The Coupeville High School football team has steadily improved in the win column in recent years and looks to continue that climb this fall.

The Wolves finished 5-5 overall and 3-3 in Olympic League play in 2014, narrowly missing the playoffs.

Coupeville lost several key players to graduation, including the Olympic League’s Most Valuable Player and all-state selection Josh Bayne, who rushed for 1,528 yards; starting quarterback Joel Walstad, who threw of 1,675 yards; and all-league linemen Oscar Liquidano, Matt Shank and Aaron Wright.

The Wolves’ cupboard, however, is far from bare.

Coupeville’s top three rushers after Bayne are back.

Senior Wiley Hesselgrave rushed for 430 yards on 52 carries (an 8.27 yards per carry average). He also caught 23 passes for 364 yards and was a first-team, all-league linebacker.

On defense, he registered 62 tackles, second behind Bayne. He led the team in sacks (three) and recovered fumbles (five) last year.

Senior Latham Kelley battled injuries in 2014, playing in only five games. He still piled up 407 yards on 46 carries (8.85 yards per run) and helped out on defense with 37 tackles.

Junior Jacob Martin added 295 yards on 57 carries (5.18).

C.J. Smith, Walstad’s backup at QB, also returns. The senior tossed 15 passes last fall, hitting nine for 99 yards.

Senior Ryan Griggs, the team’s leading receiver with 485 yards on 29 catches, returns. Smith caught 25 passes for 371 yards last season.

In all, 18 lettermen fill out the roster, and that experience is the team’s strength, according to first-year head coach Brett Smedley, who was an assistant coach the past three years.

“We have a lot of players coming back this year that saw significant time last season,” he said.

His major concern is the lack of depth, a problem that has consistently plagued the Wolves over the years.

That issue, however, is improving, Smedley said, as the size of the team grows. As of Monday, the Wolves’ roster numbered 45.

Returning senior lettermen are Hesselgrave, Kelley, Griggs, Smith, Brenden Gilbert, Jake Lord, Josh Lord, Mitchell Losey and J.R. Pendergrass.

Junior letter winners are Martin, Mitchell Carroll, Dominic Dausey and Clay Reilly.

Sophomores who lettered last fall are Hunter Downes, Hunter Smith, Cameron Toomey-Stout, James Vidoni and Julian Welling. Hunter Smith earned all-league honorable mention as a defensive back in 2014.

The top newcomers, Smedley said, are seniors Jordan Ford (WR/DE), Josh Poole (WR/DB) and Zane Bundy (WR/DB); sophomore Jake Hoagland (TE/LB); and freshmen Gabe Eck (QB/DB) and Ty Eck (WR/DB).

Smedley, who took over for Tony Maggio, said the team is handling the change in head coaches well: “I have been coaching and teaching them for the last three years, so the adjustment isn’t the same as having a brand new face come in.”

While racking up wins would be nice, Smedley said the season would be a success “if at the end of the day, our players know in their hearts that they gave it their all for their teammates, our football family.”

He added that he expects his players to live up to the team’s core covenants — belief, commitment, competitiveness and selflessness — on and off the field.

“The support that our program has received thus far from parents and the community has been amazing,” he said. “We all really appreciate it.”

Schedule makers didn’t do the Wolves any favors, sending Coupeville on the road for its first four games and for six of the nine contests.

The Wolves open at rival South Whidbey at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4.

The first home game is 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, when Klahowya comes to town.