Is there a silver lining in a 51-14 football loss?

Yes.

All was not a mess in Coupeville’s setback at Lynden Christian Friday, Sept. 14.

First, the Wolves continued to power the ball on the ground, chewing up almost 300 yards. Coach Tony Maggio said, “We rushed for a chunk again. We were jamming it down their throats; they couldn’t stop us.”

Unfortunetly, the Wolves found ways to stop themselves, surrendering a touchdown off a blocked punt and two more on fumble returns.

Second, the Wolves didn’t fold after a tough start. Down 21-0, Coupeville pushed across a score just before half and on its first possession of the third quarter to trim the gap to 21-14.

“The kids fought hard; they fought back,” Maggio said.

A that point, the Wolves lost four players to injuries, including their starting center, long snapper and leading rusher. With a new center the Wolves had trouble with the QB exchange, and it turned into “Turnover Central,” according to Maggio. Without its long snapper, Coupeville became more aggressive on fourth down and failed to convert several times.

Third, Coupeville had its best passing day of the young season. Gunnar Langvold was 8-for-22 for a season-high 81 yards.

Maggio said he knows his team can run the ball and the coaching staff may sacrifice success on the ground by focusing on the passing game. They cannot win consistently in the long run, he said, unless they can throw.

Things did not go well for Coupeville early. The Wolves came up short on a fourth-down play on their first possession. Moments later the Lyncs scored on a long pass play.

The next Coupeville possession ended with a block punt LC returned for a touchdown, and just five minutes into the game the Wolves found themselves down 14-0.

Coupeville regrouped and steadily worked back into the game. Langvold scored on a quarterback sneak just before half. Then he added a 19-yard run for a score early in the third and the Wolves were right back in it.

The Lyncs countered with two long drives. The first ended with a TD and LC led 28-14.

On the second the Coupeville defense stiffened with a goal-line stand and a fourth down stop inside the 5-yard line early in the fourth quarter. That momentum was quickly lost when the Wolves fumbled on their first play and Lynden Christian recovered in the end zone for a score.

The Wolves (0-3) look to get into the win column when they host Nooksack Valley (2-1) at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21.