At the beginning of the season, Coupeville football coach Jay Silver said Lakewood was the team to beat in the race for the Cascade Conference crown.
After the Cougars defeated Coupeville 55-16 Friday, Sept. 16, at Mickey Clark Field, there is no reason for Silver to change his mind.
Silver said, “We made mistakes, but we were over matched. They are just really good.”
Lakewood (1-0, 3-0) sprinted to a 29-point first-quarter lead, then led 42-0 before the Wolves got on the board in the second quarter.
Mitch Pelroy broke through for Coupeville with a 41-yard run to the end zone. Jake Tumblin ran in the two-point conversion.
Pelroy scored again on an 11-yard run in the final period, and then caught the PAT on a pass from Tumblin.
Pelroy finished with 55 yards on eight carries; Dalton Engle led the Wolves’ running attack with 98 yards on 12 totes.
Tumblin passed for 44 yards after completing four of seven. As a team, Coupeville hit only four of 12 throws.
Silver said the team is struggling with its passing game. He said that the Wolves “are just trying to find the right mix” of offense to be the most successful the rest of the way.
Lakewood rushed for 311 yards and passed for 184.
After losing big to two of the league’s best teams, Silver said the challenge is to keep the players from losing confidence as they head into a more manageable stretch of the schedule.
The Wolves (0-2, 1-2) go to Sultan (0-1, 1-2) next Friday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m., and then host Granite Falls (0-3) the following week.
