It was thrilling. It had big plays and critical mistakes. I had gutsy calls and poor decisions. It had bone-crunching tackles and whiffed blocks. It had timely precision and dropped passes. But, however you add it up, what ever equation you use, it stills equals a loss for the Coupeville High School football team.

Klahowya’s Nate Hough returned a interception 80 yards with 24 seconds left in the game to lift the Eagles to a 42-35 win over Coupeville Friday, Oct. 24, at Mickey Clark Field.

Hough not only dashed for the winning score but dashed the Wolves’ hopes of a playoff spot, spoiling homecoming along the way.

With the win, Klahowya finished second in the Olympic League and earned one of its two postseason berths along with champion Port Townsend. Coupeville finished third.

Regardless of the outcome, coach Tony Maggio said, it was a valiant effort by the Wolves who lost to Klahowya 49-6 just three weeks ago.

Twice in the game’s closing minutes, Coupeville appeared on the cusp of victory.

After a high-scoring first half, which ended with the teams tied at 28, the defenses stiffened and neither team tallied again until the Wolves’ Lathom Kelley scored with 3:28 left in the game. That put Coupeville ahead 35-28. The drive was kept alive by a roughing the passer call that wiped out an Eagle interception.

Klahowya was also aided by a penalty as it raced in for the tying score with 1:14 left. A dropped pass in the end zone set up a fourth-and-10 from the 14-yard line. The fourth-down pass fell incomplete, but Coupeville was flagged for pass interference.

The Eagles scored on the next play, and the PAT kick evened the game.

Coupeville came storming back. The Wolves started at their own 14 and quickly moved into field goal range. QB Joel Walstad hit Josh Bayne, C.J. Smith and Wiley Hesselgrave on consecutive passes of 20-plus yards to put the ball on the Eagle 22-yard line.

Maggio and offensive coordinator Orsen Christensen said there was “miscommunication” on the next call, and what was supposed to be a run ended up as Hough’s pick six.

The Wolves had just 21 seconds left after Hough’s score. Three complete passes took the ball to the Eagle 25 before time expired.

“The kids gave it everything they had,” Maggio said.

Though the Wolves lost, their season isn’t over. Coupeville has a nonleague game at Concrete at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31. Maggio agreed it will be tough for his team to get ready for the game after the difficult loss to Klahowya, then said, “We will be fine; we will get ready; it’s a matter of pride.”

The Wolves opened the game by recovering an onside kick. However, it was three-and-out.

Klahowya scored on its first possession, and Coupeville responded with a 30-yard pass from Walstad to Hesselgrave. Walstad kicked the first of five successful PATs. The drive included a 30-yard run by Kelley.

The Wolves then recovered a fumble at midfield which led to a 10-yard Walstad to Hesselgrave touchdown.

A 64-yard pass play by Klahowya tied the score at 14 just before the end of the first quarter.

It was the Eagles’ turn to recover an onside kick. That began a scoring drive that included a 20-yard pass play that was tipped by two players before the Eagle receiver snared the throw.

Coupeville evened the game at 21 on a seven-yard run by Bayne after a 17-yard catch by Smith.

On Klahowya’s next play, Bayne intercepted. Moments later he caught a 46-yard halfback pass from Hesselgrave to make it 28-21, Coupeville.

Klahowya converted on a fourth-down play on the way to scoring with 17 seconds left in the half.

The two teams opened the second half by trading fumbles.

Kelley zipped 30 yards to the Eagle 15, but the drive stalled and Coupeville missed a 30-yard field goal.

For the second time in the third quarter, Hesselgrave sacked Eagle QB George Harris, causing a fumble that the Wolves recovered.

Coupeville moved in for a possible score, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, coughed up the ball at the Klahowya 3-yard line.

The Wolves held and forced an Eagle punt. That started the game’s closing sequence of three touchdowns in the final three and a half minutes.

Kelley, playing with a broken hand, finished the game with 162 rushing yards on 23 carries and led the defense with 10 tackles.

Hesselgrave added 57 yards on 10 carries, caught four passes for 69 yards and threw one pass for 46 yards. Defensively he had nine tackles, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

Bayne ran for 43 yards on seven carries, caught three passes for 77 yards, recorded six tackles and intercepted a pass.

Smith snared three passes for 57 yards.

Walstad threw 16 passes, completing 10 for 181 yards.

Aaron Wright had nine tackles and returned two kickoffs for 34 yards.