The football gods have not been kind to Coupeville as the Wolves lost their second straight game in the final minutes.
Granite Falls picked up its first win of the year with a 35-28 victory over Coupeville as the Tigers scored the winning touchdown with just over a minute left at Mickey Clark Field Friday, Sept. 30.
Not all was negative for the Wolves as sophomore quarterback Jake Tumblin, making his second start, threw for a career high 153 yards by hitting 15 of 28 passes; he had no interceptions.
With the uptick in the passing game, coach Jay Silver said, “We showed a spark of what we can do.”
Tumblin was involved in most of the Coupeville scoring, and the first points came from the defensive side.
Tumblin snared a Granite Falls fumble and returned it 30 yards for the game’s first score. The PAT kick failed.
The Tigers came back as Kyle Everett scored two of his three touchdowns in the second quarter and Granite Falls led 13-6 at the half.
From that point the teams traded touchdowns. Tumblin hooked up with Mitch Pelroy for a 62-yard score, then Pelroy ran in the conversion and the Wolves led 14-13.
The lead was short-lived as Brandon Leitzke returned the following kickoff 90 yards and then kicked the extra point, making it 20-14, Tigers.
A few minutes later, Tumblin ran in from the one and Pelroy again converted and Coupeville regained the lead 22-20.
Leitzke struck again, this time on a 43-yard run for a TD, and then threw for the PAT.
The Wolves tied it at 28 with three minutes left when Dalton Engle scored on a catch and run of 24 yards on a screen pass from Tumblin. The PAT run failed.
Granite Falls drove 55 yards for the winning score, and overcame a third-and-eight when Leitzke scrambled for 20 yards.
Pelroy rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries to go along with his 62-yard receiving TD. Engle caught three passes for 39 yards.
The Wolves were hurt by penalties, Silver said, with screen passes of 50 and 25 yards nullified by holding calls.
Coupeville (0-4, 1-4) heads to Cedarcrest (2-1, 3-2) Friday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m.
