Coupeville, along with everyone else in the Cascade Conference, will be glad to see King’s quarterback Thomas Vincent graduate this spring.
Vincent, who has terrorized the league for four years, threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Knights thumped visiting Coupeville 59-6 Friday, Sept. 10.
Coupeville coach Jay Silver, however, said the Wolves undoing had more to do with their poor defense than the play of Vincent.
Silver said, “He is a great player; he doesn’t need any help. We had mental breakdowns and left people uncovered. Any quarterback in the state would have had a good game against us tonight.”
He added that the problem with the Wolves’ defense was “a little bit of everything,” then stressed poor tackling. “We would turn a 10-yard reception into a 35-yard gain.”
Vincent, who amassed over 5,000 yards in total offense and accounted for 62 touchdowns last year while leading the conference in rushing and passing, finished the night 13-23 for 229 yards. In all, King’s (2-0) ran up over 500 yards of total offense while limiting Coupeville (1-1) to 121.
Silver, in reference to the King’s defense, said, “They were pretty good up front and had good team speed.”
The middle two quarters of the game “were a killer” according to Silver. The Knights took a 12-0 lead into the second quarter, then tacked on 19 more points before halftime and 21 in the third frame.
The first-year Coupeville coach also said the Wolves need to get over the mental barrier of the King’s mystic. “We need to get over the fact that it’s ‘King’s.’ That’s the biggest battle. It takes us two quarters to realize that we can play with them.”
The big offense play for the Wolves was Mitch Pelroy’s 92-yard kickoff return for Coupeville’s lone touchdown. He also caught three passes for 28 yards.
CHS quarterback Ian Smith completed nine of 20 passes for 63 yards and was intercepted once. He also rushed for 30 yards on 11 carries.
Coupeville will face another top-flight quarterback next week at Lakewood. The Cougars’ Justin Lane, a four-year starter, has thrown for over 6,000 yards and 65 touchdowns in his career.
In the season opening 47-34 win over Prairie, Lane was 11-17 for 209 yards and five TD’s. Friday he 15 for 26 and 264 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-7 win over Lynden Christian.
Lane, however, is not a dual threat like Vincent. Silver said, “If something isn’t open down field, he won’t tuck it and run over you like a fullback.”
Lakewood also returns it top rusher, Christian Melton, and receiver, Brandon Stott, from last year. Stott ran for 136 yards on only four carries and caught three passes for 60 yards against Prairie. One run, a touchdown, covered 83 yards.
