AAU Girls Basketball - SWISH League

Both of the Oak Harbor Girls Basketball teams in the Skagit Whatcom Island Snohomish Hoops (SWISH) League were in action Saturday, November 29th at Mt. Baker Middle School in Mt. Vernon.
First up was the 5th/6th grade team. The girls are coached by Keely Smollack, an OHHS graduate and former OHHS basketball player. The team has struggled this season, and on Saturday faced the Regulators team from Bellingham. The Wildcats came into the game with a 0-6 record while the Regulators were 4-3.
The records didn’t mean much to the Wildcats, as they sprinted out to an early lead, and at the end of the 1st period were ahead 10-2. Much of the credit for the lead should go to the Wildcat post players. They were getting shots off that were going in, and were exceptional on rebounding – both offensive and defensive. By halftime the score was 14-4 for the Wildcats.
In the 2nd half, the Regulators mounted a comeback, getting some points on the board and keeping a lot of the Wildcat offense in check. At the end of 3 it was OH 18 Regulators 14. In the 4th the Wildcats scored once and the Regulators twice once to close the gap to 2 points with several minutes left in the game. The Regulators had several chances to score and tie the game, but the Wildcat defense held them off, and the Wildcats won their first game of the season 22-18.
The other Oak Harbor team is made up of 8th grade girls and is having a good year. The 4-1 Wildcats were matched up against the 2-4 Snohomish Rock. The first few minutes were fast, with the Wildcats scoring twice early, but that was all the Oak Harbor scoring for the first period, which ended in a 4-4 tie. The 2nd period was not much better; with the Wildcats scoring only a single free throw with just a few seconds left in the half, but only allowed a single field goal by Snohomish. It was a low-scoring 6-5 Snohomish lead at the half.
The Wildcats opened up in the 3rd period, getting the offense rolling. The first score of the 2nd half was by Ciera Wiser, who also scored the last field goal of the game, then Emilie Renninger scored to put the ‘Cats ahead for good 9-8. A pair of field goals by Melanie Martin and another by Renninger pushed the lead to 15-9. The Rock was able to score one more basket, but the Wildcats won going away, 20-11.

20 photos from the 5th/6th grade game are posted HERE.

17 images from the 8th grade team are HERE.

Girls Basketball preview

This year’s girls basketball team will have quite a few changes. Starting in the coaching area, while all 4 coaches from last year are returning, some responsibilities have been shifted. On the court, the team lost a lot of seniors from last year, but the coaches are confident about the girls who are filling those spots.
The freshman team is coached by Todd Showalter, in his 11th year of coaching, 7 of them at OHHS. He’s originally from Medical Lake, WA where he played some basketball, and now teaches 9th & 10th grade English at Oak Harbor High School. He enjoys coaching basketball as the format of the game gives a coach more options to be competitive and pull wins out of close games. Last year the freshman squad compiled a 16-4 record, and more importantly, none of the girls on the team were even close to having grade problems. In looking over his girls, he finds that they are fairly even in their skill level and desire, and there are no standout players this year. The team will be guard-heavy, and lacking in some height, but coach Showalter still expects the team to be competitive, not only on the court but in the classroom. His personal goal for the season is to relax and enjoy the game more by reducing the pressure he puts on himself.
The JV squad will be coached by last year’s varsity assistant, Bob Stremel, in his 5th year in Oak Harbor. Coach Stremel is originally from Hutchinson, Kansas and is retired. He’s been coaching for 40 years in a variety of sports, including baseball, softball and track in addition to basketball. Last year’s team had only 1 junior, so there are a lot of girls returning to the team experienced in working with each other. Coach will be leaning on his two guards, Molly Deleon and Janelle Yoshimoto to direct the offense and is counting on Jessica James and Ariel Brothers for good inside play. This year’s team features some new faces, Adrianna Royal; a sophomore transfer from Coupeville is expected to get a lot of playing time as are the two freshmen who went straight to JV.
Fred Burleson will be the varsity assistant this year after coaching JV for the last 6 years. Originally from Oklahoma City, the United States Marine Corps brought Coach Burleson to Oak Harbor where he settled. When not coaching, he can be found at the Living Faith Church on Midway where he is an associate Pastor. When asked why he coaches basketball, he said “Because I love the game”. He went on to add that he enjoys the teaching aspect of coaching, and likes to coach the girls as he feels they play a more fundamentally sound game. He expects the team will get to the district tournament, and is planning a good finish for the seniors by coaching them in the State Tournament in March. His personal goal is to improve his game planning.
Starting his 7th year as the OHHS head coach is Brett McLeod. He’s from Renton, WA where he attended Kentridge HS, but has been in Oak Harbor for 10 years, teaching history and coaching basketball and football. Like Coach Burleson, Coach McLeod has a genuine love for the sport and also enjoys the teaching aspect. When asked about highlights from last year, he said it was beating Marysville on their own court in the District Tournament last year, and the two teams are starting to form a rivalry. The team is returning 4 players from last year. Junior Jessica Denmon, a 3rd year starter will be launching her outside bombs, and Senior guard Cheyenne Tubo will be providing leadership both on and off the court. Moving up from JV, and expected to contribute a lot to the team are Senior Kathryn Fisken and Sophomore Clarissa Abadesco. Coach McLeod is pleased with the chemistry in the team, and fully expects to enjoy the journey as the team returns to the District Tournament.

Timeout with...Jesus Alvarado - Boys Swim

Jesus Alvarado, Jr., a senior, just started his first year on the Oak Harbor High School swim team. Born on May 29th, he has spent the last 3 years here in Oak Harbor, but has also lived in Japan, California, and Guam. He is the son of Jesus Alvarado, who is retired from the Navy and now works as a helicopter mechanic at NAS Whidbey, and Aileen Alvarado, who has gone back to school to be a dental hygienist. He has one brother, who is a sophomore at OHHS.

Jesus joined the swim team as a way to keep fit, and he has set several goals for himself for the year. First among them is to lower his times each meet, particularly in the breaststroke. He considers his strongest area his arms, but knows there are areas where he can improve. He wants to work most on getting more out of his leg work, especially since the breaststroke needs a strong kick.

In class, Jesus is a strong student. He’s in Mr. Turner’s AP Calculus class, which is his favorite this year, but overall, his favorite teacher was Mrs. Lujan, who is no longer at OHHS. He’s getting good grades in tough classes, which he will need, as his post-high school goal is to become an electronic engineer, specializing in nanotechnology. After completing his degree, he would like to return to Japan to practice his craft. He has some good memories of his time in Japan, especially when he was in the school band there.

When not studying or in the pool (which isn’t often), Jesus likes to watch movies, especially comedies. One of his favorites is “Kung Pow”, a martial arts spoof. He doesn’t watch much TV, and will listen to just about any kind of music except Country. You can also find him quite often in the company of his girlfriend, Beverly Gianino – they’ve been going out for nearly a year and a half.

Tyler King places in Nike BorderClash Cross Country race

Tyler King, a Coupeville HS sophomore who runs for the OHHS cross country team placed 31st on the 4,400 meter course in Beaverton, Oregon in 14:53. The race features top runners from Oregon and Washington, and the race was dominated by Washington runners, who took the top 14 places.
In other cross country news, the University of Washington girls Cross Country team won the NCAA championships last weekend.

All-WESCO teams

The Everett Herald just released their All-WESCO team, and many OHHS athletes are on the lists.
Cross Country - Tyler King and Allison Duvenez were first team, Josh Duhrkopf and Adrianna Royal 2nd team, and Cody Klauer was honorable mention.
Football - Greg Goebel made 1st team linebacker and Chris Neumiller 2nd team offensive line. Also on 2nd team offense were running back Donovan Hunt and kicker Kevin Flavin. 3 players were also on 2nd team defense - Yale Rosen on the line, Stephen Lewis at linebacker, and Clarence LaMont at defensive back.
Rashaad Smith, Bennett Richter and James Jordan were honorable mentions.
Girls Soccer - Carson McKole was names 1st team forward, while Claire Trepanier was an honorable mention defender.
Boys Tennis - Derek Thomas - 1st team singles
Volleyball - Jessica Muzzall was named as a 1st team hitter while teammate Jen Jansen was named to the 2nd team.
A complete listing for all fall sports can be found at the Herald's website.

Boys swimming preview

The Oak Harbor High School boys swim team has a new coach this year. Amy Nurvic, a Language Arts teacher at NWMS is the new head coach for the boys swim team. Originally from Lynnwood, Coach Nurvic graduated from Mariner HS where she swam for 3 years. She would have swum a 4th year, but spent a year studying in France. Her specialties were the Individual Medley and the Breaststroke.
She has been coaching almost continuously since high school in a variety of sports, and has a lot of swim experience. She was the coach at Mariner for 4 years, coached at the middle school level for 3 years, and has also coached Club/AAU swimming. She coaches swimming more than any other sport because "it's my favorite sport".
While this year's team is small in numbers, it's big on quality. Returning to lead the team both in the pool and in school are Bryce Vagt, and John Hu, who is returning to defend his 200 IM state championship placing from last year. John also had State experience last year in the 100 back (5th), and as a member of the 400 medley relay (14th).
The team makeup is unusual in that it's made up mostly of seniors and sophomores - there is only one junior and two freshmen on the team.
Both of the freshmen have a lot of swimming experience, swimming for the North Whidbey Aquatic Club. Coach Nurvic has been especially impressed by Jacob Jepson, saying "he's fast".
Other returners with State Meet experience are Price Hu, 21st in the 200IM, 18th in the 100 Fly, and a member of the 200 medley relay; Yale Rosen, 16th in the 100 breast and on the medley relay team; and Tyler Schell, the distance swimmer who finished 17th in the 500 free and 16th in the 100 breast.
Among Coach Nurvic's goals for the team this year, besides winning swim meets, is to build up the boys swim program at OHHS. She'd like to see more of her boys swimming for the AAU club in the off-season to improve the skills and abilities, and she wants to push the numbers as well.
Personally, she wants to reacquaint herself with the sport, being away from competitive swimming for a few years.
The first home meet for the Wildcat swimmers is next week, December 4th against Stanwood. Admission to all home swim meets is FREE.

Middle School Volleyball - OHMS vs NWMS

The North Whidbey Middle School Cougars traveled across town to play the Oak Harbor Middle School Panthers in the first of what will be 4 matches between the two teams.
The day started at 3:45pm with the 7th & 8th grade "B" squads playing on side-by-side courts. Since a lot of other middle school programs have dropped JV teams, this is one of the few chances for the girls to play another team.
Following the "B" squad action, the Varsity teams took the court. The 7th & 8th grade teams also played on side-by-side courts, but there were surprisingly few interruptions by balls going into the other court.
The OHMS 7th grade team is coached by Dan Pullen, a retired teacher who still subs quite a bit in the district, while the NWMS team is coached by Lindsey Brockett, an 8th grade English teacher at NWMS. Game one of the 7th grade match went to Oak Harbor 25-23, and the Panthers also won game 2 25-18 to win the match. Game 3 however, went to NWMS 25-21.
In 8th grade action, NWMS, coached by Sarah Stephenson, a 7th grade Language Arts teacher at NWMS won game 1 25-17, and seemed in control. However, the OHMS team, coached by OHHS head volleyball coach Kerri Molitor was not going down without a fight. In a very close game 2, the Panthers pulled out a 26-24 win to tie the match. Game 3 was close early, but OHMS made fewer unforced errors and won game 3 25-19.
The two teams play each other again on December 1st, 8th, and 16th all at NWMS as the gym there has more room for spectators.

8th grade varsity photos are posted HERE.

7th grade varsity photos are posted HERE.

Boys basketball preview

The Oak Harbor High School Boys Basketball team is led by 3rd-year coach Michael Washington. Coach Washington is originally from Eastman, Georgia, but now calls Oak Harbor home, thanks to the US Navy. He is still on active duty with the US Navy, and plans to retire in less than two years. He played 4 years of varsity basketball in high school, and has been coaching basketball for over 15 years in a variety of settings. When asked why basketball, coach had a simple answer “I love it!”.
While the varsity team had a disappointing last year, winning only 4 games, the coach is optimistic for this year’s team. He expects strong on-and-off court leadership from returning senior Jimmy Edens, backed up by 6 other seniors: Zac Cole, Beaux Haley, Brooks Waller, John Manni, Josh Fikse and Phil Nadeau. Moving up from last year’s freshman team, Sophomore Denzel Hardin is expected to be a factor on the team, as is freshman Michael Washington, Jr. at point guard.
Coach Washington has set several goals for this year’s team, first among them is to play as a team, and “be together”. When the game ends, he wants the team to be happy that the scoreboard is in favor of the Wildcats, and not be concerned with which players put the points on the board. On a personal level, Coach wants to improve his teaching of the fundamentals, with an emphasis on defense
When asked what some keys were to success this season, one of the first things Coach mentioned was fan support, especially from the students. They players all notice how full (or empty) the student section is, and the coach notices that the team tends to play better when supported by a ‘loud and proud’ student section.
Coaching the JV team this year, and it may possibly be his last year, is Jim Waller. Jim retired from teaching English at OHHS two years ago. He is an Oak Harbor native, and has coached basketball (and baseball) for 32 years, all in Oak Harbor. Coach Waller says he coaches basketball as it was a family thing – when he was in high school, his father was the basketball coach at OHHS.
As with the varsity team, the JV team did not see a lot of success on the court during games, but did meet with a lot of success at practice. Coach Waller says the thing he remembers best from last year is the improvements in both individual and team play the boys made during the course of the season. Coach says he has some good talent on the team, and they should do well this year.
As is typical with JV squads, while it’s nice to win games, the emphasis for the team is improvement and getting ready to play varsity. There are a lot of sophomores on this year’s JV team, with leadership provided by juniors Nate Young and Colby Anter.
The freshman squad again is headed by Justin Ronning, in his 2nd year with the team. Justin played 3 years of varsity basketball at Selkirk HS in Ione, WA, and has been coaching basketball for 12 years, 8 of them in Oak Harbor. Like Coach Washington, Coach Ronning also loves the game of basketball. He is the PE teacher at Crescent Harbor Elementary School.
Last year the freshman squad compiled a 17-3 record, and Coach expects this year’s squad to continue with that type of success. He is looking at Matt Burgoyne, Edward Denmon and Kevawn Brooks to lead the team on the court.
The prime goal for the freshman team this year is to get better – a little bit every day. The team has already impressed their coach with their work ethic and intensity, and they are working on becoming more disciplined, both on the court and in the classroom.
Coach Ronning is assisted this year by Jon Atkins from Sutter, CA. He is new to Oak Harbor, and jumped straight into coaching.

4A Football playoffs - Bothell loses!

Issaquah kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to beat Bothell!

Youth Wrestling @ Ferndale 11-22

21 wrestlers traveled to north for the Ferndale Folkstyle Tournament at Ferndale High School.
Out of the 21 boys, 4 were first-place finishers. 3 wrestlers finished in 2nd, and another 3 in third. 5 wrestlers had 4th-place finishes.
All-in-all a good day for the Wildcat wrestlers!
54 images have been posted. Find them by clicking HERE.

Cheer squad update

The OHHS Cheer Squad actually had a competition today, their first. It was a qualifier for state, with a minimum score of 195 needed to qualify.
Oak Harbor scored 239!

Great job to the girls and boys of the cheer squad! Keep up the good work!

OHHS Competition Cheer Schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Competition Cheer schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
While most people think of cheerleaders as being on the sidelines during sporting event, Competitive Cheer is a sport itself, and OHHS has one of the top squads in the state. The will be at 4 competitions this year, in the Large Co-Ed division
12/13 – Decatur Invitational @ Federal Way
12/20 - Spiritfest @ Oak Harbor
1/17 – Harbor Invitational @ Peninsula High School, Gig Harbor
1/24 – WIAA State @ Everett Event Center

OHHS Girls Basketball Schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Girls Basketball schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
Except for the Santa Slam Tournament, all games have a JV/Freshman start time of 5:40pm and Varsity at 7:30pm. Also note that there are several Saturday games this year.
12/3 @ Mountlake Terrace
12/6 Bellingham
12/12 Cascade
12/17 @ Snohomish
12/19 @ Everett
12/20 Lake Stevens
1/2 & 3 - 3rd Annual Santa Slam Tournament @ OHHS
1/6 Arlington
1/8 @ Stanwood
1/10 Monroe
1/14 Marysville
1/21 @ Cascade
1/23 Snohomish
1/28 Everett
1/30 @ Lake Stevens
2/4 @ Arlington
2/6 Stanwood - Senior Night
2/10 @ Monroe
2/12 @ Marysville
2/13 WESCO Tiebreaker, if needed
2/14-27 - District Tournament @ Marysville

OHHS Boys Basketball schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Boys Basketball schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.

With the exception of the Woodinville Jamboree and the Santa Slam Tournament, all games have a JV/Freshman start time of 5:40pm and Varsity tip-off at 7:30pm.

Also note that there are several Saturday games, and one Monday game.

11/29 @ Woodinville Jamboree
12/5 @ Glacier Peak
12/9 vs Burlington
12/12 @ Cascade
12/16 vs Snohomish
12/19 vs Everett
12/20 @ Lake Stevens
12/26 & 27 1st Annual Santa Slam Tournament @ OHHS
1/6 @ Arlington
1/8 vs Stanwood
1/10 @ Monroe
1/13 @ Marysville
1/20 vs Cascade
1/23 @ Snohomish
1/27 @ Everett
1/30 vs Lake Stevens
2/3 vs Arlington
2/6 @ Stanwood
2/9 vs Monroe
2/11 vs Marysville - Senior Night
2/12 WESCO Tiebreaker, if needed
12/13-28 - District Tournament @ Jackson & Marysville
3/4 - State Tournament @ Tacome Dome

OHHS Wrestling schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Wrestling schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
All dual meets have a JV start time of 5:45pm, with Varsity at 7pm. Tournaments start between 9 - 10 am.
12/5 @ Mariner vs Kamiak & Mariner
12/11 vs Mountlake Terrace @ OHHS
12/13 - Varsity @ Sedro Tournament, JV @ Snohomish Tournament
12/16 @ Snohomish
12/18 @ Everett
12/20 - Varsity @ Squalicum Tournament, JV @ Everett Tournament
1/3 - Varsity @ Eastmont Tournament, JV @ Arlington Tournament
1/7 vs Arlington @ OHHS
1/9 vs Stanwood @ OHHS
1/10 @ Everett Classic Tournament
1/13 vs Marysville @ OHHS
1/17 @ Kelso Tournament
1/22 @ Monroe
1/24 - Varsity @ Tahoma Tournament, JV @ Cavalero (Lake Stevens) Tourney
1/27 vs Cascade @ OHHS
1/29 vs Lake Stevens @ OHHS - Senior Night
2/6 & 7 - WESCO Tournament @ Marysville
2/14 - Regional Tournament @ TBD
2/20 & 21 - State Tournament @ Tacoma Dome

OHHS Boys Swim Schedule 2008-2009

Below is the Oak Harbor High School Boys Swim schedule for 2008-2009. Keep in mind that all sports schedules, especially in winter, are subject to change with little notice.
All home swim meets start at 2:45pm. Away meets have various start times, ranging from 2:45pm to 3:30pm. Saturday dive competitions start at 10am
12/2 @ Lynden YMCA vs Lynden
12/4 - Stanwood at Vanderzicht Pool
12/9 - Jackson at Vanderzicht Pool
12/11 @ Lynnwood Pool vs Meadowdale & Lynnwood
12/16 - Snohomish & Glacier Peak at Vanderzicht Pool
1/8 @ Everett vs Everett (Mill Creek or Forest Park Pool)
1/10 @ Marysville or Anacortes - Diving competition
1/13 @ Kamiak Pool vs Mariner & Jackson
1/15 @ Everett vs Cascade (Mill Creek or Forest Park Pool)
1/17 @ Kamiak Pool - Diving competition
1/20 - Burlington & Sedro @ Vanderzicht Pool
1/22 @ Lake Stevens Pool vs Lake Stevens
1/24 @ Marysville or Anacortes - Diving competition
1/27 @ Mt. Vernon vs Mt. Vernon
1/29 @ Marysville vs Marysville
2/5 - JV Championships @ Kamiak Pool

2/12 - 4A North Sectionals @ Marysville
2/13 - 4A North Dive prelims @ Marysville
2/14 - 4A North District Finals @ Marysville
2/20&21 - State @ Federal Way

Girls Swimming

Here are OH results from the State Swim meet last weekend in Federal Way. OHHS sent two swimmers, Freshman Ciara Hu and Sophomore Amanda Struebel (who is from Coupeville). Hu competed in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly while Streubel was in the 100 backstroke.

Ciara finished 18th overall in the 200 IM with a time of 2:16.50, and finished 21st in the butterfly event with a time of 1:02.66.

Amanda was had the 11th best time coming out of the prelims with a time of 1:02.01 and swam in the finals. Although her finals time was .3 seconds slower, she moved up a place to finish 10th overall.

Congratulations to both girls for their efforts, and congrats to all their teammates who supported them as they swam their way to state.

NWMS Volleyball

The North Whidbey Middle School 7th & 8th grade volleyball teams had their first home match on Nov 18th against Anacortes.
The 7th grade team was first up. 7th grade volleyball is mostly about serving, with the team that gets the most serves to score usually wins. While there are some rallys, most points are scored on service aces or serve return errors. In fact, a player serving can only serve a maximum of 5 serves before the team is forced to rotate and use a different server. This is to keep one strong server from dominating the game, and allows a number of players to serve.
Starting the first game Tuesday on the 7th grade team were Kim Forster, Celine Gross, Tiffany Kepner, Courtney Godwin-Harrison, Cathleen Marsh and Charleen Marsh. Subbing in were Caterina Amsler, Bethany Bond, Zena-Maria Husler, and Alexandria Gordy.
The first game started out close, with neither team getting more than a 1 or 2 point advantage. At one point the game was 11-9 in favor of Anacortes, then the Seahawks put 2 strong servers on the line back-to-back, scoring 10 unanswered points. Anacortes wound up winning game one 25-10. For North Whidbey Forster scored one service ace and Charleen Marsh scored a pair of her own.
In game 2, the Cougars fell behind early, but got comfortable on the court and started scoring some points of their own. Husler, Kepner, and Amsler each scored a solo ace, while Charleen Marsh scored 4 in a row and Courtney Godwin-Harrison added a kill. The Cougs were ahead late in the game, 23-21, but fell to Anacortes again 21-25.
Game 3 finished with the same score as the second game – 25-21 in favor of Anacortes. In this game, it was close throughout, and 4 different NWMS players scored earned points. Gordy had an ace and knocked two free balls across the net for scores, Forster had a pair of aces, Husler scored a kill, and Cathleen Marsh had two kills.
Photos from the 7th grade match can be found by clicking HERE.

In 8th grade action, the starters for game 1 on Tuesday were Taylor Nienhuis, Brittany Rigby, Ciera Wiser, Cailin Cooley, Kaitlyn McClimans, and Micaiah Davis. Subbing in with lots of time on the court were Kassandra Rousselle, Adeline Guina, Dahnyelle Counts and Ashley Everett.
The level of play was much higher than in the 7th grade match, and there were many more earned points on both sides of the net. Cooley had an ace, a kill, and an overpass landed on the Anacortes court for a point, while McClimans had a kill and a service ace. Others scoring earned points in game 1 were Wiser and either Nienhuis or Rigby – they were both at the net for a tap. Even though the girls played hard, and even held an 8-7 lead a one point, they lost the first game 17-25.
Game 2 was all North Whidbey. The 8th graders built an early 9-2 lead, later expanding it to 18-5. Over the entire game, the Cougars tallied a total of 9 service aces, 3 each from Everett, Nienhuis and Cooley. Rousselle added a kill and Davis had two kills on the way to the 25-18 game 2 win.
Game 3 was another close one. The game started with a service ace by Nienhuis, then went back and forth. Counts had an ace in the middle of the game to put NWMS in the lead 13-12, but Anacortes had some strong servers and were able to pull out a 25-19 game 3 win for the 2-1 match victory.
8th grade photos have been posted HERE.

Final varsity football video clips posted

6 clips from the game againt Kamiak on November 7th have been posted.

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

Middle School volleyball

Volleyball at both OHMS and NWMS is now underway, with both schools playing a match already.
Due to recent budget cuts, each school has only 1 team at each grade level, and both travel together and play the same school on the same day.
Both schools are in action Tuesday, Nov 18th, with Anacortes visiting North Whidbey and Oak Harbor at Cascade Middle in Sedro-Woolley.
The first of 2 cross-town matchups occurs on November 25th, when North Whidbey plays at Oak Harbor. The second will be at NWMS on December 16th.
Photos and results will be posted as they become available.

Youth basketball

The Oak Harbor Cats AAU basketball teams have started their 2008-2009 S.W.I.S.H. league season, with games played every Saturday at various locations in Skagit County.
Oak Harbor is fielding a 5/6th grade team, competing in the "Silver-Cascade" division, and an 8th grade team in the "Gold" Division.
Full schedules and standings can be found at the Skagit County website by clicking HERE.

Winter sports kick off

The OHHS winter sports season kicked off officially Monday afternoon with the first day of practice for boys and girls basketball, wrestling, boys swim and competitive cheer.
Competition for the teams begins the first week in December. The first home event, subject to change, is a boys swim meet vs Stanwood.

Youth wrestling

The Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club participated in two tournaments over the weekend, one on Saturday (at Lynnwood HS) and one on Sunday (at Inglemoor HS).
The Lynnwood tournament had a small Wildcat showing, with only 10 wrestlers participating. That was due to an illness, and many novice wrestlers only wrestled the Sunday tournament.
Even with only 10 wrestlers, the Wildcats pulled off an 8th place showing out of 14 teams.
One wrestler finished in 1st place, two finished 2nd, 2 in 3rd and 2 in 4th, and combined recorded 7 pins.

Sunday was the Western Washington Kids Wrestling League Pre-Season Novice tournament. This tournament was open only to 1st and 2nd year wrestlers, and WWWC sent 13 wrestlers.
Of those wrestlers, 3 were group champions, and 8 finished in 4th place. There was also one 2nd place and one 3rd place finisher. Combined the accumulated 4 pins.

Next up for the Wildcat Wrestlers is the Ferndale Folkstyle Tournament at Ferndale HS north of Bellingham on Nov 22nd.

Cross Country - State Championships

In Pasco this past weekend, OHHS had two representatives at the State Championships for Cross Country.
For the boys, it was Tyler King, a Coupeville HS student who runs for OHHS. The sophomore places 22nd overall with a time of 16:05, knocking over 10 seconds over his previous best, set at the District meet at South Whidbey HS. Tyler was the 2nd 10th-grader to cross the line, 7 seconds behind a Skyline sophomore.
The girls team had the other representative, Allison Duvenez, who is also a sophomore. She finished 59th overall with a time of 19:52 over the 5,000 meter course (3.2 miles).
Congrautations to Tyler and Allison, and to all the other runners on the Oak Harbor Cross Country team this year that were out running in all conditions - rain, sun, heat, cold, and mud. They all had fun, but several seniors ran thier last races this year. For the boys, Josh Duhrkopf, Aaron Mitchell, Jake Daniel, John Manni, and Kellen Crebbin will all be missed.
For the girls, graduating seniors are Kim Zachertz, Rebbecca Honeycutt, Kathryn Fisken, Kim Kyle and exchange student Kate Kapitonova. In addition to the runners, three other seniors from the girls team need to be mentioned. Michelle Sandstrom ran cross country since her freshman year, but a injury early this year cut her final season short. She's a good runner and she will be missed on next years's team. Emilie Kagey ran with the team since her Freshman year, but injuries cut her season short. The final senior is Kaylee Meders, who was also injured early and had to give up her senior season. Thanks to the three of you for your contributions to the team.

Girls Basketball - Fall league 11-09

The Oak Harbor Girls basketball teams, both JV and Varsity, played their final Fall League games at Skagit Valley College on November 9th. Both teams played at the same time in the same gym against the same school - Stanwood.
The JV team was down by a lot early, but battled back in the 2nd half. They couldn't close the game and lost 21-27. The Varsity was amost the opposite, sprinting out to an early double-digit lead at the half, but allowing Stanwood to crawl back. The varsity girls, playing most of the game with only 5 players total were able to hold off the late Spartan charge and won 28-23.
13 photos of the two games are posted HERE.

OHYFL - Lynx win Super Bowl!

The Oak Harbor Lynx, one of two Pee Wee teams in the Oak Harbor Youth Football League beat the Anacortes Seahawks 25-0 to win the league championship on Sunday, November 9th.
Oak Harbor kicked off to Anacortes to start the game, and the first quarter was marked by some back and forth play. Late in the 1st quarter the Oak Harbor defense held, forcing and recovering a fumble. The offense then handed off and the running back rocked the Seahawks for a 69-yard touchdown run as time expired in the 1st.
In the 2nd, the Lynx recovered an Anacortes fumble at the 40, but the drive stalled on a 4th down attempt at the 14, but Anacortes could only move the ball to their own 21 before turning the ball back to OH.
With the ball on the 11 yard line, an Oak Harbor runner broke away from a tackler and ran to the end zone with 3:53 left in the half. The PAT run failed, leaving the score 13-0. Getting the ball gain with just over a minute left in the half, the Lynx just ran out of time before scoring again, leaving the halftime score 13-0 for Oak Harbor.
Opening the 2nd half, the Anacortes kickoff was touched by a Lynx player and kept rolling, and was covered by Anacortes at the OH 33. However, the defense showed their stuff, and on an Anacortes 4th down play, forced a fumble which was recovered at the OH 41. The offense showed some speed, with a runner going around the end and getting to the Anacortes 15 before being tackled. Shortly after, a 4-yard TD run and failed PAT raised the score to 19-0.
The Oak Harbor kickoff went short, bounced off an Anacortes player, and was recovered at the OH 49 by the Lynx. Another long run by the Lynx from the Anacortes 40 down to the 9 set up the 4th Lynx TD of the game with 2:45 remaining in the 3rd.
In the 4th quarter, both teams were playing a lot of subs, so there was little offense. OH only had the ball twice all quarter, failing on a 4th down attempt at the Anacortes 5 yard line with 1:39 remaining. Anacortes lost 3 yards in the two plays they ran before the game ended with a 25-0 Lynx victory.
After the game, a trophy presentation was made to Head Coach Kevin Bell, an OHHS grad and product of Oak Harbor Youth Football. Later at the team banquet, each player will receive an individual trophy.
131 images of the players, coaches, and cheerleaders have been posted HERE.

Youth wrestling - Whidbey Wildcat Salute to the Veteran tournament

The Whidbey Wildcats wrestling club hosted the first youth tournament of the season. Pre-tournament activities in honor of Veteran's Day included introductions by Master Chief Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician Bob Zimmerman, remarks by Rear Admiral Robert Passmore (Ret.), OHHS Class of 1968, opening prayer by Navy Chaplain King, presentation of the flag by the OHHS NJROTC colorguard, and the National Anthem sung by PS2 Robert Evans. After the opening ceremonies, Chaplain King was pressed into duty as the announcer for the day.

Rick Fakkema was the tournament director, assisted by OHHS Wrestling Coach Crebbin. Many of Crebbins HS wrestlers turned out to help with refereeing and scorekeeping.

After weigh-ins from 7-8am, wrestling started shortly after 10am and showcased wrestlers ranging from 5 years old through 8th grade at skill levels from beginner to advanced. The kids were broken into age groups, then assigned bouts according to their weight that day.

When all was said and done, out of 40 wrestlers, the Whidbey Wildcats nabbed 5 first place medals, 8-2nd place medals and 5-3rd place medals.

Full results can be found at the Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling site by clicking HERE.
Over 120 photos of the opening ceremonies and wrestling action can be found HERE.

Varsity Football - Wildcats win season finale

On a warm, but windy and rainy night, the OHHS football team took the field in a WESCO crossover game against the Kamiak Knights. It was a night that many would think would be better suited to a ground game, but it was the air game that won it for the Wildcats.
Kamiak started with the ball at the 20 after Kevin Flavin sent the opening kickoff into the end zone, but was only able to move to the 39 before punting to Oak Harbor. That first Kamiak series featured a great combo sack by Stephen Lewis and Greg Goebel.
Taking over at their own 34 after the Kamiak punt, the 'Cats also punted from their own 30, sending the ball to the Kamiak 16. The first period ended with a 0-0 tie and Kamiak at their own 42 with a 2nd & 11. On that play Chris Neumiller got through to the Kamiak runner, got first contact, and held him long enough for the 'Cats to pile on for a 1-yard loss. On the 3rd down play, Neumiller was again in the Kamiak backfield, along with Bennett Richter, allowing only a 2-yard gain. Looking at a 4th & 10 at their own 43, Kamiak lined up to punt. The snap was low and went through the punter's hands. With Wildcats converging on him, he picked up the ball and tried to kick, but it was blocked and eventually went out of bounds at the 18. On the 2nd play from scrimmage, Donovan Hunt broke through the line and ran for an apparent TD, but flags were thrown on the play. One was a facemask on Kamiak, the other holding on OH. The Knight defense stiffened, and a 4th down pass attempt was incomplete, batted by a Kamiak defender.
The two teams traded 3-and-outs for the remainder of the first half, and headed to the locker room with the score 0-0.
Getting the 2nd half kick at the OH 27 after a 7-yard return, two runs were stuffed at the line of scrimmage. On 3rd & 14 at the OH 23, Jordan was forced to scramble, then threw the ball long, finding Derrick Clarit near the sideline at the Kamiak 43 for an Oak Harbor first down. A pair of Jordan runs got the ball to the 27, then during a reverse, the ball was fumbled but recovered by OH at the 31. The next play was a pass to the 3 that was incomplete. The Wildcats now had a 4th & 13 at the 31, and again Jordan scrambled, but found Rashaad Smith open and hit him right on the sideline at the 2-yard line. 2 plays later, Jordan lined up under center and followed his line into the end zone for the 7-0 OH lead.
Again, Flavin's kickoff went for a touchback, but the Knights mounted a drive of their own that resulted in a touchdown with 1:45 left in the 3rd. The quarter ended with the score tied 7-7.
Oak Harbor had to punt on their next possession, and it was downed at the Kamiak 49. The Knights started driving again, moving the ball down to the OH 26. After 2 incomplete passes, the Knights completed a pass to the end zone, but it was called back due to a holding penalty, and the ball was moved from the OH 26 out to the 41. Kamiak attempted another pass, but it was almost intercepted by Smith. The punt went into the end zone for a touchback.
The first play, from the OH 20 was a pitch to Donovan Hunt that was read perfectly by the Kamiak defense and resulted in a 4-yard loss, and the next play was an incomplete pass. Jordan ran the ball himself on 3rd down and was tackled just short of the first down. Calling a timeout, the Wildcats decided to go for it on 4th & 1 from their own 29. Lewis got the ball and got 2 yards for the first down. However, the Wildcats were called for holding on the next play, backing them up to the 22 yard line. There, Jordan found Clarit wide open down the middle for a 78-yard pass and run touchdown with 4:37 left in the game.
The OH kickoff was a squib kick that was covered by Kamiak at the 34. The first Knight play was an 11-yard run to the 45, and later Kamiak was called for holding, which resulted in a 3rd & 19 at the Kamiak 36. A long pass play gave the Knights a first down at the OH 28, then moved to the 11 after a defensive pass interference call on OH at the 3 yard line. The Knights ran the ball to the 7, then on two consecutive plays the Wildcat defense got into the backfield. The first was Richter getting a tackle for a 2-yard loss, then Goebel getting an 11-yard sack to force a 4th & 19 at the OH 20 with 1:12 left in the game.
Kamiak took a timeout to discuss their play, but it didn't help. On a crazy play, the ball wound up being fumbled by Kamiak and recovered by Oak Harbor at the 35, sealing the win. Jordan took a couple of knees to run out the clock as the Wildcats ended their season with a 14-7 victory.
That game ended all fall sports for OHHS, and in just one short week winter sports practices get started. First practice for boys and girls basketball, competitive cheer, boys swimming and wrestling start on November 17th, with first contests scheduled for the first week in December.
Full schedules will be posted when they become official.

Freshman football vs Marysville

The Oak Harbor Freshman Football team finished up their season at home against the Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks. The game was close throughout, but the Tommies were able to pull out a 21-20 win.

The game started with Oak Harbor going 2-and-out, then Marysville, using the same run scheme as the varsity, scored a TD in only 3 plays to take and early 7-0 lead.

Oak Harbor responded with a quick TD of their own. Returning the kickoff to the 32, a run by Edward Denmon brought it out to the 35, then Justin Everett broke loose for a long run and was finally tackled at the 5. Peter Franssen got the ball next and dove in for the Oak Harbor touchdown.

The OH defense quickly sniffed out the MP offense, forcing them to punt from their own 33 after running 4 plays.

Starting at their own 45, the Wildcats alternated between Everett, Fransson and Denmon to move the ball to the 31. There, Denmon got loose and appeared to have another OH TD, as he lunged and it looked like ball broke the plane, but the official called him down at the 1 yard line. No problem - QB Matt Burgoyne snuck in for the TD on the next play, and OH was in the lead 14-7 at the end of the 1st quarter.

Marysville moved the ball down to the OH 13, but didn't get any further. There was a fumble for a 6-yard loos, then Gabe Dye got at the runner for only a short gain, then #83, who should be Owen Irvin, stopped a sweep to the left for a loss. MP lined up to kick a field goal from the 32, but missed.

OH took over on the 20, but couldn't move the ball and punted out to the OH 44.

With Marysville looking at a 4th & 7 at the OH 30 with 48 seconds left in the half, it looked like the 'Cats had stopped the drive. The Tommies went for it, attempting a pass. The QB was under heavy pressure by the OH defense, but was able to get a pass away, and was somehow caught by MP down to the 3. From there they ran it in to tied the game at the half 14-14.

MP took the 2nd half kickoff, and on the first play, Brent Ryan, Donnie Snider and Ben Miller combined for a tackle for loss, and two plays later Irvin got an interception after the ball was batted around a bit, going down at the OH 45. The Wildcats could only get it out to the 50 and punted to the MP 36.

There the Tommies got their run game on track, scoring a TD in 7 plays.

With 2:42 left in the 3rd, OH had the ball on the 31, but a long run by Denmon, coupled with a late hit penalty moved the ball all out to the MP 48, then 3 runs by Everett got the ball to the MP 28 to end the 3rd.

Starting the 4th, the Wildcats continued their drive, with runs by Burgoyne and Franssen resulting in a 1st & goal at the MP 8. Everett got it to the 4, but a false start brought the ball back to the 9. There, Burgoyne completed a pass to Cody Sanders with 6:38 remaining. At this point, Coach Esvelt elected to attempt a 2-point conversion, hoping to avoid a tie, but the run failed, leaving the score 21-20 for MP.

Marysville ran the ball into OH territory, but the defense stiffened, and helped by a pair of offensive penalties, had the Tomahawks in a 4th & 8 situation with 3:32 remaining. The MP punter muffed the snap which was recovered by Brandon Stratton at the MP 27.

Oak Harbor drove down to the 13, and on 4th & 6 with just 1:18 remaining, lined up for a field goal attempt. The snap was good, the hold was good, but the kick was not, falling short of the crossbar.

Taking over at the 20, MP, unlike Arlington, was content to run the clock out after gaining one last first down and leave with the 21-20 win.



Video highlights are posted HERE.

Volleyball - Senior Night vs Monroe

On Tuesday evening, the Oak Harbor Wildcats hosted Monroe on Senior Night. Monroe came into the match with a 7-0 league record and a 12-1 overall record, and were lead by All-American Brigham Young recruit Kylin Munoz.

Before the match, the four seniors - Jennifer Jansen, Alexis Marquis, Kim Mowbray and Jessica Muzzall were presented to the crowd along with their parents. It was an emotional moment, and there were not many dry eyes on the court.

Munoz had the first kill of the game, and it was easy to see why she is so highly touted. She is just a near-perfect player on the front line.

BUT, the Wildcats stepped up and played some of the best volleyball they played all season. While it was nearly impossible to stop Munoz, the Wildcats did put up an effective defense, and were able to score some points of their own. In fact, the first two games were either tied, or had just a 1 or 2 point differential for about half the game. The scores in game 1 and 2 were 25-13 and 25-14, but the scores don't reflect how well our girls played.

In game 3, the Wildcats defense got rolling, and was stopping Munoz both at the net (Jessica Muzzall, Marisa Sutherland and Kim Mowbray), and in the back row (Alexis Marquis, Emily Meagher). At the same time, hitters Jen Jansen and Muzzall were forcing hits past the Monroe blockers. Late in the game, the Wildcats were up 23-19, but Monroe was able to score 6 stright, almost all by Munoz to capture game 3 25-23, and the match 3-0.

In JV action, the girls were successful, winning 2 of 3 games. Scores were close throughout, but some key points by Lauren Lewis, Heather Felps and Kristine Bouchard pulled out the victory. Game scores were 12-25, 25-19, 25-23.

Over in the field house, the freshman team had two close games and one not-so-close game. Game scores were 22-25, 25-27 and 12-25. The freshman girls improved a lot through the season, with some talented players that should be returning next year to play more volleyball.

Many of the girls, on all 3 teams, play club ball year-round, so should be prepped and ready to go next fall.



37 photos of Senior Night activities are posted HERE.



61 images of Freshman, JV, and Varsity action are HERE.



Video highlight clips are posted HERE.

JV Football @ Marysville - Monday

The JV football team traveled to Marysville-Pilchuck for their final game of the season. Playing on a wet and very muddy field, much like what the old Memorial Stadium was like. There was no scoreboard operator, so time was kept on the field, and there were almost as many Oak Harbor parents in the stands as Marysville parents. There was a good showing by the Wildcat faithful.

M-P got the opening kickoff, and using a powerful running game, took just 2 plays to score, the scoring play a pass completion and run from the OH 47 yard line. The kick missed wide left.

The Wildcat offense got the ball on their own 30 and started moving it, but on a 3rd & 10 on the 45, with the OH QB under pressure, a quick screen pass was intercepted by Marysville and returned down to the OH 4. A saving tackle was made by the quarterback, but Marysville ran it in for a score, so it was now 13-0 in faor of MP.

On the next Wildcat possession, the field conditions were as much a factor as the Tomahawk defense, as a couple of pass attempts were not caught when the receivers slipped on the slick, muddy grass.

Getting the ball back after a Wildcat punt, Marysville used their run game and strong offensive line to move the ball down to the 17. A pass attempt to the corner of the end zone was broken up by Ian Sinchak, who timed his jump perfectly to knock the ball away. Sinchak was in on the stop on the next two plays as well - one a solo tackle for only a 2-yard gain, the second finishing off a runner that was stopped by David Encinas. In the end, Marysville was forced to attempt a 34-yard field goal, which was missed.

Oak Harbor took over at their own 20 after the missed field goal attempt, moving the ball out to the 43 where the drive stalled. The OH punt went to the 22, but excellent blocking my MP allowed the return man to bring it out to the 48. He had a clear shot to the end zone, except for Clarence LaMont who made the tackle. That play ended the first quarter with Maryville in the lead 13-0.

On their 2nd play of the drive, Marysville broke the runner, and he was able to get down to the 1, but an illegal block brought the ball back to the OH 21. On a 2nd & 4 play at the OH 15, two Wildcats sniffed out the play and caught the runner in the backfield for a 4-yard loss. However, the Marysville QB, who had set up for a pass, brought the ball down and ran down to the 8, then on a designed play, ran to his right for a touchdown. The kick failed, making the score 19-0.

Oak Harbor took the kickoff at the 22, then returned it to the 35. On a 3rd & 17 play, LaMont was hit on the arm just as he released the football, and Marysville caught the errant pass at the OH 43. Marysville drove back down the field, scoring another touchdown on a pass play from the 27 with about 2 minutes left in the half, pushing the score to 26-0 for M-P.

With less than 2 minutes in the half, the Wildcats stepped up the tempo, and used a hurry-up offense. A pass reception and run by LaMont brought the ball from the 16 out to the Marysville 49. A pass reception by Aaron Boesch at the 29 was given extra yardage due to a Marysville personal foul penalty. LaMont ran the ball down to the 4, and after an incomplete pass, he took advantage of a hole in the MP defense and crossed the goal line with under 30 seconds to play. The kick was good, and the score was 25-7.

The OH kickoff went to the 10 and was returned to the 36. With 15 seconds left, MP threw deep, completing the pass down to the OH 24, but Boesch got to the QB on the next play for the sack, ending the half.

The Wildcats got the ball after halftime, and after the drive stalled at the OH 48, the punter got his foot into the ball. The kick went into the end zone for a touchback, but it was still a 52-yard punt!

Marysville went exclusively to the run game on their next possession. Using a mix of runners, the Tommies were able to move downfield, and after a 40 yard run that ended at the OH 3, the QB sneak play resulted in a touchdown.

The OH offense took over at their on 24, and on a 2nd & 14 play, our QB scrambled and found some open holes to take it out to the 39 for a first down. After a a pair of incompletions and a short reception, the Wildcats were looking at 4th & 8 from their own 41. Lining up in punt formation, the ball was snapped directly to #3 (sorry, we don't have a JV roster, so don't have his name - please help!), who found room to run on the left side and carried the ball across midfield and down to the Tomahawk 38. Another scramble by #3 got the ball to the 22, but 3 straight incompletions, a couple due to receivers slipping in the mud, had the Wildcats with a 4th down situation. A pass to Sinchak was good and he had some room, but the Marysville tackler was able to stop him short of the first down marker.

Marysville took over on their 14, and were able to score again with just over 3 minutes remaining.

With a 2nd & 10 at the OH 30 and under 3 minutes remaining, #46 (another unknown) caught a pass and found LOTS of open room, getting all the way to the MP 18 before being tackled. Unfortunately, the 'Cats couldn't move the ball any further and had to turn it over on downs.

Marysville ran one play, then took a knee to end the game, with the final score 39-7 in favor of MP.

Some video highlights from the game are posted HERE.

Timeout with...Brian Howard - Varsity Football

Michelle Sandstrom, the Oak Harbor Sports Report roving reporter, submitted the following look at lineman Brian Howard.


Brian Howard, though born in Okinawa, Japan he has lived here “twelve long miserable years” and is a local Football Player for our Oak Harbor Wildcats! This 6’2”, 228 pound senior expressed to me some of his feelings about every subject of the game.
To begin I found out the he plays the position of right offensive tackle and defensive nose guard because he is big and he loves it. Bringing up his size again, that is the reasoning for his jersey, #68. In football certain positions only have certain numbers, and because he is a big guy he gets the bigger jersey.
This was Brian’s first season back after two years, though you wouldn’t be able to tell by the way he performed. He shared that before this season he had been extremely nervous. He has played football for eight years total but after taking two years off he wasn’t sure he would be the same, nor did it help that he hadn’t practice once over the summer. But personally he felt he did the best he could and worked as hard as he could, personally he felt proud of his performance after his time off and as a fan I am sure I am not the only one who noticed his hard efforts during each game.
The Jersey. A players jersey is vital to every girl here at Oak Harbor High School. It’s something everyone wants to wear and hoping they can be the first to ask a player before it is taken for the season. When I told this to Brian he chuckled saying “it’s pretty sweet” and exclaimed that Tiersha usually gets to wear his but if another girl asks he’ll let her.
With the season coming to an end fast Brian isn’t looking forward to it, “it’s a good time and were all really close, I’m going to miss the pasta feeds every Thursday evening”. However over all he thought the team did a poor job and the team could have done a lot better if they had worked a little harder. Though he is proud of his performance this season, he takes some blame and says “I could have been meaner, a lot meaner”, and “Turner, Fisher, Allen, Wilcox, and Mueller did a good job coaching us, they are pretty chill”. His advice for next season players is “don’t screw around, period”! It is obvious we didn’t have a great season, however the team knows their mistakes and they did all that they could and it is now time for Winter sports.
Brian will be doing Wrestling and he is unsure about Track & Field in the spring.
He considers Wrestling his favorite sport because “I bring the pain”, and is really excited for it to begin. However had adds that the sports fees are “RIDICULOUS”! But they won’t stop him from joining and being the best that he can be.
Remembering Brian as once a tiny middle schooler from North Whidbey it’s hard to believe that he will be graduating this spring in June. His plans don’t include going to college for football, just moving out for now.

OHYLF Lynx win conference championship - in Super Bowl next weekend

The OHYLF Pee Wee Lynx team beat Burlington 25-6 to secure their place in next weekend's North Cascade Youth Football League Super Bowl. The Lynx will be playing Anacortes at Mt. Vernon HS, with time and date to be determined.

Earlier in the season, the Lynx lost to this same Burlington team, and were looking to redeem themselves. Things looked bad at first, as the Lynx fumbled the ball on the first play of the game and Burlington recovered. The OH defense held, tackling the Burlington runner on a 4th & 10 run attempt. The two teams went back and forth for the remainder of the first quarter, which ended 0-0.

Early in the 2nd quarter, the Lynx were looking at a 3rd & 17 at the Burlington 18, and the QB was completed a pass and the receiver was able to run it down to the Burlington 1, giving the Lynx a 1st & goal. At that point the fumble bug bit again, and on the 1st down play, Burlington recovered the OH fumble. The Tigers were only able to move the ball to the 22 before the Lynx defense stopped the 4th down run. After moving the ball back down to the Tiger 4 yard line, a fumble and two tackles for loss now had OH with a 4th & goal at the 11, and the 4th down pass attempt fell short.

Burlington then got a drive going, moving from their own 11 into Oak Harbor territory, but the Lynx defense stiffened and stopped the Tigers on a 4th down attempt at the OH 41. On the final possession of the first half, the Lynx could drive only to the Burlington 31 before time expired in the half, with still no score on the board.

Burlington got the ball first in the 2nd half, and the Oak Harbor defense held the Tigers to 3-and-out, with a great play to break up a 4th down pass attempt.

With a first down in Tiger territory on the 43, the Lynx offense got into gear. A run to the right went to the 35, then an offside penalty gave OH a first down at the 30. The next Lynx play was a run to the 19, then another run put the Lynx into the end zone. The PAT was good, giving 7-0 lead to the Lynx with 6:18 left in the 3rd.

Oak Harbor downed the kickoff at the Burlington 42, and the defense again forced a 3-and-out for Burlington, including a great read of a Burlington reverse that was stopped for a 3 yard gain.

On their next possession, OH was flagged twice in a row for holding, one of which brought back a 48-yard TD run, and on the 3rd play the team fumbled the ball to Burlington at the OH 46. However, Burlington ran only 3 plays before fumbling back to Oak Harbor at the Tiger 47 with 2:51 to go in the 3rd. 7 plays later, and with only 2 seconds on the clock, the Lynx scored again from 8 yards out. The PAT failed, but the score was OH 13, Burlington 0.

On the kickoff, Oak Harbor attempted an onside kick, but the ball went only 3 yards before it was touched by a Lynx player, drawing a flag for illegal touching.

Burlington also got the ball moving in the 2nd half, taking the ball from the OH 43 down to the 7. An offside flag on OH moved the ball half the distance, to the 3. The Lynx defense played hard, but Burlington was able to burst through the line on a 4th down play from the 1 for a touchdown. The PAT failed, and the score with 5:36 left in the game was Lynx 13, Tigers 6.

Oak Harbor took the kickoff at the OH 48, and worked the ball towards the Burlington end zone, using 11 plays to score, and more importantly, taking 4 minutes off the clock. The Lynx PAT failed again, leaving the Lynx up 19-6 with 1:30 left in the game.

Now under pressure from the clock, Burlington resorted to a passing game. On 2nd down, the Tiger dropped back to pass, and under pressure by two Lynx linemen, threw the ball short, and it was intercepted at the OH 38 and returned all the way to the end zone with just 15 seconds left in the game to seal the win for the Oak Harbor Lynx, 25-6.

The Lynx next play Anacortes at Mt. Vernon HS on a date and time to be determined.

8 video clips from the game are posted HERE.

13 photos of the team with their trophy, and a group photo of the Lynx cheerleaders, are posted HERE.

Varsity football next weekend

The Oak Harbor Wildcat football team will host WESCO South's Kamiak Knights, from Mukilteo, next weekend at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

The Knights will come into the game with a 2-4 league records and a 2-7 overall record. The only wins came against winless Shorewood, a team that scored only 63 points in 9 games, and against Mountlake Terrace, a team with only one league win and 3 overall wins. The Knights scored 116 points all season and allowed 194.

Oak Harbor and Kamiak had 3 common opponents this year. The Knights' first game was a 24-7 loss to Snohomish, which was followed the next weekend with a 27-15 loss to Cascade. Later in the season Kamiak got pounded by Marysville 43-14.

Kamiak was shut out twice this season, by Mariner and Edmonds-Woodway, and in 2 other game scored only 1 touchdown. Only twice this year has Kamiak scored more than 2 TDs, and both occasions were the two Kamiak wins.

It looks like our defense should be able to handle the Knight offense. The question is if the offense can get the ball moving and score some points.

Cross Country - District 1 Championships.

A total of 14 Oak Harbor/Coupeville Cross Country runners traveled down to South Whidbey High School for the District 1 championships. There were 6 races altogether - Boys and girls races each were run in the 2A, 3A and 4A classification.

First to run for Oak Harbor were the girls. The Wildcat qualified 7 runners for the race, with the top 5 scoring points.

Allison Duvenez was the first OH runner to cross the finish line, completing the 5,000 meter (3.2 mile) course in 19:27 and change to nab 6th place overall. She was followed not quite 30 seconds later by Adrianna Royal in 16th.

Completing the scoring places for Oak Harbor were Senior Kathryn Fisken in 42nd, Freshman Heather dale in 50th, and Sophomore Shila Keyes in 76th. Completing the course but not scoring were Freshman Emily Bain and Senior exchange student Kate Kapitonova.

As a team, the girls finished 8th overall with 185 points. Individually, Allison Duvenez, thanks to her 6th place finish, will go on to the State Meet next weekend in Pasco. Adrianna Royal finished just 0.48 seconds behind the 15th place runner, which knocked her out of her chance to go to State this year.

With a very young team, the future of girls cross country is looking good at Oak Harbor.

The boys team also fielded 7 runners, with Coupeville's Tyler King finishing 6th overall. The Sophomore had a time of 16:17 and will be going on to the state meet next weekend in Pasco.

The next Oak Harbor runner after King was Freshman Matthew Reith in 28th overall and a time of 17:25. Rounding up the scoring runners, Cody Klaur was 35th, Josh Duhrkopf 41st, and Nathan Miller in 64th. Mike Reith and Matt Bolte also finished for the Wildcats.

Like on the girls team, only 1 runner was a senior - Duhrkopf, but unlike the girls team, 3 of the other runners are Juniors. Still, things are looking good for next year.

Team-wise, the boys finished 6th with 174 points, and as mentioned earlier, Tyler King will be running next week.

76 photos from the meet are posted HERE.