Before anyone could blink, Coupeville found itself in serious trouble Friday night.
Facing Orcas Island, the state’s sixth-ranked class B football team, the Wolves did exactly what they couldn’t afford to do on their home field, falling behind 22-0 just 10 minutes into the contest.
The early deficit proved too much to overcome as CHS eventually lost 36-15, for a third straight defeat.
“We spotted them three touchdowns,” head coach Ron Bagby said. “They were making big plays and we couldn’t make big plays or stop big plays.”
Orcas Island quarterback McLane Stone came out on fire. The senior connected on his first five passes for 115 yards and gave the Vikings the initial lead after finding a diving Colin Gaylord for a 34-yard TD with 7:24 to go in the first quarter.
Orcas continued its potent offensive attack on its next two possessions, scoring via a 25-yard run from Hunter Easterling and on a 48-yard pass from McLane Stone to brother Chandler Stone.
The Wolves were able to counter before the first quarter expired when quarterback Mike Bagby hooked up with tight end Andrew Moon for a 28-yard score. Moon, who took a dump pass on the right side of the field, made some slick moves, breaking free to the left sideline where he narrowly dove over the pylon for the touchdown.
The 22-7 score held until the 5:05 mark of the third quarter, before Vikings fullback Tristan Savell put another touchdown on the board on a 3-yard dive.
A 1-yard run from McClane Stone to start the fourth quarter sealed the game for the Vikings.
Orcas Island ended the night with 397 total yards of offense, 262 of which came on the ground.
Coupeville’s Kirby Mitchell tacked on another TD on a 10-yard counter run with 7:57 left, but that’s where the scoring ended for the Wolves.
Defensively, Tom Watson had six unassisted tackles for the Wolves, followed by Tony Prosser with four. Trevor Tucker added an interception.
Now 0-3 in the Northwest A/B league and 1-5 overall, the Wolves prepare to travel to Tacoma to face Charles Wright Academy (0-3, 1-4) this Friday.
“Our goal is to go into our last four games like it’s a whole new season,” coach Bagby said.
Orcas Island 36, Coupeville 15
Orcas Island 22 0 7 7—36
Coupeville 7 0 0 8—15
Scoring—Orcas Island: Gaylord 34 yard pass from M. Stone (Mayson kick). Orcas Island: Easterling 25 yard run (Easterling run). Orcas Island: C. Stone 48 yard pass from M. Stone (Mayson kick). Coupeville: Moon 28 yard pass from Bagby (Mouw kick). Orcas Island: Savell 3 yard run (Mayson kick). Orcas Island: M. Stone 1 yard run (Mayson kick). Coupeville: Mitchell 10 yard run (Bagby run).