BBB 2009-12-15 through 2009-12-21

The Oak Harbor boys basketball finished playing 4 games in 7 days - 3 of them away games, last Monday the 21st with a trip to Coupeville.

The week started with a trip to Snohomish on Tuesday, where the 'Cats played good, solid basketball but lost to the Panthers 53-48. Mike Washington, Jr. led the team with 19, while Aaron Boesch and Denzel Hardin were also in double figures with 13 each.

The boys didn't play as well at Everett on Thursday, falling to the Seagulls 65-58. Jay Stout was the top scorer in that game with 15 points, with Rashaad Smith and Denzel Hardin close behind with 12 each.

The next day, Friday, the Wildcats played their 3rd game in 4 days, but this time at home against Lake Stevens. In the dome, the Freshman team played even with the Vikings in the 1st period, but scored only 2 points in the 2nd and never recovered. The final was 72-36 for LS. Dayne Herron and Kiefer Hermann tied for scoring honors with 8 each. Anthony Stewart scored 6, London Cook and Michael LaBelle 4 each, Chris Hailer 3, Trenton Cargill 2 and Isaiah Trower 1.

The JV team was down early against Lake Stevens 22-8, but recovered in the 2nd period to trail 29-24 at the half. In the 3rd and 4th, Lake Stevens notched up their defense, holding the JV boys to single digit scoring in each period. The final was 57-39 for the Vikings. Matt Burgoyne led the team with 11, Kevawn Brooks hit for 7, David Tillotson, Trace & Connor Paul 6 each, Corey Houck 2 and Cameron Faulkner 1.

Varsity came out slow, spotting Lake Stevens a 22-11 1st period lead. The Vikings kept the offensive pressure up and led 45-24 at the half. The Wildcats didn't play badly, but the Vikings are that good this year and cruised to a 79-58 win. Mike Washington, Jr. led the scoring with 18 and Colby Anter had a great night, grabbing numerous rebounds and dropping in 14 points. Everyone that got into the game wound up scoring. Stevie Bratt hit for 5, Trace Paul, Rashaad Smith and Denzel Hardin 4 each and Aaron Boesch, Jay Stout and Ryan Fakkema 3 each.

108 photos from JV and Varsity action are posted HERE. Included are team and individual photos for Freshman and JV squads.

Finally, the JV and varsity teams traveled to Coupeville, which does not have a freshman team.

The JV team dominated the Wolves from the beginning. The 'Cats held Coupeville scoreless until the 1:58 mark in the first period and led 30-11 at the half. OH increased their lead to 42-13 at the end of the 3rd and won 58-17. Engle was Coupeville's top scorer, hitting 12 points total, 6 off of free throws. For the Wildcats, Corey Houck poured in the points from outside, getting a season-high 14 for his efforts. Trace Paul was also in double figures with 11. Cameron Faulkner scored 9, Kevawn Brooks and Connor Paul 6 each and Matt Burgoyne, Paul Johanssen and Edward Denmon 4 apiece. Every player eligible to play scored points in the game. Missing from the game, and probably for the rest of the season was junior David Tillotson who has an injured ankle.

In varsity action, a slow start and poor shooting from the free throw line doomed the Wildcats. The Wolves jumped to an early 6-0 lead, and OH was not able to get any points on the board until Jay Stout hit a 3-pointer at the 4:42 mark in the first. OH recovered from the slow start and a 3-point buzzer beater by Denzel Hardin gave OH a 16-14 lead. The 2nd period was back and forth, with 6 lead changes and a tie game on 4 different occasions. At the halftime buzzer, it was Coupeville in the lead 34-31. The Wolves held the lead throughout the 3rd period and although the Wildcats were able to cut it to just 1 point early in the period, Coupeville held a 51-43 lead at the end of the 3rd. Mike Washington, Jr. came alive in the final period. He scored 18 of his 37 points in the final period, but unfortunately for Oak Harbor, he was the only Wildcat to get on the board that period. Oak Harbor cut the Wolf lead to just 2 points with 2 minutes left, but that's as close as it would get, with Coupeville finishing with a 66-61 lead.

While the Wildcats scored 21 points from beyond the arc, an 8-for-17 showing at the free throw line was the difference in the game. In addition to Washington's 37 points, Jay Stout hit for 12, Denzel Hardin for 8, and Rashaad Smith and Ryan Fakkema scored 2 each.

The Wolves were led by big Hunter Hammer with 24 points. Bagby scored 16 and Wilcox 10. Also getting on the board were T. King with 6, Brookhouse and Walstad with 4 each and Smith with 2. The team hit a pair of 3-pointers and went 10-for-14 from the line.

There are two compilation video clips from the game posted HERE.

One features Coupeville players, the other Oak Harbor players.

Wrestling 2009-12-17 vs Everett

The Wildcat wrestlers hosted their 2nd home meet of the week with the Everett coming to town. The Seagulls are the pre-season #7 ranked team in 3A with 7 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 and a defending state champ on team.

Overall the JV team didn't see much success, with Stancil, Chad Trimbur, Pralle, Ducken, ALonzo and Engen all getting pinned. Jen Fremd didn't win, but held off the pin and the tech fall, going down 1-10. Brothers David and Javon Payne were the lone OH JV winners. David wrestled at 140 lbs and fought a good battle with Baxter. Late in the match David found himself down 14-15, but he was able to turn Baxter and put him on his back for a pin with less than 30 seconds left in the match. Javon, at 285 lbs, also wrestled a tough opponent, and with time running out on the 2nd period, Javon was down 14-16. With the seconds ticking away, Javon turned Bowen and stuck him with just 6 seconds left in the period.

In varsity, there were some tough matches, and some great wins for OH wrestlers. The main event started with the 130 lb match, with Ryuta Meany moving up from JV and moving up a weight class. He faced Anderson and held him off until the 3rd period but was eventually pinned.

Oak Harbor won the next 2 matches, with freshman Josh Crebbin winning 6-3 on a late escape and takedown over Wright, Colton Elliot, currently ranked #2 in the state at 135 lbs went into the 2nd period before pinning Wice.

At 145 lbs it was sophomore Brandon Stratton against Joel Palabrica, ranked #6 at 140 lbs. Brandon fought a great match, and in the end was rewarded with a pin with 24 seconds left in the 2nd period, lifting OH to a 15-6 team lead.

It was a while before an OH wrestler won again. Steven Souza at 152 lbs, Zach Loescher at 189 and Drew Culver all lost on points. Collin Higinbotham was pinned by #8 Boyce, Zach Loescher by #5 Contreras and Phil Rodgers by defending state champ Bird at 285 lbs.

Dropping down to 103 lbs, Corey Trimbur has trouble getting Justine Palabrica turned and on her back, but picked up a 15-3 win.

Brandon Strickland at 112 lbs lost to #6 Lopez, Kadden Paggao was pinned by Crook and Cody Fakkema was pinned by #8 Forrest to end the evening.

Overall it was Everett49, OH 17.

6 video highlights are posted HERE

21 photos of OH wrestlers in action are posted HERE.

Girls Basketball 12-16-2009 vs Everett

For the second time this week the girls basketball teams were at home, this time facing Everett.

In the dome the freshman team got off to a great start, scoring 22 points while holding the Seagulls to just 8. They continued to pour it on in the 2nd, leading 35-12 at halftime. The defense held Everett to just two made free throws in the third, which was good as the Wildcats scored only 6 points of their own. Everett finally got on track in the final period, scoring 16 points to double their score, but OH played right with them, hitting 20 points and winning 61-30. Leading the 'Cats was Morgan Young with 18 points. Ciera Wiser and Emily Saar were both also in double figures, with 13 and 10 respectively. Marissa Lewis hit for 9 points, Jalani Bobo for 4, Bet Riba and Danielle Teasley for 2 and Paula Gass 1.

The JV team won, but didn't play their best game. Dominique Jackson put the team up 5-4 by hitting a pair of shots from inside, then Naomi Walker and Kate Rossman padded the 1st period lead to 11-4. The OH defense played strong in the 2nd, allowing only 3 points while boosting their lead to 21-7. After a decent first half, the Wildcat JV offense got quiet in the 2nd half. The two teams combined scored a total of 14 points the entire 2nd half, and OH won the game 29-13. Rossman was the top scorer with 9 points, Jackson had 7, Kelsey Rankin and Erika Flores 5 each, Walker 2 and Heavenly Cooper 1.

It was back and forth all night in the varsity game, with Everett leading at the end of the 1st and 3rd periods and Oak Harbor leading at the end of the first, and most importantly, 4th period. During the game there were 12 changes in the lead and 9 times the game was tied, including late in the game with 3:41 remaining. The game was in doubt right to the end, as with just over a minute left to play, the Oak Harbor lead was just 4 points.

Everett took the lead halfway through the 1st period and held until halfway through the 2nd, when Nicki Mowbray hit for two to break an 18-18 tie. Jessica Denmon scored twice to build the OH lead to 26-22 at halftime. Everett took the lead bak with 1:39 left in the 3rd and led 42-39 at the buzzer. Three scores by Mowbray, Denmon and Naomi Walker in just over 30 seconds put OH up 45-42, but Everett played tough. The Wildcats got a big boost when the Seagulls top scoring player fouled out in the 4th period. Even so, Everett grabbed the lead 51-50 with 3:10 left in the game, but it lasted only 14 seconds until Mowbray scored from outside to give Oak Harbor the lead for good. At the final buzzer it was Oak Harbor 59, Everett 55.

The girls have still another game this week, traveling to Lake Stevens on Friday the 18th while the boys team will host the Vikings at OHHS, their 3rd game of the week as well.

6 video clips from the JV and varsity games are posted HERE.

46 photos from the JV and Varsity games are HERE. Included is a single photo from the freshman game.

Wrestling 2009-12-15 vs Snohomish

The OHHS wrestling team had their first home meet of the year Tuesday night, hosting Snohomish, who has a preseason ranking of 12th, and included 4 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 individually.

Snohomish showed their depth by cleaning up the Wildcats in the JV matches. Out of 12 matches wrestled, Snohomish won by pinfall in 8 of them and won 10 of the 12. Of the remaining 4 matches, one was an OH loss by tech fall, one was a close 11-8 loss. Oak Harbor's two wins were by Jeremy Foster, who overcame several blood timeouts and a tough opponent to win 8-6 over Reinhard, and Gabe Tretheway got a 3rd period pin over Ike Ditzenberger, a 'special' athlete. Gabe showed a lot of class in the bout and both wrestlers got a great round of applause after the match.

Varsity action was better, with the Wildcats getting several big wins, but the Panthers had too much for OH and won 47-29.

The night started off with a major bout. Oak Harbor's Colton Elliot faced off against Luke Perry. In the preseason rankings, Colton was #5 at 135 lbs, but is wrestling in the 145lb bracket this year. He's coming off a 2nd place finish at the tough Spud Walley tournament last weekend. Perry was #3 at 145 lbs preseason and is wrestling at 152 lbs. Colton moved up a weight class to take on Perry. The match went all 3 rounds, but in the end it was Perry winning 4-0.

Next up was Justin Everett against #2 Micah Morrill at 160 lbs. Justin went into the 2nd round and while fighting off the pin, gave a clinic in good bridging technique!

At 171 lbs, Collin Higinbotham went against Birkland. Things weren't looking good for Collin as he was on his back and the ref was counting back points, but Collin got a reversal and pinned Birkland at the 3:37 mark.

Zach Loescher wrestled another ranked Morrill, Mark, #9. Zach fought hard but was not pinned, but did lose by tech fall, 16-0.

Drew Culver at 215 lbs got pinned by Nate Proffitt in 3:21.

Big Phil Rodgers was paired with #8 ranked Maybin, and again fought hard and into the 2nd round, when he was eventually pinned.

Dropping down to 103 lbs, Corey Trimbur got Oak Harbor's 2nd win of the night, pinning Swetz in 1:06.

Brandon Strickland went against Sonny Bates-Mundell, the 4th place finisher at last year's district tournament at 103 lbs and was pinned in 3:41.

Kaden Paggao, a junior but a 1st year wrestler was up against Coffman was was pinned in 1:03.

Cody Fakkema, a freshman, won by tech fall over Coffman, 18-2 at 125 lbs

Oak Harbor forfeited the 130 lb match to Snohomish.

At 135 lbs it was another freshman, Josh Crebbin, against Clay. It was a tough match but Crebbin got a pin just over a minute into the 2nd round.

Senior Josh Barton had the closest match of the night. Down 2-0 he was able to get an escape point, but couldn't get Proffit down to the mat to get the win. The final was 2-1.

The last match of the night featured Brandon Stratton against Mitchell. This bout went into the 3rd round before Brandon got the pin.

In the end, of the 13 matches wrestled, Snohomish won 8, but all of Oak Harbor's wins were by pin or tech fall.

The wrestlers hit the home mat again tonight, Dec 17th against Everett. JV starts around 5:45.

99 photos of JV and varsity matches are posted HERE.

Short video clips from 3 matches are posted HERE.

Girls Basketball 12-14-2009 vs Snohomish

The girls basketball finally got their 2nd home game of the season, facing off against the Snohomish Panthers.

In the field house, the freshman teams were tied at 7 after the first period, but the Wildcats took control and opened a 17-11 halftime lead. The two teams again played even in the 3rd, scoring 5 each. The 4th quarter saw almost half the scoring of the entire game. Snohomish managed to drop in 13 points to up their total to 29, but the Wildcats put up 16 of their own to win 38-29. Jalani Bob and Marissa Lewis both had 9 points to lead the team. Bet Riba and Joem Evangelista scored 6 each, Paula Gass and Emily Saar 2 each and Danielle Teasley 1.

The beginning of the JV game looked good, with OH going up 7-0 before allowing a Snohomish score with 1:32 left in the first. However, the girls scored only one more field goal the rest of the game, a Naomi Walker layin with 3:19 left in the 3rd. All of the other OH points came off free throws, and they were just 4 for 19 from the stripe. The final score was Snohomish 32, OH 12. Dominique Jackson scored 4 to lead the team. Addy Royal had 3, Naomi Walker and Kelsey Rankin 2 each, and Lia Pantoleon hit one free throw. Part of the JV problem was that 4 players were out with injuries, two of them starters.

The varsity game was similar to the JV game, with the team gaining an early 6-2 lead and holding it until there were less than 2 minutes to go in the first period. Snohomish hit a pair of 3-pointers to lead 12-9 at the first break. Clarissa Abadesco scored just 20 seconds into the 2nd to bring OH to within 1, and later a pair of free throws by Jessica Denmon put OH back in the lead 15-14. That was the last lead OH would have as Snohomish went on a 10-0 run to end the first half, leading 24-15. OH fought back in the 3rd, with a buzzer-beating shot by Denmon closing the gap to just 4, then a Nicki Mowbray FT making it a 3-point game. That's as close as it would get as Snohomish won 40-33. Denmon led the team with 19, Mowbray with 4 (all free throws), Abadesco 4, Jessica James 3 and Naomi Walker 2.

The girls play at home again on Wednesday against Everett.

3 video clips are posted here, including a great team effort for a score by Jackson in the JV game.

Wrestling 2009-12-12 Spud Walley tournament at Sedro Woolley

The Oak Harbor wrestling team entered their first tournament of the season, the Spud Walley tournament hosted by Sedro Woolley. This is a high-caliber tournament with top teams from around the state coming from as far away as Wenatchee and Kelso. There was some very good wrestling.

Oak Harbor took 11 wrestlers with 3 finishing in the top 6.

Starting with the lightest weights, Corey Trimbur at 103 lbs. finished 5th overall with a 5-1 tournament record. He won his first match 14-2, lost his second match to the eventual 2nd place finisher, then won out, including a pin to capture 5th in just 1:28.

Brandon Strickland went out in the 112 pound bracket. He lost his first match by a close 4-0 score, whomped his opponent in the 2nd match 13-1 then got pinned late in his 3rd match.

Cody Fakkema, at 125 lbs, won his first in a high-scoring match, 15-11. In his 2nd match he faced one of the state's top ranked wrestlers from Orting, who was the tournament champ. Although Cody lost, he scored a respectable 5 points. Fakkema lost his 3rd match 8-1 to end his day.

Freshman Josh Crebbin was in the 135 lb bracket, a tough weight, for his first high school tournament and although he lost both his matches, he gained a lot of experience.

Colton Elliot, at 140 lbs, had ghost to compete against as well as his opponents. It was at the Spud Walley tournament last year that he broke his thumb in an early match and missed most of the season. The ghost was conquered early as were Colton's opponents. He pinned his man in the first round, won a close 4-3 match in the 2nd, then recorded another pin to advance to the championship round. There he fell to a 2-time state champ from Orting 6-2. Colton has a great season ahead of him.

At 145 lbs, sophomore Brandon Stratton won his first two matches, but lost the next two to finish in 4th place. One of his losses was to the eventual champion. Brandon looked good, getting one pin in his 4 matches.

Justin Everett's 160 lb matches were all decided by pinfall, but unfortunately only one was recorded by Justin. He won his first match but lost the next two.

Junior Corey Shannon filled the 171 lb spot. he lost his first match by pin and was forced to forfeit his 2nd match.

Zach Loescher weighed in to the 189 lb bracket and his first match was against the eventual 5th place finisher. Zach wrestled hard, but was giving up a lot of weight to his opponents. He should be more successful once he gets into the 171 lb weight class.

Drew Culver was back on the mat at 215 lbs after taking some time off from wrestling. In his first match things weren't looking good, but just over 3-1/2 minutes into his first match he got a great reverse and wound up pinning his opponent. It would be Drew's only win as he lost the next two matches and was eliminated.

Phil Rodgers at heavyweight wrestled a state placer from last year and was quickly pinned, and he lost his second match to end the day.

The wrestlers have their first home league meet Tuesday the 16th against Snohomish, and again on Thursday the 18th against Everett.


Two video clips from first round action are posted HERE.

34 photos of OH wrestlers in action are posted HERE.

Girls AAU basketball 12-12-2009

The end of season tournament for the fall S.W.I.S.H. league was last Saturday, with the Oak Harbor 5th/6th grade team and 7th/8th grade team both playing games in La Conner.

The 7/8 team started first at 10:05am in the high school gym, where they beat the Orcas Lady Kings to advance to the semifinal round. In that game, played in the La Conner HS gym was against the La Conner team. Neither team played well, but La Conner played well enough to win, sending the Oak Harbor team into a 3rd place tie.

The 5/6 team came into the tournament seeded 2nd so had a first round bye. In semifinal action the girls faced the Orcas Vipers, a team they played and beat in the regular season. Orcas learned from the game, as the held Oak Harbor scoreless until the final seconds of the game when an OH player sank a rebound with about 5 seconds to play. The final score was 14-2 in favor of Orcas. The OH team went on to play for 3rd place, but the results of that game weren't available.

Photos from the 7th/8th grade game vs La Conner are posted HERE.

5th/6th grade team photos are HERE.

BBB 2009-12-11 vs Cascade

The OHHS boys basketball team opened their league schedule with a home game against the Cascade Bruins and the results weren’t pretty overall.

As usual, the freshman team was in the Field House, and Cascade opened up a 14-2 1^st period lead on the ‘Cats, who just couldn’t get any offense generated. At the half it was 24-7 and the Bruins continued to run away with the game, winning 45-20. Out of the 20 OH points, Dayne Herron scored 12, 10 in the 2^nd half. Chris Hailer scored 3, Isaiah Trower 2, Jackson Knoll, Michael LaBelle and Ian Kolste 1 each.

The JV team showed a lot of spunk in the first period of their game. Kevawn Brooks scored in the first 15 seconds of the game and with Ed Denmon scored 8 of his 12 points in the first period as the Wildcats jumped out to a 13-6 lead at the end of the first period. OH spread the ball around a bit more in the 2^nd, with 5 different players scoring as the JV boys increased their lead to 34-20. They got a bit cold in the 3^rd, allowing Cascade to close to within 7, 43-36. Shortly after the start of the final period, the Bruins had closed to within 2 points, 44-42, but successive scored by Brooks, David Tillotson and Matt Burgoyne upped the OH lead to 51-42 and they were able to hold the Bruins off long enough to win 53-50. Tillotson and Denmon both finished with 12 points, Brooks 7, Burgoyne and Corey Houck 6 each, and Connor Paul and Cameron Faulkner 5 each.

Oak Harbor played some pretty good varsity basketball for 23 minutes, but a disastrous first period left Cascade with a 24-3 lead, and although OH played with them the rest of the game, they couldn’t do anything to erase the initial gap. The closest they could get was 39-52 about midway through the 3^rd period. OH wound up with 66 points on the board, but Cascade finished with 90. Mike Washington, Jr. led the team with 27 and Denzel Hardin also came in with double digits, scoring 13 point. Jay Stout scored 9, Colby Anter had a great game with 8 points, Ryan Fakkema 4, Trace Paul 3 and Rashaad Smith 2. On the positive site, Washington, Stout and Smith combined for a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line.

Both the boys and girls teams have a busy week coming up, with 3 games each over the next 5 days. The boys are away at Snohomish on Tuesday and Everett on Thursday, and return to play Lake Stevens at home on Friday.

The girls are at home Monday and Wednesday and hit the road Friday.

Wrestling with fill the gym twice this week, with home meets against Snohomish and Everett.

Remember, admission is FREE with your ASB card.

There aren’t any photos from the boys game, but some JV video highlights can be found HERE.

Middle School Boys Basketball 12-9-2009 NWMS @ OHMS

Oak Harbor Middle School was the site of this years' scheduled league contest between the two schools last Wednesday the 9th of December.

The 7th grade teams went first with North Whidbey running away with the game. The Cougars had a 12-4 advantage at the end of the first period and that's as close as it would get. This year's 7th grade champs in OH are the North Whidbey Cougars. Zach Jones led the Cougars with 42 points, and Brad Nehring was also in double figures with 15. Also scoring points for North Whidbey were Jeremy Vester with 6, Gage Eccleston 5, Jairus Davis and Khaleel Smith with 4 each and Hunter Adams with 2. For the Oak Harbor Panthers, it was Joseph DeGuzman with 7, Chris Humphries 6, Brent Mertins and Daniel Wolfe 3 each, and Michael Lauersdorf and Sebastian Ceaser with 2 each.

The 8th grade game was nearly the opposite of the 7th grade game, with OHMS pounding the visiting Cougars 63-20. Leading the Panthers were Bobby Grace and Zack Gibbs, each with 12 points. Alex Krantz was also in double figures with 10. Rounding out the OHMS scoring was Drew Washington 7, Casiano Atinez 5, Devin Jensen and Anthony Smither 4, Andrae Gray 3 and Matthew Zafra, Antonio Unpingco and Isaiah Rennes with 2 each. For the NWMS Cougars it was Blake Budzisz with 12, Tom Horton with 4, Jahleel Vester 3 and Shannon Baer 1.

The two school will meet again several more times this season with dates and places to be determined.

3 video clips from each game are posted HERE.

7th grade pics are here (42 of them)

54 8th grade photos are HERE.

Boys basketball 12-8-2009 at Burlington

The Oak Harbor boys basketball teams traveled to Burlington-Edison High School Tuesday night for a set of the games against the Tigers, but didn't see much success on the scoreboard.

The freshman teams faced off in the Field House and BE defended their turf, beating the Wildcats convincingly, 53-28. The Wildcats spread their scoring around with 7 players getting on the board. Anthony Stewart, Dayne Herron and Kiefer Hermann each scored 6 points, Isaiah Trower 5, Anfernee Angkaw and Chris Hailer 2 each and Jackson Knoll 1. On the positive side, Hermann was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

In the JV game the results were similar. The Wildcats mustered 33 points, with David Tillotson and Kevawn Brooks sharing scoring honors with 6 each. Cameron Faulkner scored 5, going 3-for-4 from the line, Matt Burgoyne and Ed Denmon had 4 each, Paul Johannsen 3, Connor Paul and Corey Houck 2 each and Trace Paul 1.

The Wildcat varsity team just didn't have an answer for the Burlington attack. The Tigers sprinted to a 26-12 1st quarter lead and never looked back, winning 82-48. The Tigers finished with 9 players getting points, 4 of them in double figures. For the Wildcats, Mike Washington, Jr., was on top with 17, Denzel Hardin scored 9, Colby Anter 6, and Ryan Fakkema, Rashaad Smith, Jay Stout and Aaron Boesch 4 each.

The Wildcats open up league play this Friday, December 11th at home against the Cascade Bruins.

71 photos of the Freshman, JV and Varsity teams can be found HERE.

A few video clips of the varsity game are HERE.

Middle School Boys Basketball 12-7-2009 NWMS

The North Whidbey Middle School Cougars had their home opener Monday afternoon in the NWMS gym, facing off against the Burlington Tigers in 7th and 8th grade games.

The 7th grade boys jumped to a 6-2 lead early, but BE tied things up halfway through the first period, finishing the opening quarter with a 12-10 lead. 6 of the Tigers' 1st period points came off free throws against none for NW. The Cougars tied the game again just over a minute into the 2nd, but Burlington got hot and finished the half by going on an 18-4 run to lead 30-16 when the buzzer sounded. Things didn't get much better in the 3rd period as NWMS scored 8 points but allowed 19. Starting the final period, Burlington's lead was 49-24, and although the Cougars outscored the Tigers 15-4 in the 4th, it wasn't enough as Burlington won the game 53-39.

Burlington played most of the 8th grade game on cruise control, as they sprinted to a 20-4 1st quarter lead, increasing it to 35-13 at the half. North Whidbey could score only two 3rd period points, and when the score was reset at the end of the 3rd period, the score was 58-15.

Next up for the Cougars is a trip across town to Oak Harbor Middle School for their first meeting. More games will be scheduled later in the season, but this is the league scheduled game that will count for league standings.

34 7th grade photos, including team photos, are posted HERE.

32 of the same from the 8th grade game are HERE.

4 video clips from the two games can be found HERE.

Youth basketball - Boys AAU 12-5-2009

The WESCO boys AAU basketball league kicked off their 2009-2010 season on Saturday, December 5th, with a total of 8 games played at OHHS.

Oak Harbor is fielding a 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade team. Each team plays two games when at home, one game when away. The 5th and 6th grade teams play in the field house, the 7th and 8th grade teams in the main gym.

Unfortunately, while there was a lot of action and great plays on the court, there wasn't much success on the scoreboard.

The first round of Saturday's games were against Mt. Vernon. The Bulldogs came ready to play and beat the Wildcats in all 4 games.

The 5th grade team has players that for the most part are new to organized basketball, and MV was able to win the game 38-14. The Wildcats were able to score in every period, though.

The 6th grade team also scored in every period, falling by a score of 48-29.

The 7th grade game was the most exciting of the morning. While Mt. Vernon won 54-45, the Wildcats were in the game, and at one point had closed to just a couple of points. Jones scored 24 points for the Wildcats and Sturdevant had 17, accounting for most of the OH points. Eccleston and Sellgren had a pair each to round out the scoring.

In 8th grade action, the Wildcats found themselves down by only 1 point, 15-14, at the end of the first, but could only get 4 points in the 2nd while allowing 10, and they never recovered. MV won 54-32 with D. Washington scoring 16, Gibbs 10 and Rennes 4. The 8th grade team was short-handed, so 3 of the 7th grade players, Jones, Sellgren and Sturdevant, also played in the 8th grade game with Jones getting 2 points.

The 2nd round of game was versus Mountlake Terrace Hawks.

The 5th grade team held a 1-point 4-3 lead at the end of the 1st period but the middle of the game was not kind to the Wildcats as they were able to score only 2 points each in the 2nd and 3rd periods, spotting MLT a 20-8 lead. The Wildcats recovered in the final period, scoring 8 while allowing only 2 but the Hawk's lead was just too much to overcome and time ran out on the Wildcat comeback. The final score was 22-16.

The 6th grade team just didn't have an answer for the height of the MLT team. The Hawks had one player that was already closing in on 6 feet, and there shortest player was not much shorter than our tallest. As the MLT coach said after the game "you can't coach height". MLT dominated the game from beginning to end, winning 62-11. The Wildcat boys never gave up and played hard right to the final buzzer.

The 7th grade team, even with 3 players in their 3rd game of the day, played well against the Hawks. MLT grabbed an early 17-6 lead, but OH closed it to 29-21 at halftime. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were able to score only 2 points in the 3rd period and the as MLT won 51-40. Jones again led the team with 17, Eccleston tallied 10, Sturdevant 8 and Sellgren 5.

Final results from the 2nd 8th grade game were not available.

Lots of photos from all 4 games have been posted along with a couple of video clips from the 7th and 8th grade games.

5th grade photos are posted HERE

6th grade pics are HERE

7th HERE

8th HERE

Video clips are HERE.

Boys basketball 12-4-2009 vs Glacier Peak

The Wildcat men's basketball team hosted their first game of the season on Friday, December 4th against Glacier Peak.

Over in the dome, the freshmen couldn't get things going against a strong Grizzly team, losing 58-37. 6'2" Dayne Herron lead the team with 8 points, London Cool and Anfernee Angkaw both tallied 6, Noel Cheeseboro had 5, Michael LaBelle and Kiefer Hermann 4 each, Anthony Stewart 2, and Isaiah Trower and Jackson Knoll sank one free throw each.

In the main gym the JV was having their own problems. They spotted GP an early 6-0 lead but cut it to just one point, 5-6 after scores by Matt Burgoyne and Connor Paul and a free throw by David Tillotson halfway through the first period. At that point Glacier Peak went on a 10-0 run, coasting to a 22-9 first period lead. At halftime the lead had increased to 32-14, and the Grizzlies also outscored the Wildcats in each of the final two periods on their way to a 71-47 win. Tops on the JV team was Kevawn Brooks with 11 points, Matt Burgoyne scored 9, David Tillotson 8, Ed Denmon 7, Trace Paul 6, Connor Paul 4, and Cameron Faulkner 2.

Varsity was exciting, with OH taking a 15-14 first period lead on a buzzer beater by Jay Stout The Wildcat lead continued until about halfway through the 2nd period when GP hit a 3 pointer to take the lead. Oak Harbor hung in and was down just two at halftime, 31-29. Opening the 2nd half, the Grizzlies caught fire, embarking on a 12-2 run to open a 44-34 lead on the Wildcats. Our boys played even the rest of the game but couldn't close the gap to more than 8 points. Glacier Peak won the game 64-53.

Mike Washington, Jr., Jay Stout and Stevie Bratt paced the Wildcats with 14, 12 and 11 points respectively. Aaron Boesch came in with 6, Rashaad Smith and Denzel Hardin 4 each, and Colby Anter sank a pair of free throws.

Next up for the Wildcat men is a trip to Burlington this Tuesday the 8th then start league play at home on Friday the 11th against Cascade.

67 photos from the 3 games, freshman, JV and varsity, are posted HERE.

A few video clips are posted HERE.

Middle School Boys Basketball 12-3-2009

Oak Harbor Middle School kicked off the 2009-2010 season with wins by both the 7th and 8th grade teams against Mt. Baker Middle school of Mt. Vernon. Full rosters weren't available, so the players name as it was written in the scorebook is the name that is used here.

The 7th grade game was close early, with the Panthers holding a 1-point 7-6 lead at the end of the first period. The Panthers built a little more of a cushion at halftime, leading 17-13. Mt. Baker stayed in it, but OHMS held a 28-22 lead going into the final period. Both teams scored 9 points in the 4th, leaving Oak Harbor with the 37-31 win. Mertins paced the Panthers with 11 points, followed by Deguzman and Humphries with 8 each. Wolfe scored 6, Dieter 2 and Mebane made one free throw.

The 8th grade game was almost the opposite of the 7th grade game. The game was close only in the first minute. The Panther men sprinted to a 20-2 first quarter lead and never let up. The scoreboard was reset at the end of the 3rd period, and the final score was 63-26 for the Panthers. Out of 15 players on the roster, 12 scored points. Gabe led the scoring with 12 points, followed closely by Zack and Isaiah with 10 each. Drew hit for 6, Casiano for 5, Jimmy and Devin for 4 each, Anthony with 3, and Athan, Antonio, Alex and Zafra with 2 each.

The big game next week for OHMS is the annual OHMS/NWMS basketball game. While other matchups are being planned, the official league game is next Wednesday, December 9th at OHMS. 7th grade action starts at 3:45 with the 8th grade game sometime around 5pm. Admission is free.

Six video clips from Thursday's game are posted HERE.

33 7th grade photos are HERE, and

48 8th grade photos are HERE.

Girls Basketball 12-3-09 at Bellingham

The varsity girls move to 2-0 on the season after another big win, 56-30, over Bellingham High School.

Defense was the name of the game in the JV and Freshman games, as the JV doubled up on the Red Raiders 31-14 while the Freshman team blew the competition away 56-18.

Next up for the girls is a trip to Cascade next Friday, the 11th, to open league play.

Middle School Volleyball 12-1

Last week Anacortes was at North Whidbey, this week they visited OHMS. The Seahawks have strong teams at both the 7th and 8th grade levels and won both matches, but the Panther girls fought hard, keeping all the games close.

40 photos from the 7th grade game are posted HERE.

There are 49 photos of the 8th grade team, mostly from warmups, posted HERE.

Finally, a couple of video clips are posted HERE.

BBB 2009-12-01 @ Sedro-Woolley

While the girls team was battling Mountlake Terrace at home, the boys were at Sedro Woolley for their season opener.

No information is available from the JV or Freshman games.

The varsity game started out close, with Oak Harbor holding a small 17-16 lead, but the boys turned up the defensive heat to lead 35-18 at halftime. The pressure continued in the 3rd period as the Wildcats held Sedro to 8 points again while scoring 20 of their own. At the final buzzer it was Oak Harbor 71, Sedro Woolley 47.

Mike Washington, Jr. led the Wildcats with 21 points, and Denzel Hardin (17) and Jay Stout (10) were also in double figures. A total of 8 different players scored points. Colbey Anter and Stevie Bratt had 6 each, Ryan Fakkema 5, Rashaad Smith 4 and Trace Paul 2.

The boys home opener is this Friday against Glacier Peak, who returns every single player from last years' team. Come down, be proud and be loud!!

GBB 12-1-2009 vs Mountlake Terrace

The Oak Harbor girls basketball team opened the 2009-2010 season on December 1^st with a non-league game at home against the Mountlake Terrace Hawks.

Over in the field house, the Freshman team started strong, jumping to a 12-7 lead, but the Hawk offense came alive in the 2^nd period to cut the OH lead to just two points, 25-23, at halftime. Both teams played fairly even in the 3^rd, but MLT was able to score 4 more than the Wildcats at take a 45-43 lead into the final period. Taru Ahonen, a junior foreign exchange student kept the Cats in the game during the 4^th period, scoring 10 of her 25 points, but the Wildcats came up 3 points short, 61-58, at the buzzer. Ahonen was the top scorer, followed by Jalani Bobo with 17, Marissa Lewis with 9 and Morgan Young with 7.

In contrast with the Freshman game, the JV game was low-scoring. At the end of the 1^st period it was 10-4 for OH, with 7 of the points coming from Naomi Walker. Walker continued to be steady in her scoring and led the JV to an 18-11 halftime lead. Coach Burleson got his defense back in gear after halftime as the girls held MLT to just 4 points while scoring 9. In the end, the JV held on for the 10-point lead, 33-23. Walker was the lead scorer with 18, Lia Pantoleon scored 7, Kaitlynn Rossman and Emilie Renninger 3 each and Dominique Jackson scored 2.

In Varsity action, the Wildcats dominated from beginning to end. Using a smothering defense, the girls leaped to an 11-0 lead, preventing the Hawks from scoring until a stolen ball was put in the hoop halfway through the first quarter. It wasn’t until there was 2:30 left in the period that Mountlake Terrace scored their first points from an offensive play. That play sparked the Hawks, and they cut the OH lead to 14-9 at the first break. Oak Harbor went a little flat in the 2^nd period but still outscored MLT 11-9 to take a 25-18 lead into the locker room at the half. The defense was back in full action in the 2^nd half, holding Terrace to just 7 points for the half. When the dust settled it was Oak Harbor 52, Mountlake Terrace 25. Nicki Mowbray led all scorers with 20, followed by Jessica Denmon with 17. Molly DeLeon scored 7, all in the 2^nd half, and Addy Royal, Tatiana Cumming, Clarissa Abadesco and Emilie Renninger had two each.

Next up for the Wildcat women is a trip to Bellingham on Thursday. Their next home game is Monday, December 14^th against Snohomish.

42 photos, from the freshman, JV and varsity games can be found HERE.

5 highlight video clips are posted HERE.

Winter Sports Start Today, December 1st

The Boys Basketball team starts their season at Sedro Woolley while the girls basketball team is at home vs Mountlake Terrace. JV starts at 5:40, varsity at 7:30

Wrestling starts Friday at Snohomish with a double dual meet, and the boys swim team will be at Stanwood on Thursday.

The boys basketball home opener is Friday the 4th vs Glacier Peak.

The middle school boys basketball season starts Thursday with Mt. Baker MS visiting OHMS at 3:45pm. OHMS will host NWMS on Dec 9th (next Wednesday). Admission is FREE.

MS volleyball is starting to wind down the season, but still have plenty of opportunities to watch them for free. Anacortes is at OH on Tuesday the 1st and LaVenture is at NW on Thursday the 3rd. Admission is FREE.

Also starting this weekend is the WESCO youth boys basketball league. There will be a total of 8 games at OHHS this Saturday. The 5th and 7th grade teams play at 1:30 against Mt. Vernon and again at 4:10pm against Mountlake Terrace. The 6th and 8th grade teams play the same teams at 2:50 and 5:30pm. All games are FREE to the public.

BBB 2009-11-28 - JV/Varsity scrimmage

The OHHS boys basketball team put the finishing touches on their preseason practices by holding a JV/Varsity scrimmage in the OHHS gym on Nov 28th.

The JV played the first quarter tight. The Varsity took the lead, but JV hung in there and kept it close. After the 1st period break, though, the varsity found their comfort zone and dominated the rest of the game, defeating the JV squad 64-35.

The season starts Tuesday, Dec 1st with a game at Sedro-Woolley, then the home opener is Friday the 4th, with JV at 5:40 and varsity at 7:30.

Just a few photos from the game (13 total) are posted HERE.

Catching up with MS Volleyball

NWMS hosted Cascade on November 18th and Anacortes on Nov 24th. For some reason the photo link for the Cascade match was never posted, so they can now be found below.

As for the Anacortes match, things didn't go so well for North Whidbey. in 7th grade action, the scores were 13-25, 9-25 and 16-25. While the Cougar girls didn't win, they are showing improvement, getting better with each match played.

The 8th grade girls played 3 close sets. In the first, Anacortes squeaked out a 25-22 win, but NW came back to take the 2nd set 25-21. The final set went back and forth, until the Cougars took a late lead and were looking at match point, 24-19. Anacortes wasn't done, fought back to tie the set at 26, then went on to win the match 2-1 by taking the final set 28-28.

7th grade NWMS vs Cascade photos are HERE

7th grade NWMS vs Anacortes photos are HERE

8th grade NWMS vs Cascade photos are HERE

8th grade NWMS vs Anacortes photos are HERE

Youth basketball 11-21-2009

Again, both the 7-8 grade and 5-6 grade girls AAU basketball teams were in action on Saturday.

The 7th/8th grade team was up first at LaVenture Middle School against a small and inexperienced team from Orcas Island. Even with the regular starters on the bench, the Cats jumped to a 12-0 first quarter lead, and continued to dominate, finishing the game with a 43-8 score.

The 5th/6th grade team was at Skagit Valley College playing the Lakers. The Cats only had 4 players for the entire game, but the Lakers were essentially an elementary school team, with most of the girls in the 4th or 5th grade.

Even with only 4 players, the Cats were able to lead 10-2 at halftime. The 2nd half was a repeat of the first as Oak Harbor went on to win 20-4.

Some video clips of the two games are posted HERE.

Photos from the 7/8 grade team are HERE

Photos from the 5/6 grade team are HERE.

Powder Puff Football 11-20-2009

Friday night, Wildcat Memorial Stadium was the site of the annual Junior-Senior Powder Puff flag football game. It was windy and cold, but at least it wasn't raining.

It wasn't a high-scoring contest, but it was an exciting game. Most plays were running plays and a significant number of plays lost yardage. There wasn't a lot of passing due to inexperience at QB and also because of the wind.

Even though both teams started moving the ball late in the game, regulation time ended in a 0-0 tie. Just before regulation ended, the seniors had the ball on the 27 with a 4th down and 5 seconds on the clock. Coach Josh Higbee was about to put Erin Neilon in to kick a field goal, but a penalty on the seniors moved the ball out of her range.

Overtime was a Kansas City tiebreaker, with each team getting 4 plays to score from the 10 yard line.

The juniors went first, and after some hard running my Millie Goebel, the team came up just over a yard short of the goal line.

Then it was the seniors turn. They were also turned away on the first 2 plays, and on 3rd down from the 3, tried a mass surge, but the team was flagged for aiding the runner at the 1 yard line. The Junior team elected to accept the penalty, making it 3rd and goal from the 6 instead of 4th and goal from the 1.

Lauren Rico got the handoff, ran around the left end, squeezed through two players who were unable to grab her flag, jumped over another tackler and rolled into the end zone for the score.

Final - Seniors 6, Juniors 0 in overtime.

166 photos from the game and more are posted HERE. These photos are free to download to your computer so you can photoshop, crop or post to Facebook. If you want to order prints, you can at Shutterfly's wholesale rates.

Middle School Volleyball

Oak Harbor Middle and North Whidbey Middle school both saw a lot of action last week in volleyball.

In addition to Monday's added NW/OH match, on Tuesday the OHMS team traveled to Mt. Baker, on Wednesday Cascade MS was at NWMS, and On Thursday it was another OHMS/NWMS matchup.

Wednesday's NW/Cascade match was quite exciting. The 7th grade team was up first, and the Cougar girls kept it close for most of the match. There were 5 lead changes and the game was tied 5 other times. Late in the first game, though, with the game tied at 13, Cascade went on a service spree and won the first game 25-19.

In game 2 the 7th graders got an early 4-2 lead, but Cascade crawled back. Again, the game was tied at 13, but this time it was NWMS that got hot from the serving line, earning 5 straight points, and winning the game 25-22.

Now that they were loose, the Cougar 7th graders opened up game 3, dominating Cascade and winning the game 25-19 and the match 2-1.

In 8th grade action, the girls fell behind in game 1, at one point spotting Cascade a 4-point lead, but they fought back to tie the game at 14. NW then gave up 3 straight service aces to Cascade, but rallied and tied it again at 18. A kill followed up by a service ace by NW's Celine Gross put the Cougars up by 3, 21-18. Then, after a service error by Cascade, it was game point for NW, 24-21. Cascade wasn't giving up and tied the game at 24, and was able to get a service ace, then a NW error ended the game with Cascade winning 26-24.

In game 2, the girls sprinted to an early 7-3 lead then built it to 12-6 and later 15-9. Cascade still wasn't ready to give up and held on to win 25-21. A high point in game 2 was the 3 service aces served up by Tiffany Kepner.

Game 3 ended early as time ran out.

Two video clips from the 7th grade match and two from the 8th grade match have been posted, along with clips from the OHMS match against Burlington last week.

Video clips are posted HERE.

Middle School Volleyball 11-16-09

On Monday afternoon was the first of 4 meetings between the North Whidbey Middle School Cougar and the Oak Harbor Middle School Panther volleyball teams.

Unlike most matches where the 7th grade team goes first then the 8th grade team, both 7th and 8th graders played at the same time, with the object being to get in as much volleyball as possible in the time allotted.

Each team got in at least 6 full games before it all ended, and all the girls got substantial playing time.

Since there are already photos of the OHMS volleyball team in action, all of Monday's photos are of the NWMS teams.

26 NWMS 7th grade photos are posted HERE.

73 pictures of the 8th grade NWMS girls are HERE.

Girls AAU basketball 11-14-2009

Since there weren't enough girls to form separate teams, Oak Harbor is fielding only two girls AAU teams in the winter SWISH league in Mt. Vernon. One is a combined 5th and 6th grade team, the other a combined 7th and 8th grade team.

If anyone knows of any middle school girls who would like to play basketball, I'm sure either coach would be more than happy to add to the team's depth chart! The 5/6 grade team is especially short of players. Contact coach Gary Brundidge (sarjesgm@comcast.net) for more info.

The 5/6 grade team played two games early Saturday morning and scores aren't available.

The 7/8 team played just one game in the late afternoon against Coupeville, and it wasn't much of a contest. Oak Harbor jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and led 19-6 at the half. The 'Cats continued to build their lead, finishing on the top end of a 36-12 score. Individual stats aren't kept at this level.

41 images from the game are posted HERE.

Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling 11-14-2009 at Lynnwood

The Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling team competed in a Tournament at the new Lynnwood High School on Saturday, and on Sunday there was a Novice (1st and 2nd year wrestlers only) tournament at Arlington HS.

Complete results aren't yet available, but the Wildcat wrestlers fought hard and showed great sportsmanship.

Sorry, no photos from Sunday's novice tournament, but there are 47 images from Saturday's Lynnwood tournament posted HERE.

Where are they now?

There will be a nice article by sports editor Jim Waller in Saturday's Whidbey News-Times (Nov 14th) about former OH and Coupeville players competing at the college level.

The article covers just fall sports, and he will cover winter and spring sports once those seasons begin.

You can read the entire article online by clicking HERE.

Middle School Volleyball 11-10-09

The middle school volleyball season kicked off with both Oak Harbor and North Whidbey Middle Schools in action. The 7th grade team plays for 60 minutes, getting in at least 3 games and usually 4. 8th grade girls play for an hour and 15 minutes, usually good for 4 games as well.

North Whidbey traveled to LaVenture MS in Mt. Vernon. There, the 7th grade girls lost the first game, won the 2nd, but fell in the 3rd. The 8th grade team won 2 games to 1, and according to Coach Brockett "The girls played great!". She was really happy with their performance.

The OHMS Panthers were at home against Burlington.

The 7th grade team won game easily behind some great serving, 25-9, but after that Burlington got their serving in gear and won the next two game 25-6, 25-7. Coach Pullen saw some good things from the girls but also saw some things they need to work on in practice.

Before the 8th grade game some of the girls looked over at Burlington and commented in a worried way about how good they looked. Coach Molitor brought the girls together and addressed that feeling, and whatever she said worked, as the 8th grade team won the match 2-1. The first game was very close, but the Panthers pulled out a 26-24 win. Game 2 was all Panthers as they won 25-15. Game 3 went to the Tigers 15-25. Since there was still time left, they played a 4th game, which OHMS won 25-21.


59 photos, including team photos, have been posted HERE.

There are 74 photos of the 8th grade match here.

Cross Country complete state results

At mentioned in an earlier post, Tyler King, Oak Harbor's lone boys entry finished 5th with a time of 15:33. "TK" is a junior and will be back next year for a shot at state champ.

Addy Royal was the first Wildcat across the line for the girls, finishing in 36th place with a time of 19:47. Next was Allison Duvenez, then Jessica Denmon, Abby Leete, Taylor Von Grey, Ariel McCarter and Christina Wicker.

As a team the girls finished 15th in the state. On the plus side is only one of the girls on the state team is a senior, so the future is looking good for OHXC.

Youth football playoffs

Back on Halloween, all 7 OHYFL football teams were in playoff games. By the end of the night there were only two - The PeeWee Bobcats and the Midget Cougars.

Both teams were in action on Sunday the 8th at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

First up at 10am were the Bobcats, facing off against Burlington-Edison. Burlington scored first, but in the 2nd quarter the Bobcats responded with two TDs of their own. Burlington scored once more before the half to tie the game 14-14.

The Bobcats scored first in the 2nd half but missed the PAT. They scored again, and attempted a kick PAT (worth two points in youth football to encourage kicking). The kick was good and the Bobcats were ahead 28-14. The Tigers closed to within a TD as the 3rd quarter ended, the score 28-21.

The 4th quarter was wild, with a total of 5 touchdowns. Burlington was first, knotting the game at 28, then it was Bobcats 34-28, then 34-34, then Burlington went ahead 40-34 with just 14 seconds left in the game.

Oak Harbor was able to get the ball down to around the 40 yard line with 1.6 seconds left. The Bobcat runner dodged several tackles, the clock went to 0:00, and the runner crossed the goal line with the ball in his hands. 40-40 was the score now, and the PAT could win the game.

The Bobcats lined up and with a second effort got the ball across the line and into the end zone to win the game 41-40.

The very last game of the day was the Cougars with a scheduled start time of 4:45. When the dust settled, the Cougars were also advancing, winning 20-14.

49 images from the Bobcat game are posted HERE.

Youth Wrestling - 11/07 @ NWMS

The youth wrestling season kicked off Saturday with the annual Salute to the Veteran tournament hosted by the Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club at North Whidbey Middle School.

19 clubs from as far away as Yakima and Ellensburg traveled to Oak Harbor for the tournament. The Wildcat club finished in 2nd place overall with 14 points, just 1 point shy of winner Team Scorpion.

The Wildcats entered 34 wrestlers and 6 won first place in their division, 5 were in 2nd place and 6 in 3rd place.

A good job for the first tournament of the season.

Complete details can be found at the Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling site

109 photos of wrestlers in action are posted HERE.

Winter sports schedules

The OHHS Winter sports schedules are now posted below. The competitive cheer schedule isn't posted to the school website yet.

All dates and times are subject to change with little notice.

Again, the girls basketball team will be hosting their annual Santa Slam tournament during Christmas Break, so make sure you come cheer on the girls.

Also, the boys basketball team is continuing their series of games against Coupeville. This years' game will be held at Coupeville HS.

Middle school 2nd season schedules are posted below

Volleyball - 7th grade starts at 3:45pm, 8th grade at 5pm. All games are free for spectators.

Nov 10 - B-E at OHMS, NWMS @ LaVenture
Nov 12 - Cascade at NWMS, OHMS @ LaVenture
Nov 17 - OHMS at Mt. Baker, NWMS - bye
Nov 19 - NWMS @ OHMS
Nov 24 - Anacortes @ NWMS, OHMS @ Cascade
Dec 1 - Anacortes @ OHMS, B-E @ NWMS
Dec 3 - OHMS @ BE, LaVenture @ NWMS
Dec 8 - NWMS @ Mt. Baker, OHMS - bye
Dec 9 - NWMS @ Cascade, OHMS - bye

Boys basketball - 7th grade starts at 3:45pm, 8th grade at 5pm. All games are free for spectators.

Dec 3 - Mt. Baker @ OHMS, NWMS @ LaVenture
Dec 7 - OHMS @ Anacortes, B-E @ OHMS
Dec 9 - NWMS @ OHMS
Dec 14 - Anacortes @ NWMS, OHMS @ LaVenture
Dec 16 - B-E @ OHMS, NWMS @ Mt. Baker
Jan 7 - OHMS @ Mt. Baker, NWMS - bye
Jan 12 - Mt. Baker @ NWMS, OHMS - bye
Jan 14 - LaVenture @ OHMS, NWMS @ Cascade
Jan 19 - NWMS @ Anacortes, OHMS vs B-E @ Allen Elementary School.

OHHS wrestling schedule 2009-2010

All home wrestling matches are held in the OHHS gym. JV matches start at 5:45pm, varsity at 7pm. The one excecption is the first meet, a double dual, which will have a JV start time of 5:30pm.

Dec. 4 Kamiak/Mariner/Snohomish/OH (Double Dual) at Snohomish
Dec. 09 @ Mountlake Terrace
Dec. 15 Snohomish
Dec. 17 Everett
Jan. 6 @ Arlington
Jan. 8 @ Stanwood
Jan. 12 @ Marysville
Jan. 19 Cascade HS
Jan. 21 Monroe
Jan. 28 @ Lake Stevens

The below events are all tournaments. Varsity tournaments all start at 10am and conclude some time after 6pm in most instances.

Dec. 12 Varsity Spud Wally Invite @ Sedro Woolley HS 10:00
Dec. 12 JV Panther Classic @ Snohomish HS 10:00
Dec. 19 Graham Morin Memorial Tournament @ Squalicum HS 10:00
Dec. 19 JV Everett Gold Metal Tournament @ Everett 9:30
Jan. 2 Lynden Duals Wrestling Tournament @ Lynden HS 10:00
Jan. 2 Arlington JV Wrestling Tournament @ Arlington HS 9:00
Jan. 9 Everett Classic @ Everett HS 9:30
Jan. 16 Kelso Invitational @ Kelso HS 10:00
Jan. 23 Tahoma Mat Classic @Tahoma HS 10:00
Jan. 23 Cavelero Colts Classic JV Championship @ Cavelero Mid-High 9:00

OHHS Boys Basketball 2009-2010 schedule

All home games are played in the OHHS gym complex. Freshman and JV start times are 5:40pm with varsity starting no earlier than 7:30pm.

Dec. 1 @ Sedro Woolley
Dec. 4 Glacier Peak
Dec. 8 @ Burlington Edison
Dec. 11 Cascade
Dec. 15 @ Snohomish
Dec. 17 @ Everett HS
Dec. 18 Lake Stevens
Dec. 21 @ Coupeville H.S.
Jan. 5 Arlington
Jan. 7 @ Stanwood HS
Jan. 12 Marysville
Jan. 14 Monroe
Jan. 19 @ Cascade H.S.(9th @ Evergreen MS)
Jan. 22 Snohomish
Jan. 26 Everett
Jan. 29 @ Lake Stevens(9th @ Cavelero MH)
Feb. 2 @ Arlington H.S.
Feb. 5 Stanwood
Feb. 9 @ Maryville H.S.
Feb. 11 @ Monroe H.S.

Girls Basketball 2009-2010 Schedule

All home games are held in the OHHS gym. JV and Freshman games start at 5:40pm with varsity start times no earlier than 7:30pm.

The lone exception is the annual Santa Slam tournament which has varying start times. As of now, the following teams are expected to play in the tournament: Anacortes, Kentridge, Eatonville and Arch Bishop Murphy

Dec. 1 Mt. Lake Terrace
Dec. 3 @Bellingham HS - 9th @ Whatcom MS
Dec. 11 @Cascade - 9th @ Evergreen MS
Dec. 14 Snohomish
Dec. 16 Everett
Dec. 18 @Lake Stevens - 9th at Cavelero Mid High
Dec. 30 Santa Slam Tournament
Dec. 31 Santa Slam Tournament
Jan. 5 @Arlington HS
Jan. 7 Stanwood
Jan. 11 @Marysville Pilchuck - 9th @ Cedarcrest MS
Jan. 13 @Monroe HS
Jan. 20 Cascade
Jan. 22 @Snohomish H.S.
Jan. 27 @Everett H.S.
Jan. 29 Lake Stevens
Feb. 3 Arlington
Feb. 5 @Stanwood
Feb. 8 Marysville Pilchuck
Feb. 10 Monroe

Boys Swim 2009-2010 Schedule

All home meets are at the John Vanderzicht Memorial Pool and start at 6pm. There is no admission fee for watching swimming.

Dec. 3 Stanwood @ Stanwood - Team Fitness Sports Club 3:00
Dec. 7 Jackson 6:00
Dec. 9 Meadowdale/Lynnwood @Lynnwood Pool 2:45
Dec. 14 Snohomish/Glacier Peak 6:00
Jan. 6 Everett 6:00
Jan. 9 District One 4A Diving @Anacortes 2:00
Jan. 13 Cascade 6:00
Jan. 16 District 1 Diving @Kamiak 10:00
Jan. 19 Burlington Edison/Sedro Woolley @ Mt. Vernon YMCA 2:30
Jan. 21 Lake Stevens @Lake Stevens HS 3:15
Jan. 23 Dist. One Diving @Anacortes 2:00
Jan. 26 Mt. Vernon @Mt. Vernon (YMCA) 2:30
Jan. 27 Marysville Pilchuck 6:00

Cross Country

Tyler King, a junior from Coupeville who runs on the OH team finished 4th at the State Championships Saturday in Pasco. Good job.

On the girls side, no times are available, but word is that Addy Royal finished in 59th place.

Varsity football 11-5 at Edmonds

It wasn't pretty. Let's just leave it at that.

On to winter sports!

Varsity football 10-30 at Marysville

It was another wet, windy night of football, and like every other team in WESCO this year, the Wildcats were unable to stop the Tomahawk running game.

Oak Harbor got the ball first, and facing into the wind from their own 20, ran the ball out to midfield on runs by Donovan Hunt and Zack Ayer and a catch by Josh Sayre, but with the ball at the MP 45, just couldn't get any further. The 'Cats wound up punting into the wind, resulting in a net 8-yard kick.

MP's first play started at their own 38 yard line and ended at the Wildcat 38, and five plays later it was 7-0 in favor of Marysville.

Again starting at their own 20, the Wildcats fumbled on the first play, giving MP the ball at the OH 31. The 'Cat defense stiffened, leaving MP with a 4th and goal from the OH 14. The Tomahawks elected to try a field goal, but it was wide left.

For the 3rd time in the game OH started on the 20, this time with 2:58 left in the 1st quarter. A Brad Farnum reception brought the ball to the 28, then a Hunt run gave Oak Harbor a first down. The officials tacked on another 15 yards as a Marysville player grabbed Donovan's face mask. Hunt then ran the ball down to the MP 45, then caught a pass at the 12 yard line. A flag was thrown on the play as Donovan was thrown to the ground well out of bounds, so it was 1st and goal at the 6 for Oak Harbor when the first quarter expired.

OH QB Luke Felkner had a pair of passes batted away, so the Wildcats settled for a field goal, closing the score to 7-3 with 11:14 to go until halftime.

Marysville started their next drive at their own 28 and although Oak Harbor was able to get a sack, the MP line broke the runner free on 2nd and 13 at the MP 35 and OH wasn't able to tackle him until he was at the OH 18. On the next play Marysville ran it in for their 2nd score of the night, but the kick failed. 8:45 left in the 2nd, MP 13, OH 3

Oak Harbor recovered the MP squib kick at their own 31 yard line, then Brad Farnum caught a pass at the MP 46. Again, Felkner had two passes batted by MP defenders, then a Hunt run was unable to gain any yards so the Wildcats punted from the 46.

This Marysville drive lasted 7 plays but the result was the same - 6 points for the Tomahawks. Now with 4:37 left it was 21-3 in favor of MP after the 2-point conversion.

The Wildcats punted on their next possession, after a pass to Farnum that appeared to be a catch was knocked loose by a really hard hit by the MP defender. Brad was very slow to get up, but just had the wind knocked out of him and returned later in the game.

MP took over on their own 28 and drove into OH territory, but a team tackle by Rashaad Smith and Jason Curles slowed them down. Later, Nick Rouser was able to get a hand up and deflect a Tomahawk pass and it was intercepted by Judd Ford who returned it to the OH 33.

With just 59 seconds left in the half, Felkner threw passes to Mike Washington, Jr., Josh Sayre and Josh Higbee, bringing the ball to the MP 17 with 12 seconds left. The first down play was an incomplete pass and on 2nd down Felkner couldn't find an open receiver and ate the sack.

At the end of the play, the scoreboard read 0:00 and Marysville was headed to the locker room, but OH was able to call a timeout before time expired, and the Tomahawks had to come back on the field with 1 second on the clock. Felkner's pass looked on target in the end zone, but the MP defender was able to get good position in front of the OH receiver and intercepted the ball, ending the half. MP went to the locker room leading 21-3.

Marysville started the 2nd half with the ball on the MP 38, and their drive lasted only 19 seconds. Unfortunately, it was another Austin Denton run that ended in the OH end zone.

OH started their next possession on their own 34, but a Felkner to Farnum pass moved it to the MP 35. A Hunt reception then brought the ball to the MP 10. After an incompletion, short run and sack, it was 4th and goal from the MP 20. On the 4th down play Felkner scrambled right, then left before finding Farnum wide open at the back of the end zone for Oak Harbor's first touchdown of the night. It wasn't what anyone would call a pretty play, but it was a score. Ryan Fakkema's kick was good to make the score 28-10 with 9:25 to go in the 3rd quarter.

The Tomahawks punted on their next possession after running just 3 plays and the OH offense was at work again with 7:06 to go on the OH 32. The Wildcats marched down to the MP 32 after a long catch and run by Josh Higbee but the drive stalled and the 4th down attempt resulted in a sack after a bad snap.

It was another score for MP after the OH kickoff, after only 3 plays. The first was a run to the OH 31, the second a pass to the OH 7 the third a scoring run. 3:46 left in the 3rd, OH 10, MP 35.

Another interception ended the next Wildcat drive at the MP 49, and the Tomahawks took advantage of it with their second 1-play scoring drive of the game, a 51-yard run.

Down 42-10, but not out, the Wildcats scored on their next drive, aided by a key MP penalty. OH started on their own 45 and a Washington catch made it 2nd and 6 at the 49. Felkner's pass was incomplete, but a 15-yard flag was tossed on the Tomahawk defense, moving the ball to the MP 38. There, Josh Higbee got open and eluded his pursuers to reach the end zone. A flag was dropped on Oak Harbor during the play, but was ruled to be after the score. The flag was for unsportsmanlike conduct and resulted in OH kicking off from their own 25 yard line.

MP ran two plays and the 3rd quarter ended with MP in the lead 42-16.

Starting the final period, MP fumbled the ball and it was recovered by OH at the MP 43, MP got yet another interception, this one at the MP 32.

This Tomahawk drive lasted 10 plays, but at the end of it the score was now 49-16 for MP with 6:14 left in the game.

After a nice return by the Wildcats kick return team, the offense got the ball at the MP 40. Another personal foul flag on MP put the ball on the MP 23 and a Josh Higbee catch put it at the 9. Two plays later Zack Ayer took the ball in from the 2 yard line. Fakkema's PAT kick into the wind bounced off the upright leaving the score at 49-22.

MP punted again after 3 plays. The kick was fielded at the 24 by Josiah Miller and he didn't go down until he was across midfield and down to the MP 42. Now with just 43 seconds left in the game Felkner tossed the ball to Higbee who darted and dodged his way to the end zone. Again the PAT kick missed.

Marysville took a knee after getting the kickoff with only 28 seconds left to end the game with a 49-22 win.

Several highlight videos are now posted HERE.

The Wildcat varsity team has one final game, a Thursday night crossover game against Edmonds-Woodway at Edmonds Stadium.

Monday's JV game vs MP was canceled as is Wednesday's freshman game.

Cross Country - girls team going to state!

At South Whidbey High School Saturday afternoon, the OHHS girls cross country team showed that depth is important.

The highest placing OH runner was Allison Duvenez, who finished in 6th place with a time of 19:34, followed closely by Addy Royal in 19:38. (the winning time was 18:58)

What did it for the Wildcats was the race run by Christina Wichers. She passed several runners late to capture 28th place, and gave Oak Harbor the one extra point they needed to get third place and the trip to Pasco. Jessica Denmon finished in 44th place, and Abby Leete, recently back from an injury was 48th.

For the boys, only Tyler King qualified for state on an individual basis, finishing in 6th place. His time was 16:41. As a team the boys finished in 9th place.

Volleyball 10-28 vs Snohomish

It wasn't a good day for Wildcat Volleyball as the four seniors - Emily, Marisa, Devin and Melany - were recognized, along with their parents, before Wednesday night's match.

Snohomish dominated all 3 teams, with the Wildcats able to reach 20 points in only a single game out of the 9 played.

The freshman scores were 15-25, 18-25 and 18-25

JV was 14-25, 17-25 and 14-25

In varsity action, the girls played better than the scores indicated. For most of all 3 games the 'Cats were right in it, but fell behind late. Amanda Blau had a good match with 5 blocks to go with her 5 kills. Marisa Sutherland had a spectacular kill when she attacked a Snohomish overpass. It was fun to watch.

In the end, however, Oak Harbor was swept by the Panthers 16-25, 15-25, 20-25.

Over 100 photos from Freshman, JV and varsity action, along with team and individual photos of the freshman and varsity teams are posted HERE.

Girls Soccer 10-27 vs Cascade

The Oak Harbor Wildcats played their final home game of the season Tuesday night at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

All four seniors along with their parents were recognized before the game - Katie Schneider, Erin Neilon, JJ Netthai and Maggie Gorman.

The girls played aggressive soccer and had several shots on the Bruin goal, but just couldn't get it in. On the other end of the field, goalkeeper Maggie Gorman was near her best, stopping shot after shot.

With time running out and the game heading towards a 0-0 regulation score, Cascade was able to sneak the ball into the Wildcat net for the only score of the night.

The JV team played well also, scoring a goal, but Cascade was able to knock in 3 for the win.

Senior Night photos and action shots from during the game are posted HERE.

Volleyball 10-26 at Cascade

The Wildcat volleyball team played at Cascade High School in Everett Monday night, the second meeting between the two teams. Oak Harbor won the first match, 3 games to 2 at North Whidbey Middle School.

Varsity game one was close for the first half, until Cascade was able build a 4-point lead, 18-14. The Wildcats didn't give up and tied the game at 22 after a service ace by setter Melany Cone. Cascade then scored a point, but Amanda Blau put it down to tie it again at 23. Janessa Ramos gave the 'Cats game point, 24-23, but a pair of Bruin kills and a hitting error by the Wildcats gave game one to Cascade, 26-24.

With the exception of the first few points, the Wildcats led most of game 2, at one point leading 15-9 points by Ramos, Blau and Kristine Bouchard. Cascade closed to within 1, 16-15, but kills by Devin Tanner and Roshel Muzzall pushed the OH lead back to 5. The Bruins hung in, tying the game at 24, but a hitting error by Cascade gave game point to Oak Harbor, then Ramos smacked down game point, 26-24, tying the match at one game each.

Game 3 started with the Wildcats keeping it close, until Cascade scored 6 straight to take a 10-5 lead. Cascade increased their lead to 23-14, but a Ramos kill and a pair of Emily Meagher service aces closed the gap some, but in the end Cascade took game 3 25-20.

Cascade took an early lead in game 3, but two Tanner aces and a Ramos kill tied the game at 8. The teams traded points for most of the middle of the game, then an Oak Harbor service error, a pair of Cascade aces and a Wildcat hitting error gave the lead to the Bruins, who led by as much as 8 late in the game. Kills by Marisa Sutherland and Bouchard late in the game made the score more respectable, but the Bruins took game 4 25-18 and the match 3 games to 1.

The JV team had an off day, falling 17-25, 10-25 and 22-25. The Freshman team won just one of their 3 games in the aux gym.

The Wildcats' final match of the season is tonight, Wednesday, at home against Snohomish. It's senior night, so come and cheer on the 4 girls who have given 4 years to the Wildcat Volleyball program - Devin Tanner, Emily Meagher, Melany Cone and Marisa Sutherland.

Video clips from the match are HERE.

67 photos from the match, including JV team and individual photos, are posted HERE.

Football 10-23 vs Lake Stevens

When the Oak Harbor Wildcats went into last Friday’s varsity football game, they knew that although slim, there was still hope for a WESCO north playoff spot. Standing in the way were the Lake Stevens Vikings.

While it was a dry night, it was very windy, and Ryan Fakkema’s opening kickoff landed not on the goal line, but on the end line, and very nearly went through the uprights.

Lake Stevens ran the ball twice for little gain, then threw an incompletion. The Vikings lined up to punt from their own 25 yard line, with the punter standing on his own 12. The snap was high, but the punter was able to pull it down and kicked the ball from the 10 yard line. The ball landed on the 36 and rolled back to the 33, a net punt of only 8 yards.

While they started with the ball deep in Lake Stevens territory, the Wildcats were flagged for illegal substitution then gave up a sack on 3^rd down. With the wind at their backs, head coach Jay Turner made the call to try for a field goal. What was surprising about the decision is that it was to be a 58-yard attempt. The snap was good, the placement good, the kick got off and looked like it would be good, but fell just a few yards short. It was a great effort by kicker Ryan Fakkema.

Lake Stevens went 3-and-out again, this time punting from their own 20. This punt was even worse than the last. The ball landed on the 15 but took a short bounce to the 17 where it was downed by Lake Stevens.

Oak Harbor’s first play was a pass to Josh Sayre, which he appeared to catch at the LS 6 yard line, but the official ruled him out of bounds. In reviewing the tape, it appears that Josh had control of the ball and one foot inbounds, but it’s the ref’s call that counts, so it was 2^nd and 10 for the Wildcats. Felkner tried a couple more passes, but still hadn’t quite adjusted for the wind, although one pass was in and out of the hands of the receiver in the end zone. In the end, the ‘Cats again lined up for a field goal, this one from the LS 32. A Viking player may have gotten finger on the ball and it fell short on the end line.

Again on their own 20, Lake Stevens’ first play was a run that was stopped for a 1-yard loss by the Wildcat line, then on the 2^nd play Derrick Clarit was able to get his hand on the ball and strip it away at the LS 25, and it was covered by Dillon Peterson at the 30.

Again, the Wildcats couldn’t move the ball, and again, attempted a field goal. On this attempt a Lake Stevens player clearly got a hand on the ball. The kicked ball landed on the LS 8 yard line then rolled into the end zone for a touchback.

Once more with the ball deep in their own territory, the Vikings ran the ball. The first was a run up the gut for 9 yards, then another for four more. On their 3^rd straight run, the ball was knocked loose by a Wildcat linebacker at the LS 37 and recovered by another Wildcat at the bottom of the pile at the 38.

Looking at a 3^rd and 9 at the Viking 35, Luke Felkner dropped off a screen pass to Brent Ryan who rumbled down to the 29, less than a yard short of a first down. This time instead of trying a field goal, the coaches decided to go for it. Donovan Hunt got the ball, cut to his left, and found his way down to the LS 22. There, the drive stalled. Felkner’s first two passes were tipped by Viking defenders, and on 3^rd down Luke had to eat a sack. On fourth down he couldn’t find an open receiver and took off with the ball. He needed to get down to the Lake Stevens 12 but only got to the 17. Lake Stevens got only one play off before the quarter ended, with the two teams in a 0-0 tie.

Lake Stevens needed two plays to get the ball out to the 38 yard line, but that’s as far as they got. They were flagged twice in a row, for a delay of game, then for holding after a nice gain and apparent 1^st down at the 41. The 2^nd and 17 pass attempt was incomplete. On 3^rd down, Javon Payne slipped through the LS line like a hot knife through butter and sacked the QB for a 16-yard loss. The Vikings punted from their own 15 yard line, and with 9:41 left in the 2^nd quarter, the ball had still in Viking territory, this time at the 42 yard line.

After a false start penalty on the 1^st play, the Wildcats lined up on the LS 47 with a 1^st and 15. Hunt took the handoff from Felkner and looked like he was wrapped up at the line of scrimmage, but he broke loose and for a second it looked like he was headed for the end zone. He wasn’t, because the (expletive deleted) officials blew the play dead. The refs conferred, proclaimed an ‘inadvertent whistle”, and called for a do-over. After a couple of runs by Hunt and a short reception by Mike Washington, Jr., it was 4^th and 4 at the LS 36 yard line. Felkner got the ball to Washington, who made a great fingertip catch, and fought his way to the 30 for an Oak Harbor first down. The officials called Lake Stevens for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play, putting the ball at the LS 15. On 3^rd down, Ryan ran the ball to the left and looked like he stretched and got the ball to break the plane before Ryan’s knee touched the ground, but the refs spotted the ball at the 1 yard line. On the next play, Felkner tried the QB sneak, and after hitting the line twice, finally got it in for the OH score. Fakkema’s kick was good to give OH the lead, 7-0 with 5:31 left in the first half.

Lake Stevens returned the kickoff to their own 40, but the Wildcat defense sacked the QB again. He dropped the ball on his way down but it was recovered by the Vikings at the 29 yard line. Later, on 3^rd and 17 at the LS 33, the Viking QB launched the ball downfield. The throw was overplayed by the defenders and was caught at the OH 32. Maybe. To everyone in the stands, it was dropped before the receiver had control, but the official on the scene, after looking around for some help, ruled it a catch. It was a costly catch as the player, Tyler Reside, was knocked unconscious. He was worked on while on the field for 10 minutes, then put in a stretcher and taken to the Coupeville hospital. Reports from Lake Stevens are that he will be fine, but did get a concussion and can’t remember anything about the game or the pass.

Back to the game. With the ball on the OH 26, the Vikings used 3 running plays to put the ball across the goal line. The snap for the PAT kick attempt was high, and the holder tried to run with the ball, but was gang tackled at the 10 yard line. With 2:57 left in the half it was OH 7, LS 6.

Josh Higbee returned the kickoff to the Oak Harbor 38 yard line, and the offense went to work with 2:47 left until halftime. A couple of runs by Hunt, and a run up the middle by Brad Farnum made it first down for Oak Harbor at the LS 44 and 1:23 left. A Ryan carry brought the ball to the LS 30, but with 23 seconds left, Felkner wound up getting sacked and time expired in the half, with Oak Harbor leading 7-6.

The Wildcats took the 2^nd half kickoff and mounted a nice-looking drive. The kickoff went to the 25 and was returned to the 35. After shorts runs by Hunt and a nice catch by Josh Sayre, the Wildcats were in Viking territory. On 2^nd down, Hunt ran left, found a hole in the line, and ran untouched for a 39-yard touchdown. Fakkema’s kick was good to put the ‘Cats ahead 14-6 with 10:05 remaining. After the touchdown the Wildcats were called for a personal foul and kicked off from their own 25 yard line.

The special teams boys were able to stuff the kick return, but Lake Stevens had the ball on their own 37. The Vikings ran the ball out of the “I” formation 7 times in a row, moving the ball to the Oak Harbor 4 yard line. There, on 3^rd and 2, Lake Stevens changed it up and tried two passes. One was incomplete; the other was completed, but was a yard short of the first down. Oak Harbor ball on the OH 3 yard line, 6:35 to go in the 3^rd quarter.

The first Wildcat play was a short run, then an incomplete pass. On 3^rd down, Felkner was under a lot of pressure from two LS linemen, but got the ball off. Higbee caught it at the OH 2 yard line, then without being touched by any defender, ran 98 yards for the score. Officially it was a 96-yard TD catch and run and put the Wildcats ahead 21-6.

The two teams traded a punt on their next two possessions and the third quarter ended with the score still 21-6 in favor of Oak Harbor.

Starting the 4^th quarter, Lake Stevens had the ball, 2^nd and 5 on the LS 25. They moved the ball down to the OH 35. There, the Vikings fumbled the handoff and it was recovered by Alec Castillo at the OH 36. The Wildcats wound up punting after going backwards, thanks to a flag and a sack. Unlike the two Viking punts that were kicked into the wind, the OH punt went 27 yards.

Lake Stevens’ first play was a run good for a first down, the second a pass play that looked to be complete, but Josiah Miller was there, and timing his hit just right, broke up the play. Unfortunately, the Vikings were able to score, running it in from 14 yards out. The PAT pass attempt was good, bringing Lake Stevens to within 7, 21-14, and 6:56 left in the game.

OH got the kickoff at the 8 yard line and returned it to the 21, but could only get to midfield before the drive stalled and the team punted.

Lake Stevens took over on their own 22 with 3:46 left and used 3 plays to move the ball out to the 37. On 2^nd and 10, two Wildcats, Aaron Boesch and Nick Rouser, broke through the line and attacked the Viking QB. They forced a fumble at the 23 that was recovered by Alec Castillo. Hunt and Ryan took turns running the ball, ending with a Ryan 5-yard TD run. Again the kick was good, giving the Wildcats a little breathing room, 28-14 and just 1:38 left in the game.

The squib kickoff was mishandled by Lake Stevens and almost recovered by Oak Harbor, but the Vikings got it at the 29 yard line. The first play was a pass attempt, but the ‘Cat line was all over the QB, forcing yet another sack. Lake was able to move the ball out to the 45, but time expired, leaving Oak Harbor with a 28-14 win.

With the win, the ‘Cats still have a chance at the WESCO #3 playoff spot. Two things need to happen, though. First, we need to win this Friday. The game is at #1 seed and undefeated Marysville. Also, Lake Stevens has to lose to the 1-4 Snohomish Panthers.

Against us is that the Snohomish-Lake Stevens game is at Lake Stevens and it’s senior night for the Vikings. All Lake Stevens has to do is win the game to give them a playoff spot, so they will be playing hard.

OH does have a couple things going for them at Friday’s game. Since Marysville has a lock on the #1 seed, they may not play with as much heart, and the MP coaches may make decisions that lean more towards protecting their players for the playoffs rather than winning a (for them) meaningless game.

We’ll find out Friday. Come down to Marysville and cheer on the Oak Harbor Wildcats this Friday!

73 photos from the pre-game senior recognition and halftime activities are posted HERE. These photos available for download at no cost. Enjoy.

Some video clips are posted HERE.