidbey.
The win, coming in the season opener for both squads, brought The Bucket back home after a year in captivity.
The trophy, which goes to the winner of the annual showdown, will now return to its rightful place in the CHS trophy case.
It got there because every one of the Wolves that saw action made an impact.
The big stats came from Bayne, who opened his senior season with a 218-yard performance on the ground, and senior Joel Walstad, who made his first start at quarterback and picked apart the Falcons, completing 20 of 29 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns.
But the win also was spurred by role players, from junior Mitchell Losey, who made all four of his tackles while crashing around on special teams, to sophomore defensive ace Gabe Wynn and freshman Cameron Toomey-Stout, who might be the smallest player on the field, but is fearless.
And, if a game ball was given for player of the game, it would be held by junior Wiley Hesselgrave right now.
Despite playing through a possibly separated shoulder (he came out in pain and stayed on the sideline for a bit before plunging back in to the fray), he was everywhere. He caught two touchdown strikes from Walstad, but it was a third catch that was perhaps the biggest play of the game.
With the game tied at 28, Walstad lofted up a ball that Hesselgrave came back for, making a superb spinning snag, then reversing his body and crashing forward for huge yardage.
The 36-yard catch-and-run put the Falcons on their heels, and Bayne took advantage, taking off for the eventual winning score on the very next play.
The game was a classic from the start, with balmy weather and what soon became a capacity crowd coming to its feet when Bayne scored the first touchdown of the season just 50 seconds into play.
He took a hand-off from Walstad, slashed to the right, then cut back to the left and blew up the ‘d’ for a 59-yard scoring strike.
South Whidbey tied the game on a touchdown pass from Parker Collins to Charlie Patterson, but Coupeville regained the lead late in the second quarter.
Ryan Griggs, barely keeping his feet in-bounds, made an electrifying catch in the very farthest right hand corner of the end zone, with Walstad dropping the ball perfectly in between a defender’s hands and Griggs outstretched arms.
The Falcons never blinked, however, ripping off two touchdowns in less than a minute to head into the locker room up 21-13, and with momentum seemingly in their favor.
Enter Hesselgrave.
First he snagged a six-yard TD strike, with Walstad converting the two-point conversion on a run where he faked the entire defense to the right, then zipped in untouched to his left.
Then came the capper on a 13-yard TD catch with a mere 28 seconds on the clock in the third to knot things up at 28.
After both offenses spent most of the time running wild, the Wolf defense stepped up huge in the fourth, forcing South Whidbey to punt both times it had the ball.
Holding on to the lead, Coupeville faced its final test, a fourth-and-inches with less than 20 seconds to play. The Falcons came hard, with every man hitting the line, but the Wolf line surged twice as hard, crashing for the first down.
Unable to stop the clock, the Falcons could do nothing but accept their one true destiny — losing.
In the aftermath, Maggio passed a huge chunk of the credit to his coaching staff, in particular his coordinators, Orson Christensen (offense) and Brett Smedley (defense).
“Those guys were incredible. They really had a hand on the pulse of the game tonight and called just great games,” Maggio said. “I can’t give my guys enough credit.”
The Wolves were remarkably balanced on offense, running for 289 yards and passing for 252.
Bayne gained his 218 yards on 17 carries, while Jacob Martin (12 carries for 55 yards), Hesselgrave (6-14) and Walstad (2-2) all chipped in.
Griggs hauled down six catches for 72 yards, with Hesselgrave (4-62), Smith (5-58), Bayne (5-26) and Martin (2-19) also benefiting from Walstad’s laser-precision touch.
Bayne (7 tackles), Hesselgrave (7), Aaron Wright (6), Martin (4) and Losey (4) paced the defense.
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