Football video clips are up!

There are 5 varsity and 3 JV clips from games against Mt. Vernon.

One clip shows Ian Sinchak running 80 yards for a touchdown. That play was called back due to a flag on the Wildcats, but it was a sweet run so I put it up.

The clips are posted HERE

JV Football - Dillon Peterson scores twice vs Mt. Vernon

At Mt. Vernon HS, Dillon Peterson scored twice, with Jason Curles adding another, but it wasn't enough, as the turnover bug bit hard, with the Wildcats giving the ball away 6 times, twice inside the 20 during a 37-20 loss to the Bulldogs.

OH got on the board first, with a nice pass reception by Peterson. The ball was spotted on the Mt. Vernon 47, and the pass over the middle went just over the defender's hand and into Peterson's hands at the MV 32. From there he ran into the end zone untouched, but the PAT kick failed.

Things were looking up as the 'Cats put pressure on the MV quarterback, causing a less-than-perfect throw that Ian Sinchak intercepted at his own 32 and returned it 10 yards.

On the first play after the turnover, the handoff was fumbled, with Mt. Vernon recovering on the Oak Harbor 31. From there the Bulldogs needed only one play to tie the score at 6, the MV kick also failing.

After punting on their next possession, the 'Cats defense held, forcing a MV punt from the MV 37. The punt was partially blocked and rolled dead after only 7 yards.

On the next play, the OH QB was under pressure and on the verge of being sacked when he threw the ball up for grabs. Unfortunately, it was a Bulldog that did the grabbing. 7 plays later it was MV 12, OH 0, after another missed PAT attempt.

Ian Sinchak had a great run around the right side from his own 20, reached the sideline, and sprinted along it for the apparent TD. A flag on OH, however, brought the ball back to the 40, wiping the points off the board. After a couple of plays, including a penalty and a tackle for loss, Oak Harbor fumbled the ball again, giving MV a first down on the OH 45. The Wildcats were able to hold and force a turnover on downs, but just 4 plays later, another fumble put MV back at the OH 45. The team was able to stop this drive just inside the OH 10 yard line, pushing the MV receiver out of bounds a yard shy of the first down marker.

On the 2nd play of the drive, an overthrown pass was intercepted by MV. Looking at the tape, it was probably trapped, but the ball was given to the Bulldogs inside the OH 30. The 'Cats were able to stop MV, forcing 4 straight incompletions.

OH started another drive deep inside their own territory, but were not able to move it much before time expired in the first half. At the half, the score was MV 12, OH 6.

The 2nd half was all Mt. Vernon. Two interceptions in the 3rd were both turned into touchdowns, but the Wildcats were able to get their second score on a 40 yard pass play to Curles. Again the PAT failed.

At the end of 3, the score was not MV 24, OH 12.

Mt. Vernon scored again with 8:59 left in the game to increase their lead to 30-12. OH came back in just over a minute, scoring their own pass touchdown to Peterson. The 2 point conversion was good, closing the gap to 30-20.

Oak Harbor then attempted an onside kick. It started off good, with a nice bounce and the Bulldogs bobbling the ball, but they were able to down the ball and work it downfield for another score with 4:47 left in the game. Oak Harbor was able to return the kickoff out to midfield, but could not do anything with the ball.

Coach Nurvic did have several good things to say about the game. First and foremost was that even though the team lost, the players enjoy playing the game, and as a result, many are showing marked improvement from the beginning of the season. Coach Nurvic takes the "player development" role as JV coach very seriously, and works hard to prepare his players for the next level.

68 images from the game are posted HERE.

Boys Tennis results vs Monroe

It was a beautiful day for tennis, and at Oak Harbor High School, the OHHS tennis team played beautifully, evening their season record at 4-4 with a convincing win over league rival Monroe, 6-1.

The Wildcats won all 3 doubles matches for the first time this year, and 3 of 4 singles matches. All matches were in straight sets, with senior Ryan Evans blanking his opponent 6-0, 6-0.

In other singles action, Jordan Kingma won 6-2, 6-0 and sophomore Josh Evans won 6-1, 6-0, with Derek Thomas still not 100%, falling 6-1, 6-2.

On the doubles courts, the pair of Jewell and Valles wont 6-2, 6-3, Baleros and Marshall 6-2, 6-2, and O'Dell and Holbrook 6-3, 6-2.

In an additional, non-scoring match, sophomore Matthew Rice won by shutting out his opponent 6-0, 6-0.

Whidbey Wildcats Wrestling - Registrations begins soon

The Whidbey Wildcats Wrestling club is about to kick off another year of youth wrestling in Oak Harbor.

The club welcomes wrestlers of all abilities, from age 5-18. Registration begins on October 13th at 6pm in the OHHS mat room.

Cost is $85.00, which includes a singlet, T-shirt and team shorts. 3 tournaments will be held in Oak Harbor this year.

Visit the club website at http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=whidbey

Middle School sports get started

The Middle Schools offer 4 sports seasons, with the first and last season single-sports seasons. They start with Cross Country and end with Track. This year, due to budget cuts, the two middle schools have combined for a single Oak Harbor cross country team.

Last Wednesday was the first meet, held at Pt. Susan Middle School in Stanwood. The Oak Harbor Sports Report couldn't be there, but we now have results! I would love to include all the athletes' first names, but the results I received only include first initials. Sorry.

Starting with the 7th grade boys, Oak Harbor had one runner in the top 10 - C. Johnson who finished in 4th place with a time of 9:03, just 13 seconds after the winner. Other 7th grade runners for the boys were T. Peterschmidt, N. Wagner, T. Horton, A. James, T. Sanders, C. Edwards, R. Harrison and H. Miller.

The 8th grade boys had two top-10 finishers in W. Homola (2nd) and H. Kaltenbach (3rd). Homola finished the course in 8:48 and Kaltenbach was only a second behind at 8:49. Other finishers were J. Knoll, M. Cross, M. Frank, Z. Hasting, J. Kurfis, T. Taylor, Q. Guillermo, K. Turner, D. Kusnick, B. Benz, S. Gianguzzo and S. Jappert. Due to the combined efforts of the runners, Oak Harbor, as a team, finished in 1st place with 61 points, 10 point ahead of 2nd place Conway.

The 7th grade girls team also did well, with O. Meyer nabbing 1st place, followed by A. Laiblin in 3rd and A. Leete in 8th. H. Kagey, and J. Maier also competed, and even with a small team, the good running pushed the girls into a 1st place team finish, just 3 points ahead of Langley.

Finally, the 8th grade girls. The Oak Harbor team was unable to place anyone in the top 10, but finished enough runners to earn points, putting them ahead of 4 other teams. First for the Oak Harbor team was C. Wicker, then T. Nienhuis, A. McLoud, H. Hamamoto, C. Kenny, E. Adkins and K. Rankin. Wicker, Nienhuis and McLoud finished as a group, only 3 second separating their times.

While our runners may not have always been the fastest, there were 34 kids out there doing their best and having fun. In our view, they're all winners for just going out and trying, especially when it's so easy to just go home and watch TV or play computer games.

Next for the middle school runners is a meet this Thursday at Sedro-Woolley. On October 15th, Oak Harbor will be hosting their only home meet of the season at Wirth Farm off Boon Road. Come on out, brave the cool fall air, and cheer for our kids. It's FREE!!!

Fall league girls basketball

Both the varsity and JV teams were in action Sunday. The JV team played at 1:30 under coach Keely Smollack, but I don't have any results.

The varsity played at 5:45 at Skagit Valley College against Stanwood, and it was a hard game on the Wildcats as they were missing many regular players. Jessica Denmon is injured, Molly Deleon had a family commitment, and Cheyenne Tubo and Cori Henricksen were also missing. Most of the players that did show up were almost late due to the traffic in Anacortes due to the Oyster Run. Stanwood won the game, but it was a good challenge for the girls that were there, and many of the girls, who will be JV this winter, got some good playing time against a good Stanwood team. Janelle Yoshimoto and Sheena Corey traded point guard duties. Coach Gary Brundidge said there was a new girl, from Belgium, who played a bit and did well, and at one point in the game, Becca Moeai, who is not what you would call a petite girl, tripped and fell right on top of the Stanwood post player. Neither girls was injured, and both were able to continue.

Next for the fall league girls are games at 11:15 and 12:20 next Sunday at Skagit Valley College. Admission is FREE!!!

Roving reporter Michelle Sandstrom visits with Kirsten Roof

Michelle has been busy this week with three athlete profiles. Look for regular Monday varsity profiles in the future.


Kirsten Roof is a varsity soccer player for Oak Harbor high school. Not only does this smart, bubbly blonde have soccer everyday after school and weekend games for select soccer, she also has a life that consists of a boyfriend, family, and friends.
I recently sat down with her for lunch and got the chance to ask her some questions many of us non athletes wonder about, such as how the athletes manage their time.
She was sitting next to me in a soft red, ankle low dress looking kind of nervous and really wanting to eat lunch so I began with the question “why are all the soccer girls wearing there homecoming dresses today”? And with a smile and half laugh she answered “it was creating team bonding and hoping gets more people out there in the stands to watch us and of course just for fun”. We giggled for awhile and then with ten minutes left of lunch we got back into a discussion about soccer.
“What is your position, number, and why” I asked in a rushed tone trying to finish this interview before lunch was over. “My number is fifteen because each year when you’re a senior you have to choose a senior number and that’s what was open when I got there and I am center and an outside mid fielder”. “And how long have you been playing” I asked and when I looked up she had her thinking face on; “ok well eighteen minus that equals thirteen, so yeah thirteen years”!
“As you know football players have girls wear their jerseys, do you girls do that”? “I personally do and so do some others, Derrick wears mine”.
“What about goals for this season, how do you expect yourself and the team to do”? “Well were improving and we almost beat Everett the other night and that’s crazy because there freakishly good and we lost in a second overtime. And as for me, I would really like to score and just over all win”! “Speaking of wins, how do you take a loss”? “I have learned to take a loss very well because we have lost a lot but we are improving and I stress improving”!
“Being on a sports team is an amazing experience, I only know from XC and track, how is it on a soccer team”? “Really fun because were all good friends and we play dress up and have a lot of sleepovers and carbo loads”. “It sounds like you girls have a lot of fun together, what do you do in your spare time or is that your spare time”? “Hahaha what spare time? I really don’t know how I balance anything, school is for friends and homework is in between classes and on bus rides”.
We finished up our interview within two minutes before the bell and as I thanked her she got up and hurried off to get some food.

Another busy sports Saturday at Ft. Nugent Park - Soccer and Football

At Ft. Nugent Park Saturday, the Oak Harbor Sports Report was able to get to 3 soccer games and 5 football games. It was a stretch, but we were able to get photos from all 8 events we covered.



First up is soccer, featuring the GU-8 Pink Dynamite, sponsored by the Latte Lady. You can see the Latte Lady all over town in her maroon VW bus, bringing your coffee to you! After the game, coach Morgan Dutton, an OHHS soccer player, said of her girls "they are showing good development and are communicating well on the field". The girls are playing good soccer, and coach wants to improve on that my working on better passing. 95 photos of the game are posted HERE.



Next in soccer was the BU-6 Jets, sponsored by Patty Folkestad of Re/Max Properties and the Blue Sharks, sponsored by Der Kinderhuis Montessori school. Coach Curt Montano of the Jets said the best part of coaching kids this the fun. "It's fun to watch them play - there's lots of action in a very small area". Also, games at this level are normally high scoring affairs, with double-digit scores by both teams not uncommon. We were able to get 81 decent photos and have posted them HERE.



Finally in soccer, the Girl's U-11 Academy team "Courage", sponsored by NWSA. Headed by 3rd-year head coach Ryan Baker, the team is a traveling squad made up of girls who show the potential to play on the select teams in the future. The girls played a team from Stanwood-Camano, and were relentless, scoring 3 goals in the first half and adding another 4 in the second, while holding Stanwood scoreless. Coach Baker said "the girls moved the ball really well", and by spreading the field, were able to wear the other team down. Overall, he said "They played a wonderful game". 81 images from the game are posted HERE.



Moving to football, the Oak Harbor Youth Football League played 5 games, starting at 9am. While there were some delays, and it was close, league officials were able to get the last game completed before it became too dark to play.



In the first game of the day, the Midget Cougars played Lakewood, and showed those other Cougars just who's house they were in! The game was all Oak Harbor, who finished with the 35-0 win. Coach Marcus Bell was proud of the way his boys played. Due to covering a soccer game at the same time, only 17 photos from the game are posted HERE.



The second football game featured the PeeWee Lynx vs Lakewood, and this was a much closer game. Each team lost a fumble in the 1st quarter, and in the 2nd, Lakewood executed a near-perfect reverse for a TD. Unusually for Peewee football, Lakewood opted to kick the PAT (worth 2 points at this level), and we found out why. The kick had plenty of distance, but hit the right upright about 10 feet above the crossbar. If this kid has that good of a leg at age 8, watch out NFL! The Lynx grabbed the Lakewood kickoff and returned it for a TD, building a 14-6 lead that they would keep. The Lynx scored twice in the 3rd, and the final score was 27-6 Lynx. 60 images of the game and Lynx Cheerleaders are HERE.


3rd on the schedule was the Midget Panthers vs Arlington. This game started out badly for the Panthers, with Arlington holding a 13-0 halftime lead, but the Oak Harbor boys were able to chip away at the lead, and late in the 4th quarter, the score stood at 19-16 in favor of Arlington after an OH touchdown. The onside kick attempt failed, and Arlington was able to run the clock out. 43 images of the players and cheer squad can be found HERE.

Following the Panthers were the Junior Pumas, and this game did not go well for Oak Harbor at all. The Pumas just couldn't get going, and wound up on the short end of a 44-20 score. We were only able to get 18 good images, which are posted HERE.

The nightcap game, which almost became a literal, rather than figurative term, was between the Senior Wildcat team, made up of middle school-age boys, and the Anacortes team. Although the Wildcats came up short, 26-6, the game was closer than the score indicated. If the Wildcats had not lost a couple of fumbles or completed a couple of key passes, the score could easily have gone the other way. 55 images of players and the cheer squad are posted HERE.

Next weekend is another full day at Ft. Nugent, with another 5 football games and 13 soccer games.

In football, the Senior Wildcats play Orcas at 9am, followed at 11 by the Junior Pumas vs Burlington, then the Midget Cougars vs Arlington at 1pm, Peewee Lynx vs Concrete at 3pm, and Junior Jaguars vs Bellingham. All football games are on the new upper field next to the upper parking lot.

Soccer has both boys and girls U-6 games at 9 and 10 am, boys and girls U-8 games at 9 and 10, with an additional boys game at 11am. There will be a co-ed 10-11 game at 9am, and at the U-10 level, there are two boys games at 9am and a 3rd game at noon. All soccer games are on the lower fields near the main parking lot.

The concession stand, operated by the OHYFL, will be open all day, the Latte Lady parks near the soccer fields during soccer games, and Sno-Cone Joe can be found in the drop-off circle near the football field.

Boys Tennis

The OH tennis men ran into a buzzsaw called Snohomish High School last Friday. The Panthers were able to capture all 7 varsity matches in strights sets.

On the positive side, all the varsity singles players were back from their injuries, and Jordan Kingma and Josh Evans played some good tennis against a superior and undefeated Snohomish team.

Some photos of two doubles matches are posted HERE.

Wildcats win football shootout over Mt. Vernon 42-32

In a night marked by the Mt. Vernon Bulldog no-huddle offense, some rather poor Oak Harbor tackling at times, and some really (and I mean REALLY) bad and missed calls on the part of the officials, the Wildcats were able to pound it out for over 400 yards on the ground and get the win.

OH got the opening kickoff at their own 30. Using the shotgun for the first time this year, the first play was a handoff to Donovan Hunt for 9 yards. Next to get the ball was Brad Farnum for a gain of 7, followed by Stephen Lewis. With a 2nd & 10 on the Wildcat 46, quarterback James Jordan kept it himself and ran down to the Mt. Vernon 48. The next play was a handoff to Hunt who broke free and ran to the end zone for the early OH lead, just 2:23 into the game.

The Bulldogs took kicker Kevin Flavin's kick at their own 2, and after the reverse, were able to get it out to the 10 yard line. On their first play from scrimmage, the MV quarterback had his pass intercepted by Rashaad Smith at the MV 46. The 'Cats weren't able to get the ball moving, and after 7 plays had only moved the ball to the MV 27, there, a Jordan pass was intercepted and returned to the OH 33, with the saving tackle made by Jordan.

MV went through 6 plays and was facing a 4th & 2 at the OH 15, but was only able to gain 1 yard, giving OH the ball on the Wildcat 14 and 2:31 to go in the 1st quarter. OH ran 5 plays, one a direct snap to Lewis, standing at the QB position, but was unable to convert on 4th down from the Bulldog 22.

The Bulldogs continued with their shotgun/no-huddle offense, but after 7 plays, faced a 4th & 17 after a gang sack by the OH defense, and punted to the Wildcat 45.

On their next possession, the 'Cats went 3-and-out, gaining zero yards. Lewis punted away, and it was downed at the MV 22. After 3 plays, MV also punted, from their own 15. Lewis took the first handoff and ran in untouched from 23 yards out, boosting the score to OH 14, MV 0 with 6:53 left in the half.

Receiving the Wildcat kickoff on the 15, Mt. Vernon again tried the reverse, this time returning the ball to the 40. On the first play, the MV QB was not able to escape the clutches of Bennett Richter, and was sacked for an 11-yard loss. However, on the very next play from the Bulldog 29, the QB connected with his receiver who ran it down to the OH 47. With a 3rd & 1 on the 38, the Bulldogs completed a pass into the end zone to close the score to 14-7 with 5:05 in the half.

After taking the MV kickoff at his own 1, Hunt ran the ball out to the 16 where he was hit really hard, causing a fumble that MV recovered. 4 plays later, it was another pass TD for the Mt. Vernon score, and a tie game with 3:52 left.

After just 5 plays on the next possession, OH was forced to punt, but after moving the ball to the OH 48, Mt. Vernon's QB fumbled the ball during a scramble, and Greg Goebel was in the right place at the right time, picked the ball up off the turf, and ran it 38 yards for the OH score with 48 seconds in the half.

After getting the kickoff at their own 39, the Bulldogs got a big assist from the officials, who tacked on a 15-yard personal foul to a MV completion, moving the ball to the OH 39 with just 35 seconds left. Some tough 'Cat defense forced 4 incompletion out of 5 attempts, and time ran out in the half with MV only moving down to the OH 21.

The opening kickoff in the 2nd half was a disaster from the OH point of view. MV caught the ball at the 5 and was able to return it to the OH 1, with kicker Kevin Flavin running him down from behind. Two plays later, Mt. Vernon tied it up again at 21. Oak Harbor was only able to run 3 plays on their next possession before the fumble bug bit again, and MV had the ball with great field position on the OH 37. The Oak Harbor defense bent, allowing the 'Dogs to move to the OH 16, but forced a field goal attempt with 8:31 to go in the 3rd. The field goal was good for the Mt. Vernon lead, 24-21.

Oak Harbor got the ball moving, using 8 plays to move from the OH 27 to the MV 35, including a fake punt that was snapped to Hunt who ran for the 1st down, and got another 15 yards added due to a Mt. Vernon personal foul penalty. But, the drive stalled when a 4th down pass attempt fell incomplete due to pressure on Jordan.

Mt. Vernon went 3-and-out, punting from their own 35. Sam Wolfe took the punt at his own 30 and returned it 9 yards, where the Wildcat offense took over, and used running by Hunt, Farnum and a 20-yard run by Lewis to score with 2:18 in the 3rd, and putting Oak Harbor back in the lead 28-24.

On Mt. Vernon's possession, they were only able to move the ball from their own 41 to the OH 43, partly due to a deflected pass by Lewis, forcing a 4th & 10. The MV punter took the snap, started running as if it were a fake punt, then kicked the ball while on the run.

With the ball on the OH 7, Brad Farnum got the ball on the handoff, ran straight up the middle, and with the crowd cheering madly, rumbled 88 yards down to the Bulldog 5. From there, Lewis was able to run it in with 2:18 in the 3rd, making it OH 28, MV 24.

Oak Harbor attempted a surprise onside kick that almost worked, but the Wildcat that was running at the ball was blocked, and it rolled OOB at the MV 43. MV was facing a 3rd and 14 on the OH 32 when their pass fell incomplete, but the official said the OH defenders hit the receiver too hard, and after the 15-yard penalty, MV had a new set of down at the Wildcat 17. The Bulldog QB ran the ball for just two yards on the next play before being tackled hard by a combo of Chris Neumiller and Greg Goebel. At that point the Wildcat crowd went crazy and the stadium was rocking with the cheering and pounding. It must have helped unsettle the MV offense, as their next two passes fell incomplete, and the field goal attempt from the OH 15 went wide left.

With 10:18 to go in the game, the 'Cats went into ball control/clock wasting mode, using runs by Lewis, Hunt, Farnum and Derrick Clarit to move the ball from the OH 20 to the MV 26, where, again, it was fumbled away.

Mt. Vernon used a series of screen passes to move the ball from their own 20 down to the OH 14 in just over a minute and a half. A conveniently called defensive pass interference call on OH moved the ball to the OH 7, and 3 plays later Mt. Vernon was able to push it in. After converting on the 2-point attempt, which was itself controversial, as many felt the receiver did not have possession of the ball, the Bulldogs had narrowed the score to 35-32 with 3:36 left.

Surprisingly, Mt. Vernon did not attempt an onside kick, but they did leave early, and after the offside penalty enforcement, kicked from the 35. Donovan Hunt took the kick at his own 9, returning it 19 yards to the 29. The MV defense was able to hold the OH offense to only 2 yards, and the OH punt was fair caught at the MV 45.

The Bulldogs were not able to make a single yard, throwing incomplete on all 4 pass attempts. Actually, that's not entirely true, as the third down pass was caught by Coach Mueller on the sideline. It was a very nice one-handed catch!

Oak Harbor took over on the MV 45 with 2:37 to go, and moved it down to the MV 29, running the clock down to 35 seconds. Looking at a 4th & 13, Oak Harbor called a timeout, and the handoff was given to Hunt, who broke free from at least 2 tacklers and sprinted to the end zone to put the final nail in the Bulldogs coffin.

Mt. Vernon was only able to get the ball to the OH 30 before the clock ran out, giving the Wildcats the 42-32 win, boosting their record to 2-2 overall, 1-0 in the WESCO North.

Each of the 3 main Wildcat runners each tallied over 100 yards on the ground: Lewis 17-129, Hunt 11-171, and Farnum 11-121.

A final word on the officials - it may have been that due to Mt. Vernon's no-huddle, pass oriented offense that had people spread all over the field, but numerous holds and illegal blocks by Mt. Vernon were missed, while 'mystery' pass interference and questionable pass interference calls went against Oak Harbor. I'm speaking of one hold in particular, which I'll post with the highlights. You can clearly see the OH defender being dragged to the ground by the offensive lineman with the referee looking on, but no flag.

We'd like to thank partner KWDB 1110 radio in Oak Harbor for the plug. Wildcat football is broadcast live on KWDB radio, and is streamed online, so our family members in uniform that are overseas can listen in on the action. In the near future, KWDB hopes to have the the games available as a podcast, so you can listen to the game at your convenience. You can find them at http://www.kwdb.com/

You can also see the game on delay on Wildcat TV, Comcast channel 21 in the Oak Harbor area. This student-run TV station is overseen by Chris Douthitt, assisted by Jim Riney of Riney Production Services.

In other games of interest to Wildcat fans:

Everett 28, Cascade 8
Lake Stevens 45, Arlington 23
Marysville-Pilchuck 42, Stanwood 14
Snohomish 35, Monroe 28
South Whidbey 22, Cedarcrest 14
Granite Falls 35, Coupeville 7
Archbishop Murphy 49, Sultan 19

Highlight video will be posted to YouTube Tuesday morning.

Next up for the Wildcats: Snohomish at home next Friday.

Bonus athlete profile - Jessica Denmon

Roving reporter Michelle Sandstrom has been busy - here is her latest report - Junior Cross Country runner Jessica Denmon.

M; Hey Jess, its Michelle and I’m calling like I said I would to ask you some questions.
J; ok girl.

M; What sport do you play?
J; I play running…(she laughs)

M; So where are you right now?
J; We are just pulling into the beach in Seaside Oregon!

M; Why are you there?
J; The varsity boys and girls are here for a huge three event race on Saturday.

M; Tell me about this three course challenge.
J; Well there are over one hundred teams here and we all come to compete and there is an easy, medium, and hard course and you draw it out of a hat. Last year I got the easy course.

M; Are you hoping for a different course this year?
J; Well I like the easy course but the medium and hard seem really fun so I’m leaning toward the easy course because it’s not too hard and it’s still fun.

M; Well I hope you get it! By the answer you gave me before it sounds like you were there the year before, how did that go?
J; Last year was amazing, like I said I got the easy course and we went to the beach last time like were doing now and we went to a dance but that’s not till later tonight.

M; Would you say were more nervous last year because it was your first time there?
J; Right now I’m not nervous at all because I don’t know what race I am in and it’s not until tomorrow, I’m just going to chill tonight and have some fun.

M; When readers read this interview they know were talking about running and cross country and wouldn’t expect to see the word fun in the same category as running, what makes me want to do this sport?
J; Cross country is like one big family and yes running is hard but it’s either you have a passion for it or you don’t, it’s also a love hate relationship.

M; That is defiantly true, do you have any goals for this season and what are the coaches expecting from you?]
J; I’m trying to beat twenty minutes and the coaches just want me to stay on top, were both working on times right now.


M; Under twenty minutes is a tough time, but I’m sure you can do it with practice!
J; Yeah im hoping!

M; Speaking of practice, what does a normal practice consist of?
J; It depends on the day, Mondays and Wednesdays are usually really hard like track work outs and speed work. Wednesdays and Fridays are usually easy and slow because Thursday is a meet so they don’t want us to pull any muscles the day before.

M; Well that’s enough of running for now, tell me what do you do for fun?
J; I usually just hangout with friends or my boyfriend.

M; Do you play any other sports?
J; I play basketball and I do track.

M; Which sport is your favorite?
J; I like basketball the most because there is a point to running and its just fun and track is ok I didn’t finish the season last year and I don’t know about this year. The reason I Love cross country is because were all so close and longer runs are way more fun then just running around a track.

M; With sports year around, how do you feel with pressure and nerves?
J; I rarely ever get nervous and I think that’s why sports aren’t extremely difficult for me, I just have fun and the talent comes with it. And with the nerves I always have people talking to me and it takes my mind off of a game and/or a meet.

M; You seem really busy with sports and on top of that you have school, homework, friends, and you need family time, how do you fit in a boyfriend?
J; I don’t really know how I’m doing it, he doesn’t play sports so usually its whenever I’m free it works with him, but it still is kind of difficult at times.

M; Ok well I know your busy and want to get back to enjoying Seaside before competition time so enjoy your trip.
J; Ok I’ll call you when its over!

Thursday was a good day for Wildcat sports - Volleyball, Swimming, XC, and Soccer

Oak Harbor went 3-1 in varsity team scores Thursday afternoon, with only cross country not grabbing a team win.

Starting with Cross Country, the boys and girls team were down in Mukilteo for a meet against Jackson Kamiak and Edmonds-Woodway. On the boys side, Tyler King was first for Oak Harbor and 4th overall, followed by Duhrkopf, Klauer, Bolte, Zimmerman and Miller. As a team the boys received 79 points, tied with Edmonds.

The girls team did a little better, and according to the results in the Everett Herald, ran with out leading runner Jessica Denmon. First for the ‘Cats was Allison Duvenez, who finished 7th overall, then Royal, Fisken, Kyle and Dale. The girls had 68 team points for a 3rd place finish overall.

In the pool, the Wildcat girls swimmers ran the table for the 2nd straight meet, winning all 11 swim races against league opponent Lake Stevens. The only event the girls didn’t get first place in was diving. Amanda Streubel and Rachel Weinstein both notched 4 wins as individuals or as part of relays, while Ciara Hu, Carolyn Vasquez and Karina Concepcion had 3 wins each. The win puts the Wildcats at 1-0 in league dual meets. Photos from the swim meet can be found by clicking here.

On the volleyball court the Wildcats hosted Jackson High School with mixed results. The freshmen won the first two games to win the match, but lost the 3rd. In the first game, it was tied at 4-4 when the Wildcat freshmen went on a serving tear and push to an 11-4 lead, which resulted in a 25-11 final. The second game was much closer, but the girls pulled out a 27-25 win. The third game went to Jackson 21-25. The JV, unfortunately, had an off day. The serving was good, bordering on great, but the girls kept shooting themselves in the foot with numerous hitting errors. The JV team took the first game 25-10, but Jackson came back to win game 2 9-25, then game 3 16-25. The varsity match was all Oak Harbor. In the first game, the ‘Cats beat Jackson 25-19, but it got harder from there. The second game started out with OH moving out to a 10-5 lead, but a Jackson timeout proved effective, and they fought back to a 10-9 Wildcat lead. Oak Harbor dug in, and after a pair of kills by Jen Jansen and a service ace by Devin Tanner pushed the OH lead to 16-10. Jackson again closed to within 3, but an ace by Jessica Muzzall and a couple of Jackson error gave OH a 23-17 lead. Jackson called their 2nd timeout, and again used it effectively, scoring 5 straight to bring the score to 24-22. Jen Jansen scored the final point by tapping the ball just right and watching it fall to the floor untouched. The 3rd game was even harder. Jackson ran to an early 8-3 lead, but Oak Harbor crawled back into it with kills by Jansen and Marisa Sutherland, with a service ace by Muzzall grabbing the lead for OH 9-8. From there, it was a back and forth game, with both teams holding 1-2 point leads at times. With the score tied at 23, a sweet tap by Kim Mowbray gave the ‘Cats match point, and a service ace by Jansen sealed the win. Volleyball pictures are HERE. A few video clips of the varsity match have been posted to YouTube.

Finally, to the soccer field. In a moderate drizzle, the JV squad played hard, but fell to visiting Marysville Tomahawks by a 2-1 score. The OH goal was scored by Hannah Bressler. The varsity team, fueled by two goals by senior Carson McKole, led at halftime 2-0. Marysville fought back, scoring two goal of their own to tie the game last. A couple of last-minute attempts on the OH goal failed, so the game went into overtime. In HS soccer, overtime is sudden death, and consists of two 5-minute periods. If neither team scores, the game ends in a tie. In this game, the first overtime period ended, the teams switched ends, and in the second period, off an assist by Carson McKole, Hope Thompson (who had been playing goalie earlier in the game) kicked it past the Tommie goalkeeper for the score and the win. 49 varsity soccer photos are posted HERE.

Freshman football results

In Everett, the Wildcat Freshman beat the Everett Seagulls 28-18 after being down 18-6 in the 3rd quarter. Of the 4 touchdowns scored, one was by Nick Ferrell, two were by Justin Everett, and quarterback Matt Burgoyne scored on a keeper from 15 yards out. The team recovered two consecutive kickoff fumbles by Everett, and Owen Irwin intercepted a pass to shut down the final Everett drive.

Coach Esvelt liked the defensive play he saw. He commented on the "Strong D by Edward Denmon, Hunter Vail, Kewawn Brooks and Brandon Stratton."

Next up for the Freshman team is a home game on Wednesday against Archbishop Murphy's freshman team.

A visit with... Lauren Lewis

Lauren Lewis, wearing number 13, is a sophomore member of the Oak Harbor JV volleyball team and has been tearing up the court so far this year. The 5’9½” Middle Blocker is the daughter of Navy Officer Donald and Andrea Lewis. Lauren’s birthday is on May 3rd, and she has two older brothers, 21 year old Justin and 17 year old Stephen. She is a true “Navy Brat”, as she was born in Italy, and has lived in such varied places as Florida, Virginia, and Ohio as well as Oak Harbor.

She loves volleyball, playing for school team since 7th grade, and playing on local club teams in the off-season. Her most memorable volleyball moment came during a club game, when she got off a good, flat serve that hit a girl on the receiving team right in the face. Lauren takes pride in her serving ability, and considers it the best part of her game, although she admits there’s always room for improvement. When asked “why volleyball?”, Lewis replied that it is the sport that is the most fun for her.

When she’s not playing volleyball, she also likes to play football, and as an elementary school student played some tackle football! She likes to watch football and volleyball on TV, and her whole family is rabid Ohio State Buckeye fans. After high school, Lauren’s current plans are to play volleyball at OSU, and continue on to earn her Doctorate in Veterinary Science.

In school, her favorite class is choir, as she enjoys singing and performing. Her favorite teacher so far was Mr. Gilmore, her SSI Science teacher. Lauren said he made the class fun, and was an entertaining teacher. Lauren also likes having older brother Stephen in high school with her, especially for her Freshman year. She confessed that although they can fight like, well, brother and sister, she’s glad he was there for her to lean on when needed.

Her likes cross over to her leisure time, as she enjoys watching movies (especially Mulan) and listening to her favorite music, R&B on 93.3FM. When asked if there was anywhere she would like to live, she chose Ohio, as she has a lot of family there.

Lauren’s goals on the court this year include improving her passing, and stepping up her game enough to perhaps become a ‘floater’ on the varsity team. A floater is a JV player that plays in JV games, but suits up for varsity, ready to play if called upon.

In closing, I asked her what makes her Lauren, and not anyone else, and she replied that she is not a follower. She is confident, and tries to choose the right path, not necessarily the path that everyone else is taking. Lewis also wanted to ensure that it was mentioned that she loves her family dearly, especially her brothers.

Next week: Freshman football

Another source for Wildcat photos

James Woolbright, the Whidbey News-Times sports photographer now has his own website where he's posting some of the hundreds of photos he captures at OHHS Varsity sporting events, particularly varsity football.

You can find his photos at http://gallery.me.com/jameswoolbright

Tuesday results - Girls Swim and Soccer

At the Lynnwood Pool, Freshman Ciara Hu won 4 races, placing first in the 100 butterfly, 500 freestyle and as a member of the winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, and Seniors Carolyn Vasquez and KeriAnne Wright were both double winners as the team swept 1st place in all 11 events and crushed Lynnwood 133-32. Winning 3 races was Sophomore Amanda Streubel in the 200 medley and freestyle relays and 100 breaststroke, and also winning 2 races was Freshman Karina Concepcion, who finished first in the 200 medley relay and in the 200 Individual Medley.

Good going swimmers!

On the soccer field, Senior Carson McKole scored the first goal of the game and added a second goal in the 60th minute to tie the game at 2 each, but Everett was able to sneak a shot past Wildcat goalkeeper Jordan Boucher in the 89th minute for the win.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Wildcats, as 4 of their 5 games played so far have been decided by a single goal. All it would have taken is for the ball to take a couple of bounces in our direction and they could easily be 4-1 rather than 0-5. However, the season is young, and Coach Barker is working is players to ensure they meet with success during the remainder of the season.

Up tomorrow is a Middle School Cross Country meet at Pt. Susan Middle School in Stanwood, Boys Tennis at Cascade, and Freshman football at Everett.

Thursday will be a busy sports day, with home contests featuring Girls Swim (Lake Stevens), Girls Soccer (Marysville) and Volleyball (Jackson), while Cross Country is at Kamiak.

JV Football vs Everett - 9-22-08

The Wildcat JV football team faced off against the Everett Seagulls at Wildcat Memorial Stadium Monday evening, and although the 'Cats played hard, they wound up on the bottom of a 28-14 score.

According to head coach Craig Nurvic, there were some tough matchups, especially along the line, which allowed Everett to rack up a lot of rushing yardage.

The game started with Everett in possession at their own 40 after a 20-yard kickoff return. After an 11-play drive that took 5:10 off the clock, the 'Gulls scored from the OH 5 on a 1st & goal play to take an early 7-0 lead.

OH responded by taking the ball from their own 36 and moving it down to the Everett 17 before the drive stalled. During the drive, Marcus Jordan ran for a short gain, but got another 15 yards due to being tackled by his face mask.

Everett took over on the Everett 17, and used 9 plays and just 3 minutes to increase their lead to 14-0 with 11:13 left in the 2nd quarter.

OH continued to move the ball well in the middle of the field, but had difficultly moving past the opponents 20, and the next OH drive stalled after moving from the OH 17 to the Everett 29 before turning the ball over on downs.

The next Everett drive was stopped when a 4th & 5 Everett pass was tipped away, but OH again was unable to capitalize when the ball was fumbled at the OH 45 during a QB sack. All through the game both quarterbacks, Gabe Dye and Luke Felkner, were under pressure by the Everett defensive line. Our boys gave 110%, but the Everett line was just bigger than ours and pushed their way into the backfield.

Fortunately, the OH fumble did not cost any points, as the half ran out with Everett spotting the ball at the OH 24, and the score still stood at 14-0 at the half.

The 'Cats got the ball to open the 2nd half, but two incomplete passes inside the Everett 5 ended the drive. The OH defense did well in the next series, forcing Everett to punt after only 3 plays, but OH punted back after only 5 playes, giving Everett the ball at their own 37. Two plays later, the Seagull runner broke out of what seemed like a sure tackle, and sprinted 63 yards to the goal to push the Everett lead to 21 with 4:26 left in the 3rd.

Following the kickoff, the Wildcats went 3-and-out, downing the punt at the Everett 31. Everett's next two plays were both from the shotgun, and both snaps went over the QB's head. On the 2nd snap, OH was able to recover the ball on the Everett 5 with 1:40 to go in the 3rd quarter. The first play was a handoff was to Higbee who got stacked up trying to get through the Everett defensive line. After the pile got pushed down around the 1 yard line, the ball was stripped, bounced in the end zone and right into the hands of Dustyn Bull, who was standing just outside the pile, but in the end zone. You can see a clip of the play here. That OH score pull them to within 2 TDs with 1:29 to go in the 3rd.

Everett hit back with another touchdown, returning the kickoff to midfield, then punching it in from 10 yards out with 10:21 remaining in the game after an 8-play drive.

During the ensuing kickoff, the ball was kicked high, and dropped on the OH 26, in an area where there were no OH players, and Everett was able to cover the ball and retain possession at the Wildcat 26. Again, the 'Cat defense stiffened and kept Everett from converting on a 4th & 3 play.

OH now had the ball on the OH 23 with 8:05 left in the game. A long completion to Jason Curles moved the ball down to the Everett 14, and 3 plays later Curles found an open seam and danced into the end zone and continued dancing, as you can see here.

Everett was forced to punt on their next possession, and Oak Harbor got the ball for another chance to close the score with a 1st & 10 on the OH 18 and 4:17 left. The JV 'Cats were able to get the ball down to the Everett 5, but two sacks and a fumble ended the Wildcat chances.

Coach Nurvic said overall he was pleased with the team's performance. They were up against a bigger and superior Everett line, but kept the game from becoming a rout. He also mentioned that there was a good spread on offense, with 5 different ball carriers and 5 receivers with at least one catch during the game. There were, however, several missed opportunities, which will be discussed and practiced before traveling to Mt. Vernon next Monday for the next game.

All 6 video clips can be seen here

The next home sports events are not until Thursday, with the Girls swim team going against Lake Stevens at Vanderzicht Pool, Girl's Soccer looking for a win against Marysville, and Volleyball hosting Jackson in the OHHS gym.

Varsity football video clips

Some video clips from Friday's game at Everett have been posted

http://www.youtube.com/user/OakHarborSportsReport

New poll posted

This poll is for the upcoming home volleyball match against Jackson. Vote on how the varsity Wildcats will EARN their first point. Will it be a Jansen or Muzzall power kill? A dump set by Melany Cone? A service ace? Or maybe a back row attack? YOU make the call!

You'll find the poll on top of the right side of the page.

Q & A with... Andy Haag

Roving reporter Michelle Sandstrom sat down with Varsity running back Andy Haag, #21 last week for a short Q&A session.

Q; What’s your date of birth?
A; March 6, 1992.

Q; Have you lived in Oak Harbor your whole life?
A; Most of it, I was born in Illinois but I have been raised here.

Q; What sport do you play and position?
A; I play Varsity and JV football and I’m a Safety and a Running Back.

Q; What made you choose football over other fall sports such as Cross Country or Cheerleading?
A; I’m more of a sprinter and Cross Country guys are tall and skinny and Cheerleading, no way, that’s just not for me.

Q; Do you have any current injuries?
A; I have shin splints but I’m running through those and my wrist has been hurting really bad, I don’t know what’s wrong yet I just wrap it before each practice and game.

Q; When you're out on the field, what’s going through your mind?
A; The play and what my job is.

Q; Is there anyone you prefer to be playing with?
A; Clarence, because he knows what to do in any situation.

Q; Do you play/practice on your spare time?
A; Yeah I get together with friends occasionally or I’ll toss the ball around with my girlfriend but it’s nothing like real practice.

Q; What else do you like to do with your spare time?
A; Play video games.

Q; In most sports, athletes have to be on a diet or cut certain foods out. Do you?A; It doesn’t hurt to eat healthy and the coaches encourage it, but then again we always stop off at McDonalds on the way home after a game. I usually get two quarter pounders with cheese because of the special going on right now, but yeah I eat what I want, I need to gain weight anyways.

Q; Everyone has bad games or practices, how do you handle those?
A; Get angry and use the anger next practice or game.

Q; What year are you in this year?
A; I’m a junior.

Q; So you must be looking forward to your senior year, will you continue football next year?
A; That’s the plan.

Q; I know two years may seem far away, but do you know your plans after high school?
A; WSU College for football hopefully.

Q; Football players are known for there toughness and aggression, do you carry that with you off the field as well or do you have a soft side?
A; I only take my aggression off the field if I had a bad practice or am angry about something, otherwise I have a soft side.

Q; I can see football is a huge part of your life, but lets talk about something else. What is your favorite color?
A; Green.

Q; And your favorite food?
A; Pepperoni pizza.

Q; What about a favorite movie?
A; Super Bad definitely.

Q; Well thank you Andy for letting me interview you and letting others get to know more about you.
A; Anytime.

Video clips posted

Video clips from the OH vs Kamiak volleyball match and the OHYFL Lynx at Arlington football game are now posted at http://www.youtube.com/user/OakHarborSportsReport

Girls Basketball - fall league

The Oak Harbor High School girls basketball team is fielding both a JV and Varsity team in the fall league through the Skagit County Parks & Recreation department, and both teams had games on Sunday, Sep 21st.

The JV team is made up primarily of freshmen, with sophomores and juniors used as needed to fill the roster. The JV squad is coached by Keely Smollack and the varsity by long-time youth basketball coach Gary Brundidge.

The varsity game was first, against Arlington. It looked good for the 'Cats, as the held a 25-13 halftime lead, but after that, Arlington took over on both ends of the court. The 2nd half was very physical, and OH wasn't able to get their offense in gear, scoring only 8 points to Arlington's 26, and the girls wound up on the short end of a 39-33 score.

The JV game was similar, in that the girls held a 17-14 halftime lead over Mt. Vernon, but the our girls had a hard time getting rebounds on both ends of the court while Mt. Vernon was able to get 2 and even 3 shots off during each possession. By the end of the game Mt. Vernon turned their deficit into a 34-25 victory.

Photos from both JV and Varsity can be seen HERE.

Youth football - Lynx @ Arlington

The Oak Harbor Lynx peewee football team went to Arlington for a game against the Eagle Gold team and came away with a win.

The game started out well for the Lynx. OH kicked the ball just over 10 yards, and Arlington could not get to it in time and the Lynx recovered for a 1st & 10 on the Arlington 49. On the very first play from scrimmage, a nice run resulted in the Oak Harbor TD. The run was good, so with just 21 seconds used up in the 1st quarter, it was Lynx 7, Eagle Gold 0. On the next OH kickoff, there was the same result - Arlington erred and OH recovered, again at the Arlington 49. Arlington caught a break as OH fumbled the snap and the Eagles recovered. However on THEIR first snap, Arlington fumbled with OH recovering and a 1st & 10 on the Arlington 44. 3 plays later the score was Lynx 14, Eagles 0.

Arlington was able to down the next OH kickoff, but the drive lasted only 5 plays before failing to convert a 4th & 8. On the next Lynx drive, it took only 2 plays for another score, this one a beautiful pass from the Arlington 45 that was caught at the 34 and run in for the score. The PAT failed, but it was now Lynx 20, Eagles 0 with 3:56 left in the 1st.

The Lynx continued their domination of the Eagles by scoring another TD on a 27 yard run with 7:59 left in the half pushing the score to 26-0. Arlington finally got on the board with 9:44 left in the 3rd with a 45-yard run on the first play after the 2nd half kickoff.

When next on offense, OH shifted to a wishbone offense, but a 5-play drive ended with a fumble, but an Arlington fumble 2 plays later gave the ball back to Oak Harbor, who then needed 5 plays to score on a run from the Arlington 25, increasing the score to 32-7. With the OH defense made up with at least 50% non-starters, in accordance to league policy, the Eagles were able to move the ball down inside the OH 10, and on a 4th-and-goal, was able to run for a score with 9:51 in the 4th.

Oak Harbor fumbled on their next possession, but the defense forced Arlington into a 4th & 23 situation, and was able to stop the run attempt. 5 plays later, it was another Oak Harbor touchdown. The score is now 38-14 for the Lynx.

Arlington covered the OH kickoff (made from the 20 due to the score) at the OH 29, and with a 3rd & 13 from the Lynx 32, ran it all the way to the Lynx 4. The Lynx defense stiffened, and forced a fumble on the 1st & goal play, recovering in the end zone for a touchback. The Lynx were able from there to run the clock out and win by a final score of 38-14 and extend their record to 3-1.

Look for some video highlight clips to be posted by Monday morning.

Youth soccer at Ft. Nugent Park

The Oak Harbor Sports Report went to see two youth soccer game held at a wet Ft. Nugent Park this past Saturday, Sept. 20th. There were 15 games in total Saturday morning, ranging from 6 to 10 years old.

The first game covered was a Boys U-8 game between the Blue Bullets and a team sponsored by Martin Electric. At that age, the game is played on a short field, and only 3 players on each side, plus goalies. From my viewpoint, the Blue Bullets were in control of the game, making shot after shot on the Martin Electric goal. However, due to the extraordinary efforts of the Martin Electric goalie, most of the shots did not get into the goal. After the game, I talked with coach Eric Johnston of the Blue Bullets. He said his boys "hustled hard and had good passing", and that there was great improvement from the beginning of the season.
34 photos of the two teams are posted HERE

The other game was a U-6 girls game featuring the Bluebirds and the Red Roses, sponsored by Best Friends Veterinary Clinic and Jane Koetje of Re/Max Real Estate. At the U-6 level, both teams have only 3 players on the field and there is no goalie, but that is countered by a smaller goal net. This game was also fun to watch as you could easily see that not only were the girls working hard, but having fun. Coaches Edgar and Crystal Nunez of the Red Roses said his team "did an awesome job", and "played as a team". Coach Sean Merrill of the Blubirds said that "everyone played better", and it was "great watching the girls grow". I got the distinct impression that all the coaches were very proud of their girls.

32 photos of the Bluebirds-Red Roses game are posted HERE

Boys Tennis

The tennis team, short the #1 and #3 singles players, Derek Thomas and Jordan Kingma went to then 3-1 Marysville for a WESCO North conference match.

With the loss of two top players, the Wildcats were unable to put much pressure on the Tomahawks, and went down 6-1. The lone OH winner was Sophomore Josh Evans over M-P Senior Barry Jacobsen, 6-4, 7-6(3)

Paul Jewell and Joel Valles moved from their #1 doubles spot to the #3 and #4 singles, and both lost by identical 6-3, 6-2 scores. Moving Jewell and Valles up bumped the team of Rick Baleros and Max O'Dell to #1 doubles and put sophomore Geoff Worley and Freshman Tyler Dodge in at the #3 doubles spot against a junior and senior.

The tennis team travels to Cascade next Wednesday and hosts Stanwood on Friday.

Ugly - that's the only word for it

The Oak Harbor Wildcat football team traveled to Everett Memorial Stadium for a non-conference game against the WESCO 3A Everett Seagulls, and came away with their second loss on the season. The 22-0 loss was the Wildcat's first shutout since losing to Mountain View 49-0 in November of 2002.

The game started out looking good, with Brad Farnum moving the ball up the middle, but the drive stalled and OH could not convert on the 4th down play.

From then on, Everett seemed to be able to move the ball at will, both on the ground and through the air, and broke several long plays for scores.

Oak Harbor was never able to get the offense really going, but twice had the ball inside the Everett 10, but fumbled on both attempts at scoring. The 'Cats faced several 4th down attempts but could not convert any of them.

There were some positives in the game, among them two sacks and a fumble recovery by Chris Neumiller, some nice kickoff returns, all going out past the 20, and a tackle for loss late in the game by Greg Goebel and Michael Repose.

There is some great video of Neumiller's sacks, and shots of Farnum early in the game. Look for video clips on Monday.

Next up for the Wildcats is 2-1 Mt. Vernon at home next Friday.

Other scores of note from Friday:
Mt. Vernon 34, Sehome 31
King's 23, Coupeville 12
Archbishop Murphy 42, Granite Falls 6
South Whidbey 42, Lakewood 21
Arlington 28, Jackson 22 (OT)
Lake Stevens 35, Stanwood 0
Marysville 20, Glacier Peak 17
Monroe 39, Sedro-Woolley 27
Shorecrest 28, Snohomish 14

Player Profile - Geoff Worley - Sophomore - Tennis

A visit with…. Geoff Worley

Geoff Worley would be one of this year’s top JV tennis players, if we had a JV team. He was born in California on October 27th to Kyle and Mary Worley, and moved to Oak Harbor when he was only 1 year old. He has one older brother, Keath. Geoff attended Broadview Elementary, North Whidbey Middle, and is now a sophomore at OHHS.

This is his first year on the OHHS tennis team, although he has been playing recreationally with his father for some time. He really enjoys playing tennis, and it’s his only sport. He doesn’t really know why he likes it or why he chose tennis. It’s sort of like he just fell into it for something to do and found that he liked it. To date his most memorable tennis moment has been in a match where he hit the ball across the net softly, but with a lot of backspin. After crossing the net and hitting the opposite court, the backspin caused it ball to bounce back across the net and into Geoff’s court. It cost him a point, as he was near his baseline and couldn’t get to the ball.

He likes watching football the Everett Silvertips hockey team, and went to a ‘Tips game just a couple of weeks ago. His real love, however, when not playing tennis or doing his homework (he’s an A/B student), is playing video games. His preferred platform is the Xbox 360, and his preferred game is the Legend of Zelda series. After graduating, Geoff is looking at a career in the computer industry, as perhaps a graphic designer, software engineer, or game programmer. Geoff says his most memorable life moment so far was his first trip to Disneyland, when he was in 3rd grade.

At school his favorite subject is 10th Honors English, and his favorite teacher is Mr. Wesley, who he had for geometry as a freshman.

Other activities that Geoff has interest in are listening to ska music and tuning his radio to 107.7. He’s also a budding actor, participating in a number of plays at the Whidbey Playhouse. You may also see Geoff in the company of his girlfriend Laurin Rico, and you may find them watching the 80’s movie “Tron”.

When asked if there was anyplace in the world he would like to live, Geoff responded “Florida, in an area that doesn’t get hurricanes”. Good luck on that one, Geoff!

Thursday was a busy day for Wildcat teams

Let's start with the events I was not at.

Freshman Football
I don't have a final score, but the freshman football team lost a tough road game in Monroe against the Bearcats. Sorry, but I don't have any details. The freshman team next plays at home vs Everett next Wednesday.

Girls Swimming
The opening swim meet of the year was originally scheduled for OH, but was moved to Kamiak. It was a close meet, with the Wildcats falling to the Knights 96-87. The 'Cats did win several events, including the marquee event, the 400 meter freestyle relay, won by the team of Rachel Weinstein, Tori Nickerson, Amanda Streubel, and Karina Concepcion, swimming in a time of 4:00.43. Other events won by Oak Harbor girls were the 200m freestyle, 100 butterfly, 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke. The swimmers hit the water next on Tuesday at the Lynnwood Pool.

Cross Country
The OH runners also opened their season today with a meet at the Wirth Farm off of Boon road against Everett and Stanwood. The event started with the boys JV, with the winner being an Oak Harbor runner whose name escapes me, finishing the 3-mile course in just over 20 minutes. Every Oak Harbor JV runner finished the race, which is not always the case.

In Girls Varsity, it's hard to assess the girls, as they were told not to run too hard by the coach as they are going to Oregon for an elite invitational this weekend. The 5 top runners, senior Kathryn Fisken along with teammates Alison Duvenez, Adrianna Royal, Jessica Denmon and Kimberly Kyle all ran the race together as a team. At the finish, the girls crossed the finish line together, punching a fist across the finish line and shouting "Wildcats" as they crossed. Even with their relaxed pace, they finished in 7th through 11th place. Even at the reduced pace, the girls beat all but one of the Everett runners. As a team, OH scored 45 points to land 2nd place in the meet.

The Boys Varsity race was similar, but different. The top boys were also going to Oregon and were told to hold back a little. Tyler King held back for about half the race, then he kicked it up a little, taking the lead before the 2-mile mark and keeping it to the end, finishing with a 1st place time of 16:47. Other top OH runners were Josh Duhrkopf, Cody Klauer, Michael Wright, and Matt Bolte, all of whom finished in the top 15. XC is in Seaside, Oregon for the weekend, and then is at Kamiak next Thursday.
Cross Country photos (149 of them) are posted here.

Girls Soccer
In Soccer, the JV girls played to a 0-0 tie with Stanwood. While it wasn't a win, the girls played hard. Coach Thompson was most impressed by the team defense, which did a good job in keeping the ball away from the Oak Harbor goal. On the Varsity side, the Wildcats lost 1-0 to 2-1 Stanwood- their 3rd 1-goal loss this year. Coach Barker had good things to say about his girls after the game, among them are "they didn't give up", and "they are a great group of girls...fun to coach". During the game, Coach said he discovered that he had two great bench players who went in and spurred the team. The lone Stanwood goal was a sloppy shot that happened to go in with less than a minute remaining in the 1st half. Next up for the soccer girls is at Everett on Tuesday the 23rd.

Volleyball
The Wildcats hosted Kamiak on Thursday at OHHS. In the Field House, the freshman team fought hard, but dropped all 3 game 5-25, 19-25 and 22-25. Coach Bjork said that despite the score, the first game was when her freshmen played best. The lopsided 1st game score was mostly due to Kamiak being able to get the ball to where our girls weren't. Games 2 and 3 were very close, aided by some good serving by Leah Pantoleon.

JV dropped 2 of their 3 games, 16-25, 25-18 and 23-25. The JV girls were in all 3 games, and according to Sophomore Janesa Ramos "we didn't give up". Sophomore Jordan Faralan added that she felt the team moved well on the court and played very good volleyball.

On Varsity, the Wildcats had their hand full against #5 ranked Kamiak of Mukilteo. Game one was close, with the Wildcats starting off 0-3, but knotting the score at 7 after some good volleyball. From there, though, Kamiak steadily opened a lead until at one point the score was 21-10 Kamiak. The 'Cats dug in, though, and some key kills by Senior Jennifer Jansen pulled Oak Harbor to within 5. From there, the teams traded points; neither gaining ground until the Wildcats simply ran out of points to give, falling 20-25 in the first. In the second, the girls came out fired up and ran to an early 3-1 lead. The game was extremely close, with neither team having more than a 3-point lead. The game continued past the normal 25 limit as in high school volleyball, a team has to win by 2 points. OH usually had the advantage during the extra points, but could not get that last point to end the game until Kamiak had a kill to take a one-point advantage, 27-26. A hitting error by the Knights tied it back up at 27, then a timely ace by Junior Emily Meagher followed by a Jansen kill won game 2 for the Wildcats 29-27. Game 3 was eerily similar, with both teams trading kills and hitting errors, keeping the game to within 2 points. With the score tied at 20, Kamiak went on a run of 5 straight points, including 2 service aces to win 25-20. Game 4 was just plain ugly for Oak Harbor as Kamiak showed why they held a state ranking. By the time the 'Cats got their first point, on a net violation by Kamiak, the Knights had scored 13. Even with kills by Jessica Muzzall, Devin Tanner, Kim Mowbray and Marisa Sutherland (back for her 1st game after an emergency appendectomy), Kamiak was able to place the ball well, earning numerous kills. In this game, it's not that the Wildcats were playing badly, it's that Kamiak stepped up and used ball placement to get through the Wildcat defense. Although the Wildcats lost the match, I think they showed they can play great volleyball against good teams, and should have a successful regular season. Look for some YouTube clips over the weekend. The volleyball girls get a week off from competition before facing 1-2 Jackson at home next Thursday.

Changes in the photo galleries

In order to reduce clutter, the photo galleries have been rearranged. All of the spring and summer photos have been moved into their own galleries, leaving the main galleries for current photos.

Right now, the youth sports galleries contains only soccer and football, the middle school gallery is empty (look for cross country and AAU girls basketball soon), and the high school gallery has only the fall sports, which will include fall league basketball.

Click here to get to the spring sports gallery. The spring sports gallery had all the high school spring sports, middle school track and little league baseball, as well as AAU and high school spring league basketball.

Click here to get to the summer sports gallery. The summer gallery is mostly girls basketball, but there is also boys basketball and volleyball.

In all galleries the photos are listed alphabetically by sport, then by date.

Hopefully this will reduce confusion and let you get to the photos you want a little faster.

Friday's varsity football game & new features

Don't forget, the varsity football game at Everett Stadium this Friday doesn't start until 8pm, as it's the nightcap of a double header. First up is Cascade against Mariner, which should be a pretty good game.

Also, Thursday will be a big sports day, with all 5 fall sports in action.
Football - the freshman team travels to Monroe to complete the football sweep of the Bearcats
Cross Country - the first meet of the year will be at the Wirth Farm on Boon Rd.
Girl's Swim - at the Vanderzicht Pool against 0-0Kamiak
Girls Soccer - at home vs 1-1 Stanwood
Volleyball - at home against 2-0 Kamiak

Pick a sport (or 2) and cheer on the Wildcats!

The Oak Harbor Sports report is adding a couple of new features.

First, there will be some sort of poll posted each weekend. The poll can be found at the top of the right hand column. Take 10 seconds and add your opinion.

Second, we're going to be adding player profiles. Each Friday, look for a profile of a JV player, and each Monday a varsity profile. If there is a player YOU would like to see profiled, either leave a comment or send an email to oakharborsportsreport@comcast.net.

First up for Friday is tennis player Geoff Worley.

Finally, don't forget to leave your comments! Feel free to get a discussion going in the comments or rate the video clips.

Tuesday's sports results

It wasn't a good day for Oak Harbor sports on Tuesday.

The Girl's Soccer team traveled to Arlington to face the 2-1 Eagles. The Eagles opened up their offense and two players scored two goals apiece to down the 'Cats 4-0. I don't have the JV results, so would someone help me out?

The Volleyball 'Cats went to to 2-1 Shorewood and took it all the way. OH started with a convincing 25-16 win in game one, and lost by only 2, 23-25 in game 2. The girls came back to take game 3 25-20, but let things get away in game 4, going down 17-25. In the final, 5th game, Shorewood showed poise and finished the match by winning 15-10. Even though the team lost, individual stats were helped by the 5-game match. Senior Kim Mowbray had 5 blocks and added 7 kills to her total, while setter Melany Cone tallied 5 service aces. In talking with Jen Jansen the next day, she couldn't really pin the loss on any one factor, but said hitting errors was the weak area for that match. She said the serving was great and the passing outstanding, but the team just didn't get the job done.

While I don't have game scores, the JV squad went 1-2 against Shorewood. They won the first, but couldn't keep the momentum up and lost the next two. The Freshman team was overpowered by Shorewood, losing all 3 games.

Next up for volleyball is a home match against Kamiak on Thursday, Sept 18th.

Boys Tennis - Monday and Wednesday

At Stanwood HS on Monday the 15th, the Wildcat tennis men fell in their first loss of the season, 4-3.

In the first 3 matches, OH did well in singles and not so well in doubles. It wasn't quite that way at Stanwood. The Wildcat #1, Derek Thomas fell in straight sets to Kyle Koetje, 6-2, 6-1. Stanwood #3 Nate Houde and #4 Kyle Kline gave their OH counterparts, Jordan Kingma and Josh Evans some stiff competition, but the OH men won in straight sets. Kingma won 6-3, 6-4 and Evans 6-4, 6-4. OH #2 Ryan Evans won easily, 6-1, 6-1.

In Double action, Wildcat #1 Paul Jewell and Joel Valles came THIS close to winning, but lost two sets to Stanwood. The scores were 7-6(3) for both sets. Just one more returned serve in each game could have seen the score the other way. OH doubled #2, Rick Baleros and David Marshal, and #3, Matthew Rice and Max O'Dell both lost by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores.

On Wednesday, undefeated Everett came to Oak Harbor, and they left still undefeated, but it was close.

Derek Thomas lost a close first set, 7-6(3), but in the second, with the score tied at 1-1, Thomas had to retired. He played with some forearm and shoulder pain in the first set, and in the second he started cramping in his leg and was forced to retire, forfeiting the second set. Ryan Evans lost his match 6-4, 7-6(3) while Jordan Kingma won his by the same scores. Josh Evans was the other OH singles winner with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

In doubles, the Jewell/Valles won Oak Harbor's first doubles match of the season, defeating the Everett #1 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. The Baleros/Marshall team lost 6-2, 6-1 and the Rice/O'Dell team lost 6-2, 6-0.

Photos from Wednesday's match are now posted at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/BTennis917Everett

Sorry, but I wasn't able to stay for the varsity doubles matches, so didn't get any photos.

Varsity football video clips posted

http://www.youtube.com/user/OakHarborSportsReport

JV Football vs Monroe on Sept 15th.

The Oak Harbor JV Football team faced off against the Monroe Bearcats at Wildcat Memorial Stadium on Monday, September 15th, and came away with the victory, 27-6.

Let me start by saying that I don’t know all the players’ names, and don’t have a roster to work from, so some names may be misspelled, or a player may be identified by number or misidentified. If an email is sent to me with the correct/first names and/or spelling, I will correct the article ASAP.

Going into the game, head coach Craig Nurvic’s plan was to run the ball effectively, which the team did, at first. Although it was a nice win, coach felt that penalties, especially on the offense, kept the score lower than it could have been. Coach did like what he saw from the defense, especially with tackling – wrapping up the ball carrier, but there were a couple of times the OH defense should have come up with interceptions rather than incompletions.

To start the game, the Wildcats kicked off deep, but Monroe was able to get a long return and started the game with the ball on the Oak Harbor 34. After two plays the Bearcats were down to the OH 22 with a first down, but a run attempt up the middle was stopped by #80. The next Monroe play was a sweep, but Aaron Boesch was able to slip in the backfield and tackle the runner for a 5 yard loss. Then, on a 4th & 18 play, a combined team of Boesch and Castillo sacked the Monroe QB while he was on a roll out for another 4 yard loss.

The Wildcats took over on their own 34, but went 3-and-out after quarterback Byrne was sacked for a 10 yard loss on a 3rd down play. On the bright side, the Wildcat punt from the OH 27 rolled all the way to the Monroe 20.

On Monroe’s next possession, the first 3 plays went nowhere, then on a 4th & 9, #80 tackled the runner short, and OH now had the ball on the Monroe 28. Nine plays later, 6 of them runs by Higbee, he ran in for the Wildcat touchdown, and with just 26 seconds left in the first, it was Oak Harbor 7, Monroe 0.

On the kickoff, #43 got downfield quickly and tacked the Monroe receiver at his own 25. A nice run by Monroe on the last play of the 1st quarter was stopped short of the first down by Sinchak with a solo tackle.

Starting the 2nd, Monroe had the ball on their own 33 with a 2nd & 2. After a false start flag and two incompletions, the Bearcats punted from their own 43. The kick was partially blocked but rolled to the OH 26. The ‘Cats were not able to move the ball, and after a holding call, were punting from their own 19, but it was solidly blocked giving Monroe the ball 1st & goal on the OH 5. In 4 plays the OH defense pushed the Monroe offense back 6 yards to the 11, and on a 4th down attempt, the Monroe QB was sacked by Ducken at the OH 17. On the first OH play after getting the ball on downs, Carbonne ran the ball out to midfield, but Monroe was able to strip the ball and recover it at the 50. The Wildcat defense again stopped Monroe in 3. On what otherwise was a great punt by Monroe, the downfield man, who was right on the ball, let it roll into the end zone instead of downing it, so OH got the ball on their own 20 rather than their own 1. The ‘Cats again could do nothing with the ball and punted from their own 11. This was just a bad punt, and the net was only 1 yard, so now Monroe had the ball on the OH 11. Monroe’s first play was a sweep to the left, but an OH player was flagged for helmet-to-helmet contact during the tackle, then OH got hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which moved the ball to just outside the 2 yard line. It took 3 tries, but Monroe was able to punch it in on 3rd down for the score, but failed to make the 2-pt conversion. With 1:22 left in the half, it was OH 7, Monroe 6. The Wildcats were forced to punt on their next possession, and after the high, short punt was caught, the receiver was immediately tackled by Peterson. Monroe had just over 1 minute to get another score, starting from their own 47, but time ran out during a 4th down attempt from the Wildcat 24, and at halftime it was OH 7, Monroe 6.

OH got the kickoff to open the 2nd half, and Andy Haag caught a well-thrown pass for the TD in a drive that lasted 2 plays and 55 seconds. This TD increased the OH lead to 14-6.

After the OH kickoff, Monroe fumbled the snap on the first play and the Wildcats recovered at the Monroe 36. This drive featured 3 incomplete passes, including a 4th down attempt from the Monroe 35 that dropped at the Monroe 15. Monroe got the ball on their own 35 with 10:16 left in the 3rd, and after a 17 play drive that used up 6 minutes of clock, the Bearcats came away empty. The drive featured two really nice tackles by Peterson and a controversial reception by Monroe. The Monroe receiver caught the ball at the sideline and went out of bounds towards the Wildcat stands. Everyone in the stands except the referee could see that the ball was juggled, so a catch and 1st down was awarded. It didn’t matter, as Monroe, again, could do nothing with a 1st & goal except move backwards from the OH 9 to the OH 14. OH was able to move the ball across midfield before the 3rd quarter ended with the Wildcats leading 14-6.

Starting the final quarter, the JV ‘Cats got the ball down to the Monroe 23 before the drive stalled and turned the ball over on downs. Monroe’s offense was still sputtering, and after a sack by Duncan and a tackle for loss by #51, Monroe punted from their own 22. A high snap and pressure by the Wildcat defense caused the Monroe punter to shank the kick which went out of bounds at the Monroe 26.

Oak Harbor then put together another 2-play touchdown drive, this one lasting only 18 seconds. This drive featured a catch and run by Boesch to the 4, then some 2nd & 3rd effort running by Higbee for the score. OH 21, Monroe 6.

Monroe returned the ensuing kickoff from their own 23 to near midfield, but turned the ball over on 4 straight incompletions. OH punted from their own 45, and the defense kept up the pressure on the Monroe QB, forcing two incompletions and two sacks.

OH now had the ball on the Monroe 22. A really nice run on a broken play by Burgoyne went around the right side down to the 10. It was called back, as just as Burgoyne started running, the ref coughed into his whistle, and the play was ruled dead after a gain of only 1 yard. Runs by Higbee, Carbonne, & #84 moved the ball down to the Monroe 7, but a 4th down run failed to make it to the end zone, giving Monroe a chance to score with 1:52 left in the game.

Monroe ran the ball 5 yards up the middle and called a time out with 1:10 left. The pass by Monroe was snagged by Curles at the 19 and ran it to the end zone. The kick failed, setting the score at 27-6 in favor of OH.

After two runs from the Monroe 33 to the Oak Harbor 32, Monroe had their final pass attempt intercepted at the 15 by #84. OH took a single knee to end the game with the final score of Oak Harbor 27, Monroe 6.

38 photos have been posted HERE

13 Video clips are HERE

Girls Swimming - practice photos

42 photos from a practice on Sept 15th have been posted.

http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/GSwim915practice

Volleyball video clips

9 clips posted to YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/OakHarborSportsReport

Saturday at Ft. Nugent Park - football and soccer

It was a very busy day at Ft. Nugent Park in Oak Harbor this past Saturday, with 3 youth football games and a bunch of soccer games. Names of players will only be given for the Junior football game, as it is the policy of the Oak Harbor Sports Report to not use names of athletes who are below middle school age.

I'll start with the two soccer games that I know about. Coach Troy Cowan and his U-10 Blue Knights, sponsored by P&L Contractors played a team from Coupeville. The Knights sprinted to a 4-0 first half lead, helped by the outstanding play of the two goalies who stopped every shot on goal. In the second half, Coupeville got in the game with a pair of goals, but the Blue Knights answered with 3 goal of their own to take the game 7-2. Coach Cowan was particularly impressed with the play of the goalies, and with his forward that scored 3 of the team's 7 goals.

In U-12 action, the Oak Harbor Breakers, sponsored by the Oak Harbor Pizza Factory and the Northwest Training Academy, beat a tough Stanwood team 3-1 in a Skagit Valley Youth Soccer game. The two teams played to a 1-1 halftime tie, and shortly after starting 2nd half play, the Breakers avoided giving Stanwood the lead when a penalty kick went over the net. The Breakers went to to score 2 more goals for the victory. The Coach was proud of his girls, and noted that the win was a total team victory, and that good communication between the girls on the field was a key. 59 photos from this game have been posted HERE

Moving to the Oak Harbor Youth Football League, 3 games were played at Ft. Nugent Field. First up was the midget Cougars vs Everett. The game was all Oak Harbor from the beginning, and the team extended their undefeated record to 3-0 with a 47-6 win. The coach attributed much of the scoring gap to his defense, which shut down the Everett offense, keeping them off the field and giving the OH offense more opportunities to score. The win was a total team effort. The Cougars have a bye next week. A few photos have been posted HERE

The Junior Jaguar team played at 11 against the Bulldogs from Mt. Vernon, and again, Oak Harbor dominated both side of the ball. During the first half, the Jags scored 4 touchdowns on the way to a 27-0 lead. The first two were by Sheyenne Sams on run plays, then Zach Jones caught a pass from Sturdevant, and a run by Brent Mertens finished the first half scoring.

Opening the 2nd half Mt. Vernon got on the board first, but the kickoff was fielded by Jones and returned to the end zone and a 34-7 Oak Harbor lead. Mt. Vernon followed with another TD but didn't convert, leaving the score at 34-13. The Mt. Vernon defense stiffened, and on an Oak Harbor punt attempt, the snap went high and over the punter's head. MV capitalized on this error and scored again, closing the score to 34-20.

34 points was not enough for Sams, who scored again on the ground, moving the scoreboard to 40-20. The Bulldogs took the OH kickoff all the way down to the OH 32, and after a acouple of plays tried to pass it into the end zone, but it was picked off by Jones right at the goal line. He ran it back up the sideline to about the 30 where a Mt. Vernon player knocked the ball out of his hands. Raymond Quinday, a very large lineman, was right with Jones when the ball came out, picked it up off the ground and finished what Jones started. Time ran out during the play, leaving the final score at 46-20. Coack Skerjanec said it was a "wonderful, all-around performance by 1-35 on the team". In addition to the offensive output, cousins Troy and Jacob Sturdevant were a force on defense, along with Rhys Mattila and Blaine Coleman. We're looking forward to seeing these players on the high school team in the next few years. 44 game photos and 25 cheerleader photos are HERE.

Finally, the Pee-Wee Lynx team faced an inexperienced and very small, both in size and numbers, team from Darrington. The Lynx received the opening kickoff and #80 returned it straight to the end zone. When Darrington first got the ball, the went 3-and-out with a loss of 10 yards. Due to the penetration of the Lynx defensive line, Darrington wasn't even able to get the ball handed off. Other first-half scores were made by #22 on a 4th & 1 play, #29 on a nice run from the 40, and #37 who ran a sweep around the right from midfield.

In the 2nd half, Darrington got on the board twice, both scored on runs by the QB. The Lynx scored one more touchdown when a pitch by the quarterback was fumbled, but he picked it up and ran around the right side to pay dirt. After the game, Coach Bell said "everyone gave everything all game", and the key to the game was the dominance of the Lynx defensive line. 38 game photos and 16 cheer photos have been posted HERE. The photos include team photos with the famous Lynxmobile.

OH Football, 9-12-08

The Oak Harbor Wildcats traveled to Monroe for their first league game of the season and came away with a 28-10 win.

This is the second year in a row the Wildcats have hit the road to Monroe. Last year the Wildcats pounded Monroe 47-21 in a pouring rain during Monroe's 0-10 season. This year the Bearcats started out with a new coach, and a win, beating Shorewood 20-6.

Monroe got the opening kick at their own 35, but after an 11 yard gain on the first play, wound up punting 4 plays later after two tackles for loss and a sack. OH mufffed the punt, but it looked to me like it was interference. In the end, OH got the ball on their own 35, but could do nothing with it, punting with a 4th and 9 on their own 36. Monroe brought the punt out to the 34, but backed up to the 25 due to an illegal block. 4 plays later they punted back to Oak Harbor, who returned the favor after 5 plays. With just over 3 minutes left in the first and Monroe on their own 34 with 2nd & 8, Clarence LaMont intercepted the Monroe pass at the 50, returning it to the Monroe 37. Runs by Brad Farnum, Donovan Hunt and Stephen Lewis, along with a Lewis reception had the ball down to the Monroe 10 and a 3rd & 1 when time ran out in the first with the score 0-0.

Starting the 2nd, Farnum ran the ball down to the 7 and Hunt took it into the end zone with 11:25 left in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Monroe returner fielded the ball at his own 1, and was able to run the ball all the way to the Oak Harbor 37 before being tackled by kicker Kevin Flavin. It was a really nice solo tackle. Flavin wrapped him up and brought him down in a textbook manner.

Monroe then moved the ball down to the 22, and were facing a 4th & 4. Going for it, the Monroe QB through a pass that looked like it could be intercepted, but instead OH was called for Pass Interference and Monroe had a new set of downs at the OH 11 with 7:50 left in the half. Two plays later the Monroe running back went around the left and and dove across the corner of the end zone for the TD with 6:06 remaining.

OH took the short Monroe kick at the 32, running it out to the 41. After an incomplete pass, Lewis took the ball 59 yards for the score, making it 14-7 OH with 5:48 left.

Monroe retaliated with a a nice drive of 4 runs and 3 passes, including a 22-yard catch for a score, knotting the score at 14. OH was able to move the ball to the Monroe 45 before time ran out in the half.

OH received the opening kick of the 2nd half, but went 3-and-out. A rather poor punt gave Monroe great field position at the OH 48. Monroe, assisted by another Oak Harbor Pass Interference call, moved the ball to the Wildcat 15, but the defense stiffened, and a Monroe field goal attempt with about 6 minutes left in the 3rd was about a yard short.

OH took over on their own 20, and 8 plays and 3 flags later, Hunt ran in from the 19 to put OH in the lead for good. During the drive there was a nice run by QB James Jordan, and after what appeared to be two penalties, gave OH the ball at the 19 with a 1st down.

Monroe started their next possession with an illegal procedure penalty, then threw 3 straight incompletions before punting. The Wildcats started their drive with 2 minutes left in the 3rd and the ball on their own 43. After a run by Hunt and Lewis, two runs and a nice 15-yard reception by Farnum, the ball was on the 5. Jordan gave the ball to Lewis who slipped in the end zone to build a 28-14 OH lead.

Monroe muffed the kickoff and started from their own 18, ran one play, and started the 4th quarter with a 1st & 10 from theri own 31. After coming out of the quarter break, and before running a play, the Monroe coach called a timeout. Monroe then proceeded to move the ball across midfield. On one play the Wildcats were able to flush the Monroe quarterback, and he was tackled for a 2-yard loss by Javon Payne. The Wildcats held after that play and Monroe turned the ball over on downs after an incomplete pass with a 4th & 5 on the Wildcat 39. The 'Cats then only moved the ball 6 yards before punting themselves. Monroe moved the ball from their own 22 to the Oak Harbor end zone with 8 plays and in just under 2 minutes. OH was able to get a hand on the Monroe PAT kick, leaving the Wildcats with a 28-20 lead and 3:56 left in the game.

Monroe attempted the onside kick, but OH was able to recover at the 'Cat 43. After a couple of runs by Farnum and a Jordan run, OH faced a 3-1 (I thought) on the Monroe 47. The refs looked at the ball, which I thought was just under a yard short, and without measuring, awarded OH a first down. OH was able then to run the ball 3 times, gaining one more first down, allowing Jordan to take a knee with 0:47 left.

Video highlights will be coming either Monday or Tuesday.

Some impressions from the game (I was on the Monroe side taping the game). It was REALLY noisy in the home stands. Even after an 0-10 season, the fans, especially the students, were out in force and were loud and proud. Second, Jordan showed a lot more poise and patience behind the line. Finally, Monroe football is back. They played hard and looked good. Their QB had a nice arm and completed (as far as our defense is concerned) way too many passes.

Next up for football is the JV squad vs Monroe at Wildcat Memorial Stadium on Monday, then Freshmen at Monroe on Thursday, finally Varsity vs Everett at Everett Stadium next Friday.

See you there!

Boys Tennis now 3-0 on season

In what was a near repeat of Wednesday's match against Lake Stevens, the Wildcats hosted Arlington and won 4-3. All 4 singles players won thier matches while the doubles teams lost.

One significant difference is that the match between #2 Ryan Evans and Ari Fernando went to 3 sets. Evans won the first 6-4, lost the 2nd 3-6, but pulled out a 6-4 win in the third.

#1 Derek Thomas won 6-4, 6-2, Jordan Kingma 6-1, 6-1, and Josh Evans 6-1, 6-0.

In doubles action, #1 Paul Jewell/Max O'Dell lost 6-1, 6-2, Baleros and Marshall 6-3, 6-2, and Rice/Holbrook 6-0, 6-1.

Sorry, no photos as I was in Monroe for the football game.

Volleyball from Sep. 11th

The Wildcats hosted Burlington-Edison in a non-league match this past Thursday with mixed results.

In the field house, the freshman team won all three games, and from what I saw, serving was again a large part of their success.

The JV team also won their match, posting 25-10, 25-14, and 25-14 game scores. The JV girls opened game one by building a 3-0 lead before a service error and hitting error made it 3-2 for the 'Cats. The girls dug in, and behind 2 aces each by Kelly Pantoleon and Lauren Lewis, built the lead to 17-4. The girls got a little flat after that, letting B-E creep up a little, mostly again through hitting and service errors. With the score 20-10 OH, two kills by Lewis and two more aces by Pantoleon finished off game 1.

Game 2 started with a Heather Felps kill, but the early parts of this game were back and forth, and B-E stayed close, with the score 10-8 OH at one point. From there, the Wildcats tallied 5 straight points, including 3 aces. OH then let B-E back in the game with a service error and some mishandled B-E serves until the score was 15-12. The next 3 points all belonged to Jordan Faralan, the setter, who got a nice tap for a kill then two straight aces, then Felps had a nice block at the net to make the score 19-12 OH. The match ended with 4 straight OH points, 2 kills by Lewis, one by Janesa Ramos, and a tap across the net by Felps.

In game 3, B-E played hard in the beginning, holding a 6-4 lead at one point, and still holding close at mid-game, down 10-8. From there, B-E served OOB for a Wildcat point, Felps earned a point, and Kristine Bouchard added a nice kill to build a 13-8 Wildcat lead. With the score 17-12, OH went on another multi-point run, building the lead to 21-12 before another service error gave a point and sideout to the Tigers, but it wasn't enough as a final Lewis kill ended the match in favor of Oak Harbor.

Varsity was a hard-fought battle and exposed some weaknesses in the Wildcats. Starting game one, B-E, showing poise and teamwork, built a 6-0 lead before letting OH on the board with a hitting error. A flurry of kills, hitting errors let B-E maintain their lead, but following a service error by the Tigers, Jen Jansen had 2 nice back-to-back kills to close the score to 12-10 Burlington. Then a Jessica Muzzall kill and hitting errors by Burlington allowed the Wildcats to tie the game at 14. Kim Mowbray brought the 'Cats their first lead with a solo block in the center of the net, but B-E tied things back up with a dump set. The game continued in this back and forth manner until the score was tied at 25. Remember in high school volleyball, the first team to 25 wins, provided they are ahead by 2 points. The last two points were a Jansen kill and a really nice Devin Tanner ace, leaving OH with the 27-25 win.

Game 2 started out well, with a hard serve by setter Melany Cone falling untouched, but it was going to be Oak Harbor's only lead of the game. In what seemed like a continual stream of hitting and service errors by Oak Harbor let B-E build a lead of 7 at 19-12. The Wildcats were never really able to recover and went on to drop the game 25-20.

Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. In game 3, although Oak Harbor had a 1 or 2 point lead for most of the first half of the game, B-E tied it at 18, and allowed only 1 more OH point during the game, winning 25-19. At the end of game 3, the Burlington team looked strong, but hard as it is to say, our girls looked like a team that had already lost. They switched side of the net in a dispirited manner hanging their heads down.

Coach Molitor worked some of her magic, and in game 4, the girls built an early 3-0 lead, but again service and hitting errors, along with strong B-E play proved costly. B-E found a hole in the middle of the OH court, and on several occasions, instead of hitting the ball hard, 'dinked' it just over the defender's heads where it fell in an open spot for points.

Even with the loss, there were several high points. Jen Jansen scored 13 kills and 3 aces, Emily Meagher added two aces of her own, and Muzzall was a force at the net both offensively and defensively.

The volleyball team is in Yakima this weekend for a tournament at the Sun Dome.

Photos of Thursday's match can be found at http://www.shutterfly.com/pro/OakHarborSports/highschool/VB911BE

Video clips will be posted in the next day or two HERE