When Coupeville needed its defense the most, it responded.
A week after giving up over 400 yards of total offense in a loss to King’s, the Wolves needed a strong defensive effort to stop Granite Falls and keep from starting out the league season 0-2. Mission accomplished.
Coupeville stuffed Granite Falls 17-3 for a home Cascade Conference win Friday.
Coupeville allowed the Tigers just 182 yards for the game and only 78 in the second half to thwart any comeback attempts. And, 46 of those total yards came on one run by Coty Walker. Walker finished with 130 yards on 19 carries.
The defense also forced three turnovers.
Coupeville had eight defenders with at least three tackles; Justin Adams led with eight.
The Wolves dominated the line of scrimmage. Assistant coach Gary Smart said, “The entire line played well on both sides of the ball. We really needed them to step up and they did big time.”
Smart said they have great senior leadership and the team has “a lot of heart.” He added that they didn’t let last week’s loss to King’s “get them down,” and the team responded in a big way against Granite Falls.
Adams put the Wolves on the board with a 20-yard first quarter field goal. The Tigers responded with their own 20-yarder.
Coupeville grabbed the lead for good in the second quarter when Erik Wheat caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jason Bagby.
In the third quarter, Bagby tossed another TD, this time a 10-yarder to Chase Griffin. In all, Bagby was 10-19 for 93 yards. Ian Smith caught four passes for 45 yards; Chad Brookhouse caught three for 21.
Adams controlled the ground game, amassing 140 yards on 24 carries. Griffin chipped in with 50 yards on six carries.
Offensively, the Wolves finished with 337 total yards and no turnovers.
Smart said, “This gives us some confidence going into next week’s game.” That game is at state power Archbishop Murphy Friday at 7. Smart said, “We would really like to beat those guys.”
Archbishop Murphy, a 2A school, has run up a 3-1 record this fall. Its only loss was 20-14 to 3A Eastside Catholic, one of the Metro League’s top teams. Murphy defeated Granite Falls 30-17 a week before Coupeville’s win over the Tigers.
The Wildcats, coached by former Oak Harbor head coach Dave Ward, feature a strong running game. Alex Martinez averages over 10 yards a carry (433 yards on 43 carries) and has scored five touchdowns. Alexander Kramer averages 9.5 yards a pop (133 on 14).
Archbishop Murphy’s quarterback, Austin VanderWell, has run for 116 yards and four touchdowns. He has completed 15 of 36 passes for 146 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.
Coupeville is now 3-1 for the year and 1-1 in Cascade Conference play.
