The prep football season got off to a rough start for Coupeville Friday night as the Wolves dropped their first contest, 33-15, at non-league Blaine.
The Borderites, who won their first game since the 2001 season, used a balanced offensive attack and key Wolf turnovers to move out to a commanding halftime lead.
“We had three big turnovers that cost us a touchdown and gave them two,” Coupeville coach Ron Bagby said.
Down, 20-7, with minutes remaining in the first half, Coupeville coughed the ball up near the Blaine 20 yard line. The turnover halted a scoring opportunity for the Wolves and led to an immediate Blaine score. The Wolves turned it over once more on the ensuing kickoff return that they brought out near the 50 yard line.
Blaine’s offense proved unstoppable for the Wolves.
“They had a quarterback and receiver combination that was just a little more than we could handle,” Bagby said.
New Blaine quarterback Doug Goldsby lit up the Coupeville defense for 223 yards passing and three touchdowns.
The Borderites, who had three running backs over 70 yards, combined for 229 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.
Coupeville quarterback Mike Bagby found success on the night, completing 15 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown.
The Wolves’ problems, however, came running the ball. The team only netted 16 yards on 11 plays.
“We threw the ball pretty well,” coach Bagby said. “We just need to run block better.”
Junior running back J.J. Marti had both touchdowns for Coupeville, scoring one on the ground and catching another. Marti, a linebacker, also led the team in tackles with 17.
Sophomore Trevor Tucker had a solid game, catching five passes for 58 yards.
Despite the loss, Bagby is sure things will turn out just fine for the Wolves.
“It’s the first game,” he said. “We don’t need to panic.”
Coupeville plays its first home game at 7:30 p.m., this Friday, Sept. 10 against Granite Falls.
“They’ll be a bigger team than we’ll see all year long,” Bagby said. “They like to run sweeps and the quarterback has a real good arm.
“It’s a team that if we play well we can beat.”
A victory for the Wolves would break a 10 game losing streak dating back to September 2003.
Blaine 33, Coupeville 15
Coupeville 7 0 0 8—15
Blaine 7 20 6 0—33
No scoring summary reported
