It would be easy to look at Coupeville’s 44-0 loss to Port Townsend Friday, Oct. 9, at Mickey Clark Field and call it a total disaster.

That’s not in Coupeville coach Brett Smedley’s DNA. He saw plenty of rays of sunshine peeking through the gloom.

First, he noted that his club held Port Townsend to its lowest point total and its smallest margin of victory this season. Port Townsend, undefeated and ranked eighth in the state 1A poll, has allowed only six points in six games this year while scoring 299.

The Redhawks defeated Coupeville 52-0 two weeks ago.

Second, the Wolves forced a fourth-and-out. “They went for it on fourth down and we stuffed them,” Smedley said.

Third, one of Coupeville’s goals for the game was to cut down on penalties. Last week, penalties haunted the Wolves in their loss to Klahowya.  This week, the Wolves had only one infraction for 10 yards.

Fourth, the Wolves hoped to improved its tackling.

“We put an emphasis on wrapping up and getting multiple players to tackle, and, for the most part, we accomplished this,” Smedley said. “(Port Townsend) had to fight for every inch.”

Fifth, Coupeville was on the edge of competing with the Redhawks.

“There are plays that we are inches away from making on offense and defense, and with a week to prepare for our next game we will make those plays,” Smedley said.

And, finally, Smedley liked the effort of his team and its aggressive attitude even though the outcome of the game was decided early.

“Very proud of the way our guys fought and gave everything they had until that final whistle,” he said.

The Redhawks zipped to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and then led 35-0 at the half.

Their defense was also impressive, limiting Coupeville to three first downs and 60 yards of offense.

Coupeville quarterback Gabe Eck was 6-for-15 passing for 36 yards. Jordan Ford caught two passes for 22 yards, and C.J. Smith grabbed two for 17 yards.

Wiley Hesselgrave rushed 12 times for 30 yards.

Ty Eck led the defense with nine tackles, followed by Chris Battagglia with seven and Hesselgrave with six. Jacob Martin recovered a fumble.

Next up is Coupeville’s homecoming game. The Wolves (1-3, 1-5) host Chimacum (0-4, 0-6) at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 17.

Coupeville picked up its only win of the season when it beat the Cowboys 28-26 Sept. 18.