The Coupeville High School football team looked sharp in its opening drive when Nocksack Valley visited Friday, Sept. 16, then the game shifted dramatically and the Pioneers rolled to a 47-14 win.

The Wolves (1-2) will attempt to shove the game is the storage unit and turn their attention to league play. Coupeville opens conference action when it plays at the Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23. The Tarriers lost two lopsided games before defeating Rochester 21-0 Friday.

Coupeville received the opening kickoff against Nooksack Valley and zipped down the field for a touchdown, a one-yard sneak by quarterback Hunter Downes. A 35-yard pass from Downes to Cameron Toomey-Stout was the big play in the drive.

Nooksack responded by scoring in only two plays. Coupeville then fumbled the ball back and the Pioneers quickly scored again. That was the trend for the night, as the Wolves committed four turnovers, three that resulted in Pioneer scores.

“We gave them lots of short fields,” Coupeville coach Jon Atkins said.

One of the fumbles stopped a Coupeville drive at the Nooksack Valley one-yard line after Clay Reilly nearly scored on a 48-yard fake punt.

Reilly did reach the end zone on an 11-yard run late in the game for Coupeville’s second TD.

Adjustments by Nooksack Valley, the turnovers and the sting of the quick Pioneer scores all factored into the Wolves’ inability to match its first drive, according to Atkins.

However, Atkins liked the way his team “fought back in the second half.”

“We were able to get them off the field,” he said. “I liked our mentality in the second half; we fought hard no matter what the score was.”

Atkins also liked the overall play of Reilly, who stood out defensively from his safety spot.

After watching the game film, he said, it was evident that center Julian Welling “played really well.”