Special Coupeville Edition - Boys and Girls Basketball

Coupeville had a quad-header against La Conner Tuesday night in the CHS gym, with both boys and girls JV and Varsity in action.

While the varsity girls were playing in the main gym, the JV boys were in the aux gym and were having difficulties with their opponents. Down 28-11 at halftime the boys never really recovered as La Conner went on to win 55-15. Three Wolves got on the board. Gavin O'Keefe topped the team with 16 points, Josiah Campbell hit for 7 and Ben Etzell 3.

50 photos from the 2nd half of the game are posted HERE.

The girls varsity game was very exciting with numerous lead changes. Coupeville trailed at the first break, 8-10, but came back to take a 5-point lead at halftime, 23-18. The Wolves increased their lead to 7 points, 36-29 to start the final period, but La Conner was able to catch up and with just a few seconds remaining had cut the Coupeville lead to just 1 point. La Conner had the ball and threw up a desperation 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded, but the shooter was fouled in the act of shooting and went to the line to attempt 3 shots with no time remaining. She made her first to tie the game then hit her 2nd to give La Conner a 48-47 win. Bessie Walstad led the team in scoring with 10 point, Katies Smith had 9, Cassidi Rosenkrance 8, Kendra O'Keefe and Mehgan Metlow 7 each, Taya Boonstra 4 and Jai' Lysa Hoskins 2.

67 photos from the Girls Varsity game are posted HERE.

For the late games, the girls JV took the court in the Aux gym and struggled a bit in the 1st half. The Wolves led 9-5 at the end of the first but scored only 7 points in the 2nd to give the Braves a 17-16 halftime lead. After the break, Coupeville stepped up on defense, holding La Conner to just 6 points while scoring 13 of their own, then added another 23 in the 4th period to win big, 52-39. Shelby Kulz led the team with 21 points, 13 of them from the line where she was 13-16 and 5-6 in the 4th period. Grace LaPoint and Breeanna Messner scored 8 each, Amanda Fabrizi 5 along with Rhiannon Ellsworth, Maddy Roberts 3 and Jamie Price 2. The game was quite the foul fest, with the teams shooting 33 free throws.... each.

Girls JV photos are HERE.

Finally, the boys varsity team. It was a close, tough game in the first half, with Coupeville down by just 5 points at halftime, but in the 2nd half, with several Wolves in foul trouble, the Braves used their speed and outside shooting to overcome Coupeville's size to win 65-49. Big Hunter Hammer put up 16 points while Ben Hayes, Ian Smith and Tyler King each scored 10. Dalton Engle scored 3 to round out the Coupeville scoring.

Photos from the boys varsity game are posted HERE.

It was a tough night at Mountlake Terrace for the girls basketball teams.

Over in the Aux gym, the Freshman team, minus two key players, was having problems on offense, scoring only 4 points in the 1st period and 11 by halftime while allowing 34 by the Hawks. In the 27-57 loss, Sam Hawkins was a bright spot with 14 points. Gordy and Lyn scored 4 each, Hunt and Gurich 2 each and Estrella 1 point.

JV was down by 2 at the end of the first but led 21-18 at half and 34-26 at the end of the 3rd. They held off a late charge by MLT to win 41-37. Lia Pantoleon scored 12 for the team, Morgan Young and Marisa Lewis had 8 each and Kelsey Rankin 5. Erika Flores and Rayan Russell scored 4 each.

At the end of the 1st quarter, the varsity team was up 17-15, but poor shooting in the 2nd let the Hawks take a 10-point 35-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. The teams played almost even in the 3rd, but another offensive letdown in the 4th gave Terrace the 61-44 win. Yoshi scored 13 for the 'Cats and Ciera Wiser had a season-high 12 points. Annie Leete added 8, Addy Royala 5 and DJ 2.

Video clips are HERE.

Photos are HERE. Sorry for the low quality and quantity, but lighting conditions in that gym were horrible.

BBB 2010-12-21 vs Mountlake Terrace

After the Freshman and JV games, it didn't look like it would be a good night for Oak Harbor boys basketball. The JV team played a decent first half, down by just 9 points at the break, but the Hawks came out on fire in the 2nd half, scoring 46 points while holding the Wildcats to just 15 points. The final in that game was 75-35 in favor of MLT. Anfernee Angkaw scored 9 point to lead the team and Paul Johannsen and Corey Houck had 6 each. Kiefer Hermann and Michael LaBelle scored 4 each while Devontay Sutalo, Jackson Knoll and Forrest Brown had 2 each. On the bright side, the team did well at the free throw line, hitting 13 of 18 attempts.

The freshman game was similar, with MLT holding a 33-17 halftime lead and extending it to 78-33 by the end of the game. Zach Gibbs scored 15 for the Wildcats, Chavez Madden 5, Isaiah Rennes 4, Andrae Gray and Casiano Atienza 2.

Mike Washington, Jr. scored 8 of the team's 13 first-period points and trailed 13-17 at the first horn and in the 2nd period, Stevie Bratt scored all but 2 of the team's 11 points and MLT led 36-24 at halftime.

Coming out of the locker room, Oak Harbor started to chip away at the Hawk lead, cutting it to just 5 points, 41-36 after a 3-pointer by Jay Stout at the 4:18 mark. Then, in a 29-second flurry, Mike Washington grabbed a rebound tipped by Bratt for two at the 3:41 mark, got a steal and drained a 3-pointer at 3:33, then got a pass after another Wildcat steal and hit another three at 3:12 to put the Wildcats up by 1 point, 44-43 and forcing an MLT timeout. The two teams went back and forth for the remained of the 3rd period which ended in a tie at 47.

Just under a minute into the 4th period, Jay Stout got a bucket and put the Wildcats into the lead for good. The boys built a 9-point lead with 1:22 left but Terrace wasn't out yet. They scored twice in less than a minute to cut the OH lead to 5, but 4 late points by the 'Cats sealed the 69-62 win.

Washington finished on top of the leaderboard with 27 points while Stout was close behind with 21. Bratt also finished in double figures with 14. Denzel Massey hit 4 free throws and Kevawn Brooks finished with 3 points. As a team, our boys scored eight 3-pointers and were 17/24 from the free throw line.

Next for the boys is a 3-day tournament at Bellevue College, then return to league play on January 4th at Meadowdale. Their next home game is January 11th vs Glacier Peak.

Video highlights from the JV and Varsity game are HERE.

Pictures are posted HERE.

GBB 2010-12-17 vs Everett

The Varsity girls basketball team had their best offensive game of the year, scoring 55 points but they allowed 68 points for the visiting Everett Seagulls.

The game started out great for Oak Harbor as they led 10-6 halfway through the 1st period and 15-10 after DJ scored from outside with 2:44 left in the 1st. Everett chipped away at the lead, taking it back late in the period. Tatiana Cumming scored with 8 seconds left to give OH a 1-point lead but Everett hit with 3 seconds left to lead 18-17 at the end of the 1st period.

The 2nd period was almost all Everett at they went on a 23-9 run to tak a 41-26 lead into the locker room at halftime. The two teams played nearly evenly the rest of the game, but the Wildcats were not able to chip away much at the Seagull lead.

Even with the loss, there were several highlights from the game. First, the girls were 12 of 16 from the free throw line, and they made nine 3-point goals.

Yoshi finished the game leading all scorers with 22 points and Annie Leete was also in double figures with 12. Emilie Renninger, who missed much of the game as she was getting stitches in a cut in her lip, returned and finished with 8 points. Clarissa Abadesco scored 5, DJ 4 and Addy Royal and Tatiana Cumming 2 each.

In the JV game, the girls found themselves down through the entire game but were never out. Beginning the 4th period, Everett held a 32-23 lead but the Wildcats, behind some sharp outside shooting cut the lead to 40-35 with 1:37 left, but Everett held on to win 43-35. Lia Pantoleon scored 15 points and Morgan Young 11. Marisa Lewis had 6, Kelsey Rankin 2 and Kaileen Burleson 1. Fifteen of the Wildcats' 43 points came off of 5-point shots, 4 by Pantoleon.

The freshmean team, after a string of double-digit wins, struggled against Everett, losing 37-31. Hawkins scored 16 points, Estralla and Callaway 4 each, Gurich 3, and Hunt and Lym scored 2 each.

Next up for the girls is a trip next Wednesday to Mountlake Terrace, the the annual Santa Slam tournament on December 29th and 30th.

Video highlights are HERE.

77 photos of Freshman, JV and Varsity action are HERE.

Wrestling

On Thursday, December 16th the OH wrestling team traveled to Glacier Peak HS for a dual meet against the Grizzlies.

GP was short on JV wrestlers, so there were only 6 JV matches. Souza and Dedobbelaere were both winners by fall.

There were also 3 exhibition matches featuring OH wrestlers going up against teammates. First were Orritt and Ducken with Ducken getting a late pin. Rutter pinned Martinez and Quinday pinned Wotring.

Varsity action started at 112 lbs with Jahleel Vester beating Lucey 15-2, getting OH off to a good start. His win was followed by a pin by Corey Trimbur over McIntyre in 3:24. It was a significant win as Corey weighs only 107 lbs and wrestled in the 119lb weight class that night. Getting the 3rd win in a row for the Wildcats was Cody Fakkema with a 14-3 major decision over Dellino giving OH a 14-0 lead in the meet. GP took the lead back, 21-14 after 4 straight wins, 3 by pin. Then Josh Crebbin at 152 lbs pinned Pregler in 1:37 to bring OH to within 1 point, 20-21. In a great 160 lbs match, Brandon Stratton got an escape point to give him a 7-6 lead with about 10 seconds left in the 3rd period, but gave up takedown to Elledge with just 3 seconds to go, pushing the GP lead to 24-20. The lead went back to OH when Justin Everett beat Palmer by pin just 40 seconds into the 3rd period. Collin Higingbotham wrestled well at 189 lbs, leading 3-2 in the 1st and tied with Heard at the end of the 2nd, but he gave up a late reverse in the 3rd to fall 8-10 and putting GP back on top, 27-26.

Knowing that OH would get 6 team points from Kyle Mellow at 285 due to a forfeit, the match result now rested on the shoulders of sophomore Jeremy Alonzo. If he wins the team wins. Jeremy wasn't going to let the team down, went out and pinned Palmaffy in just 1:20 to seal a 38-27 win.

Video highlights are posted HERE.

A total of 115 photos of JV and varsity wrestlers are posted HERE.

On Saturday, the JV team went to Everett for a tournament, and the varsity team was at Squalicum High School in Bellingham for the Graham Morin tournament.

There, out of 13 wrestlers competing, 6 placed in the top six.

Cody Fakkema at 119 lbs took 5th place with 3 wins and 2 losses as did David Payne at 145 lbs and Josh Crebbin at 152 lbs.

Justin Everett was 3rd at 160 lbs with a 4-1 record along with Kyle Mellow

Brandon Stratton was the top OH finisher, getting 2nd place.

Cory Trimbur, who expects to be at 103 lbs by the end of the year won 2 and lost 2 in the 112lb class but didn't place. Steven Souza also finished 2-2.

Ryuta Meany won his first match 5-0 then lost his next two and did not place.

Higingbotham, Alonzo, Dedobbelaere and Taisague all lost their first two and were eliminated.

Overall the Wildcats finished 8th out of 16 teams at the tournament.

Middle School Boys Basketball 2010-12-15 NWMS vs Mt. Baker

On Wednesday afternoon the NWMS boys basketball team played at home against Mt. Baker Middle School of Mt. Vernon.

The 8th grade game was a blowout. North Whidbey scored 25 points in the opening period while holding the Grizzlies scoreless. At one point, Zack Jones scored 6 points in a 20-second span by stealing the inbound pass. When the dust settled and after the score was reset for the 4th period due to the lopsided score, it was NW 53, MTB 37. Jones played the first period and just a couple of minutes in the 2nd and scored 15 pints. Nehring scored 8 along with Adams. Eccleston and Vester hit for 6 points, Parmenter for 4, and Bobo, Dunch, Reed and Smith 2 each.

It was much closer in the 7th grade game. At the end of the 1st, NW held a 7-6 lead and led only 14-11 at halftime. Both teams scored 8 in the 3rd period, but NW outscored Mt. Baker 16-11 in the 4th to win 38-30. Kolste led the scoring with 16 and Smith hit for 13. McKinney scored 7 and Dixon 2 to round out the NW points.

8th grade photos are HERE.

7th grade photos are HERE.

8th grade video clips are HERE.

7th grade video clips are HERE.

Boys Swimming 2010-12-15 vs Cascade & Jackson

In their home pool again, the OH Swim team struggled early, but came through in the late events to top Jackson 96-84 and Cascade 104-78. The win was even more significant as the Wildcats were missing several top swimmers due to an upcoming regional AAU meet.

200 Medley Relay
1 - Cascade 2:00.51
2 - OH - Cardinal, Rosen, Vagt, Schell 2:00.87
5 - OH - Cuajunco, Kisnick, Kaltenback, Wolfe 2:15.10
JV - OH - Leech, Livermore, Kosbar, Lantz 2:43.11

200 Free
1 - Jackson 2:10.97
2 - Cascade 2:13.53
3 - OH - Schell 2:14.95
5 - OH - Levy 2:21.23
8 - OH - Kusnick 3:01.65
JV - Long 3:16.03

200 IM
1 - Jackson 2:22.71
2 - Cascade 2:34.21
3 - OH - Cuajunco 2:34.72
4 - OH - Powers 2:35.37
8 - OH - Dieter 3:08.59
JV - Snyder 3:18.95

50 free
1 - Cascade 26.46
2 - OH - Rosen 26.47
4 - OH - Byrne 29.33
8 - OH - Wolfe 31.03
JV - Ford 30.81
JV - Faught 31.79
JV - Lundstrom 32.48
JV - Evans 32.93
JV - Eckart 33.18
JV - Green 33.80
JV - Alvarado 34.32
JV - Jackson 35.28
JV - Mitchel 37.65
JV - Klein 38.92
JV - Hernkind 39.98
JV - Nielsen 41.65
JV - Jappert 47.02
JV - Radka 49.01

Diving
1 - Kaltenbach 105.8
4 - Reith 81.00
JV - Leech
JV - Barrailer 25.8
JV - Kosbar 34.30

100 Fly
1 - Cascade 1:03.39
2 - OH - Vagt 106.6
4 - OH - Kaltenbach 1:13.0

100 Free
1 - Cascade 58.89
2 - Jackson 1:01.48
3 - OH - Cardinal 1:03.06
4 - OH - Levy 1:05.86
8 - OH - Kusnick 1:11.52
9 - OH - Ford 1:12.97
JV - Snyder 1:19.28

400 Free
1 - Cascade 4:33.31
2 - Jackson 4:42.54
3 - OH - Schell 4:51.76
5 - OH - Powers 5:01.10
6 - OH - Cabigting 5:44.16

200 Free relay
1 - OH - Cardinal, Rosen, Levy, Powers 1:51.63
3 - OH - WOlfe, Byrne, Ford, Kusnick 2:01.99
5 - OH - Lundstrom, Evans, Faught, Barrailler 2:09.66
JV - Eckard, Nielsen, Mitchel, Long 2:25.52
JV - Kosbar, Reith, Leech, Livermore 2:28.83
JV - Alvarado, Hernkind, Jackson, Jappert 2:38.31

100 Back
1 - Jackson
2 - Cascade
3 - OH - Cuanjunco 1:10.19
4 - OH - Cardinal 1:14.16
6 - OH - Cabigting 1:18.84

100 Breast
1 - OH - Rosen 1:14.41
3 - OH - Vagt 1:17.06
6 - OH - Barrailler 1:27.01
JV - Dieter 1:40.46
JV - Livermore 1:44.94
JV - Klein 1:46.60
JV - Rivers 1:50.34
JV - Jappert 2:24.39

400 Free Relay
1 - Cascade 3:59.01
2 - Jackson 4:00.90
3 - OH - Schell, Powers, Vagt, Cuajunco 4:15.87
5 - OH - Byrne, Wolfe, Ford, Levey 4:43.84
6 - OH - Cabigting, Faught, Lundstrom, Kosbar 5:00.50
JV - Rivers, Green, Long, Reith 5:44.28

The swimmers are off for the rest of the year, returning to action on Jan 4th at Lake Stevens.

47 photos of OH swimmers are posted HERE.

Boys Basketball 2010-12-14 vs Shorewood

On Tuesday the boys basketball team played their first home game of the regular season, facing off against a very tall Shorewood Thunderbird team.

The first quarter of the varsity game was exciting, as Mike Washington, Jr., took the opening tip and launched a 3-pointer from the corner to give OH an early lead, and Washington connected again halfway through the period then Denzel Massey with just over 2 minutes left to make it 11-7 in favor of Oak Harbor. The T-birds then went on a 9-0 run to end the period leading 16-11. Down most of the 2nd period, the Wildcats stayed in the game and went on their own 5-0 run late to tie the game at 25 with 1:09 left in the half. At halftime, though, Shorewood led 29-25.

The 3rd period was a tough one for the Wildcats as they scored only 7 points and foundthemselves in a 43-32 hole. They got their rhythm back in the 4th period but were unable to cut into the Thunderbird lead. Final - Shorewood 65, Oak Harbor 53. Mike Washington scored 22 points and Jay Stout had 12. Denzel Massey and Stevie Bratt both scored 7. Josiah Miller got 2 along with Kevawn Brooks and Trace Paul had 1 point.

In JV action, the first quarter started off slow, with the score just 4-4 halfway through the period. Shorewood then went on a 10-0 run to take control and never looked back and won 61-43. Forrest Brown, playing on his home court for the first time was a force in the paint and led the team in scoring with 10 points. Kiefer Hermann scored 8, Dayne Herron and Anfernee Angkaw 6 each, Paul Johannsen 5, Michael LaBelle 4 and Patrick Bell and Chris Hailer 2 each.

Again, the Freshman team dominated their game. They opened a 24-12 first-period lead and that's as close as it would get as they cruised to a 70-49 win. The team has scored 60 points or more in at least 4 games this season and 11 different players scored points this game. Drew Washington was the top scorer with 24 points and Zach Gibbs was also in double figures with 10. Isaiah Rennes had 9, Alex Krantz 6, Casiano Atienza 5, Rider and Gray 4 each, Groenig 3, and Knaack and Madden 2 each.

The boys teams play at Everett this Friday and are at home again next Tuesday, December 21st vs Mountlake Terrace.

Video highlights from the JV and Varsity games are posted HERE

A total of 96 photos of Freshman, JV and Varsity action are posted HERE.

Youth Wrestling 2010-12-12 at Sedro-Woolley

The day after the big Spud Walley tournament for high school wrestlers, several hundred youth wrestlers took over the mats for their own tournament.

The numbers were down a bit for the Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling Club, with only 10 wrestlers at the tournament.

Results aren't available, but click HERE for a short video highlight clip, and click HERE for 35 photos of wrestlers in action.

Wrestling 2010-12-11 at Spud Walley Tournament

The Oak Harbor wrestlers traveled to their first weekend tournaments last Saturday, with Coach Crebbin taking his top wrestlers to the prestigious Spud Walley Tournament at Sedro Woolley High School, and the JV wrestlers, 35 strong, headed to Snohomish for a JV tourney.

In past years, Oak Harbor has filled most every weight bracket at Spud Walley, and several weight classes had two Wildcats in the bracket, but with such a young team, only 8 Wildcats went to Sedro.

Corey Trimbur, currently at 106 lbs and on his way to 103 lbs won his first match in the 112 lb bracket then lost to the eventual 3rd place finisher in the 2nd round then lost his 3rd match to finish off the podium.

At 119 lbs, Cody Fakkema won 8-1 in his first match then lost to the 2nd place finisher. In the consolation bracket, Fakkema won 8-1, then got a pin before losing the 5th/6th place match, but still finished on the podium.

Brandon Stratton was at 152 lbs and won his first two matches 13-2 and a 1st-round pin, then fell to the bracket champ in the semis. He then beat the other semifinal loser by pin to place 3rd in his bracket.

Collin Higingbotham was in the 171 lb weight class lost his first match then won 2 consolation bracket matches but finished just off the awards podium.

Ryuta Meany (135), Devin Jensen (145), Justin Everett (160) and Jeremy Alonzo (189) all lost their first two matches.

The Snohomish tournament results aren't readily available, but hopefully something will be posted soon.

Next for the wrestlers is a trip to Glacier Peak next Thursday and their first home meet is Tuesday, January 4th in a tri meet against Shorewood and Shorecrest.

A short video highlight clip is posted HERE.

42 photos of the 8 wrestlers at Spud Walley are posted HERE.

Complete tournament results are posted here at the Washington Wrestling Report.

GBB 2010-12-10 vs Lynnwood

Last Friday the Wildcat girls opened their league season with a matchup against the #8 ranked Lynnwood Royal.

For the 1st half of the opening period, the Wildcats played right with the Royals, down by only 4 points, 12-8. However, the Wildcats would not score a field goal again until the 5:04 point in the 2nd period, when Dominique Jackson (DJ) scored to make it 31-11 in favor of Lynnwood and by halftime the Royals had opened a 41-16 lead. In the 2nd half the Wildcats upped their offensive output, scoring 10 in the 3rd and 11 in the 4th, but Lynnwood was just too much for the young Wildcat team and won 67-37. Even with the lopsided score, coach Clayville though the girls played their best game of the year and were missing Clarissa Abadesco and Addy Royal, leaving Janelle Yoshimoto (Yoshi) as the only senior on the court for the Wildcats. Sophomore Emilie Renninger was tops in scoring for the Wildcats with 9 points, followed by Yoshi with 8. Annie Leete put in 6 points, Tatiana Cumming and DJ 4 each and Rayan Russell and Jalani Bobo 3 each.

After a lackluster performance in the 1st half which ended in an 18-18 tie, the JV squad kicked both their offense and defense into high gear in the 2nd half. They held the Royal JV team to just 4 points, none in the 4th period and poured in 28 points, led by Lia Pantoleon who scored all of her 19 points in the 2nd half. In the end it was Oak Harbor 42, Lynnwood 22. Others scoring were Morgan Young with 9 points, Erika Flores with 5, Russell and Kaileen Burlseon 4 each, Natalie Fiallos and exchange student Shoko Jamaguchi 2 each and Danielle Teasley 1.

The freshman team also played strong, holding Lynnwood to just 2 points in the 1st period and only 6 points in the 1st half while scoring 21 points of their own. The final in that game was Oak Harbor 44, Lynnwood 20. Sam Hawkins had a great game with 18 points. Jamie Estrella scored 8, Cassidy Gurich 5, Yasmine Keiser and Angelica Brown 4 each, KC Winfield 3 and Melanie Callaway 2.

The girls travel to 0-3 Shorewood next Wednesday to find their first win of the season, then play 3-1 Everett at home next Friday.

Video highlights from the JV and varsity games are HERE.

68 photos covering the Freshman, JV and Varsity games are HERE.

GBB 2010-12-08 vs Lynden

The OH girls basketball team found some offense Wednesday night at OHHS vs Lynden, but unfortunately it wasn't until the 2nd half that it got going.

The game started off well, with Annie Leete grabbing the opening tip and putting it in the hoop for 2 points, but that was the last field goal the team would score until DJ hit for 2 points with 2:32 left in the half. Leete added two more along with a Janelle Yoshimoto free throw to end the 1st half with Lynden leading 29-9.

In the 2nd half, Oak Harbor struck first, with DJ and Emilie Renninger scoring just seconds apart. The girls exceeded their first half output in the 3rd quarter, but allowed Lynden to score 18.

Oak Harbor played even with Lynden in the final period, ending the game with two nice scores by Renninger and Yoshi, but it was all Lynden as they cruised to a 63-39 victory. Leete and Renninger both scored 9 to top OH scoring, Adrianna Royal had 8, Yoshi 5, DJ 4, Ciera Wiser and Tatiana Cumming 2 each.

It was all Wildcats early in the JV game as halfway through the 1st quarter Lia Pantoleon hit the first of her three 3-pointers to give OH an 11-2 lead, but the scoring went dry after than and Lynden crept back in, ending the first quarter with OH leading 11-8. Oak Harbor was only able to score a single free throw in the 2nd quarter while allowing the Lions to hit for 10 and at halftime it was 18-12 in favor of Lynden. The 'Cats got their next score when Lia hit a 3-pointer with 5:50 left in the 3rd, but that was it until Erika Flores scored 2 with just over a minute left. In the final period, Pantoleon and Morgan Young each hit a 3-pointer to finish the Wildcat scoring, ending the game with a 23-42 loss.

Over in the dome, it was a boring 1st quarter, with KC Winfield scoring the only 4 points the Wildcats got, but the defense held Lynden to only 2 points. Lynden warmed up a bit in the 2nd period, ending the half with an 11-8 lead.

After halftime, the Wildcats closed the gap, but key player Sam Hawkins got in foul trouble and played sparingly the rest of the game. In the end it was 38 for Lynden and 22 for Oak Harbor. The scorebook showed Hawkins with 8 points, Cassidy Gurich with 5 and Melanie Callaway and Winfield with 4 each. Somewhere a free throw got missed.

On Monday, the 3 teams were up in Bellingam to take on the Squalicum Storm. The freshman team was on fire, building an 18-4 lead in the 1st quarter and 31-11 at the half. Things slowed down a little on offense in the 2nd half but the defense was still there as the girls won 54-17. Gurich and Winfield led the scoring with 15 and 12 points respectively. Sam Hawkins was also in double figures with 10 points. Callaway scored 8, Jamie Estrella 5 and Angelica Brown 4 to round out the scoring.

The JV team got their first win of the year, but it was a close one. The girls were down 6-2 and the end of the 1st but tied the game 12-12 at halftime. The Storm again built a small lead, 19-16 after 3 periods, but Oak Harbor scored 12 points in the final period to win 28-26. Pantoleon led the team with 14 points, Rayan Russell hit for 4, Kaileen Burleson and Danielle Teasley 3 each and Kelsey Rankin and Erika Flores 2 each.

In the varsity game, Yoshi scored 16 pints and Annie Leete added 9, but it wasn't enough as Squalicum defeated the Wildcats 51-40. Other Wildcats getting points were Emilie Renninger with 6, Tatiana Cumming with 5, Ciera Wiser 3 and Jalani Bobo 1.


Photos from the JV and Varsity games against Lynden are posted HERE.

HERE is a video highlight clip from the Lynden game.

Next up is the league opener Friday against Lynnwood HS at home. JV starts at 5:40, Varsity at 7:30pm.

Middle School Volleyball 2010-12-7 NW vs Anacortes

The middle school volleyball season continued Tuesday afternoon with the North Whidbey Middle School team hosting Anacortes.

The volleyball season ends next week Friday, and there are still a couple of home matches. Thursday both middle school are at home, North Whidbey going against LaVenture and Oak Harbor MS taking on Cascade. Oak Harbor is home again on the 16th vs LaVenture and the season ends with a final OHMS vs NWMS match at NWMS followed by a combined awards presentation ceremony. All middle school sporting events are free. JV is scheduled to start at 3:45 and varsity at 5pm.

43 photos of the NWMS 7th grade team vs Anacortes are HERE.

Click HERE for 8th grade photos.

A short video highlight clip showing both 7th and 8th grade is HERE.

AAU Girls basketball

Saturday afternoon, the 7^th and 8^th grade girls AAU basketball teams were both in action in their final game of the S.W.I.S.H league in Skagit County. The 7^th grade girls were at LaVenture Middle School against Lynden and the 8^th grade team was at Sedro-Woolley High School against Coupeville.

The 7^th grade team is made up of mostly 6^th grade girls and one 5^th grader, but since there are 2 7^th grade girls on the team, they play the 7^th grade schedule.

At the end of the 1^st quarter, the OH girls scored only 2 points, but came back in the 2^nd to score 6, then added 6 more in the 3^rd. However, they just didn’t have enough to overcome Lynden as the Cats lost 17-42. Leading the team in scoring was Rosie, with 8 points, followed by Deja with 5. Sade and R.G. netted 2 points each. The 7^th grade team finished the season 2-7 overall.

At Sedro later that afternoon, OH started out slow against their neighbors to the south with the 1^st period ending in a 4-4 tie. In the 2^nd period our girls took control of the game, outscoring Coupeville 10-2 to take a 14-6 lead at halftime. They increased their lead to 20-8 at the end of the third, but Coupeville wasn’t out, scoring 8 points in the final period and holding Oak Harbor to just 3. It wasn’t enough for Coupeville as OH won the game 23-16. “Speedy”, Monica and Brooke all scored 6 points each for the team, “Big Mac” and “Flash” added 2 each and Sierra hit a free throw to complete the scoring. The team ended the season with a 4-3 overall record.

While both teams ended the regular season, they still have the League Tournament to play. The 8th grade team plays at 2:35pm this coming Saturday, Dec 11th at LaConner High School. The 7th grade team plays at 9am at LaConner Middle School.

The full 8th grade bracket is HERE

The 7th grade bracket is HERE.

47 photos from the 7th grade game are posted HERE, including team photos

56 8th grade photos are here, including team photos. A number of photos of Coupeville players made their way into this album as well.

A one minute 7th grade video highlight clip is posted HERE

Click HERE for the 8th grade clip.

Youth Wrestling 2010-12-05 at Ferndale

While results aren't yet posted at the Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling club website, some video highlights, including what has to be the fastest and easiest pin ever recorded on tape, are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2010-12-03 at Monroe

On Friday, December 3^rd, the Oak Harbor Wildcat wrestling team traveled to Monroe High School for a double dual meet with the Bearcats and the Arlington Eagles.

In JV action vs Arlington, the team did fairly well, scoring pins in 4 of the 11 matches, but unfortunately those were the only OH wins. The pins were by Vester, Smith, Stanford and Quinday. The results were similar versus Monroe, with Tarrant, Payne, Crebbin and Case-Smith all getting wins. Most importantly, the JV coaches got to see their wrestlers going full-speed and can make adjustments to ensure future success.

The varsity went first against host Monroe. There was a double forfeit at 103 lbs, then Corey Trimber was all over Kozemzak at 112 lbs, winning 12-0. Cody Fakkema, at 119 lbs got the first pin of the season, taking only 1:32 to defeat Douglas. In other wins, Ryuta Meany won an 18-7 decision over Brown, Stratton won 15-2 over Dimaggio and Colin Higinbotham won a very close 12-11 decision over Lippert. Higgy ended the 1^st round down 4-2 and down 8-10 at the end of the 2^nd. In the final round, he scored a 2-point reversal and added a 2-point near fall to get the win. While OH won 5 of 11 matches, the team gave up 12 points in forfeits and most of the OH losses were by pin, adding to Monroe’s point total. The final was OH 21, Monroe 47.

Oak Harbor did better against Arlington, with a 9-point differential, 33-42. Again, Trimbur and Fakkema won their matches, both by pin in the 1^st round. Ben Pralle came back from a tough loss vs Monroe to beat King 12-7. Brandon Stratton got his first pin over Shirey in the 1^st round, and Higgy and Jeremy Alonzo both won their matches with pins. Of the 11 matches wrestled against Arlington, OH won 6, all but one by pin, but the two forfeits proved the difference in the match.

In the first rankings of the year released by the Washington Wrestling Report, the Wildcats have one wrestler on the list so far, Brandon Stratton is currently ranked 4^th in 3A and 9^th across all classes in the state.

Video highlights from a few matches are posted HERE.

87 photos from both JV and Varsity are posted HERE.

GBB 2010-12-02 @ Arlington

While the boys were winning 2 of 3 games at OHHS Thursday night, the girls were at Arlington had some problems getting the offenses going.

The freshman team had only 4 players score during their game. Sam Hawkins hit for 14 points to lead the team and Melanie Callaway was just behind with 12. Jamie Estrella added 6 and Cassidy Gurich scored 4 points. Even at that it was a close game. The Wildcats were down 10-6 at the end of the first period by came back and scored 16 points in the 2nd to take a 22-14 lead. Arlington outscored OH 12-6 in the 3rd, but Oak Harbor still held a 28-26 lead going into the 4th period, but the Wildcats were able to score only 8 points while free throws for Arlington proved the difference as the Eagles won 39-34.

In JV action, the only scoring in the 1st quarter was a single free throw made by Rayan Russell. Marissa Lewis and Erika Flores each scored in the 2nd, but by then Arlington built a 24-6 lead. The Wildcat defense worked in the 3rd, holding the Eagles to 4 points, but the offense only hit for 7 points and Arlington finished out the game 35-20.

Lia Pantoleon and Morgan Young each scored 5 points, Lewis 3, Flores, Kaileen Burleson, and Kelsey Rankin 2 each and Russel 1.

At the of the first period, the varsity team was down 19-9 and at halftime it was 28-20, a lead that could be overcome. It wasn't to be as the OH offense drew a blank in the 3rd period and scored only 2 points in the 4th and Arlington won 51-22.

Ciera Wiser scored 6, Janelle Yoshimoto 5, Jalani Bobo and Annie Leete 3 each, Kelsey Rankin and DJ 2 each and Emilie Renninger 1 point.

Next for the girls is a trip to Squalicum on Monday, then two homes games - Lynden on Wednesday and they open their league schedule on Friday vs Lynnwood.

Boys Basketball 2010-12-02

The boys basketball team opened their home season with a game against former league opponent Marysville-Pilchuck last Thursday.

Oak Harbor started off strong, with Jay Stout and Michael Washington, Jr., both scoring in the first minute to make it 5-0 Wildcats. Unfortunately, they would be the last Wildcat field goals until 2:10 left in the first when Washington scored again. In between Denzel Massey sank some free throws, but the 'Cats were down 20-10 at the end of the first.

Things were a little better in the 2nd, with the Wildcats scoring 11 points while holding MP to just 6. 7 of the 11 points came in the final 1:25 of the half. Matt Burgoyne scored to make it 26-16, then back-to-back steals and scored by Josiah Miller made 26-20 and a Burgoyne FT made the halftime score 26-21 in favor of the Tomahawks.

The OH defense really came alive in the 3rd quarter, holding MP to just a single score near the end of the period, while the offense poured in 12 points and the team took a 35-29 lead into the final period.

Both teams played fairly evenly in the 4th period, but MP was able to get back in the game and cut the OH lead to just 1 point, 38-37, but 3 straight scored put Oak Harbor ahead for good as they held on to win 47-42.

Washington led Wildcat scoring with 15 points. Jay Stout added 6, Josiah Miller and Kevawn Brooks 4 each, Matt Burgoyne 3, and the Paul twins, Trace and Connor, scored 2 points each.

In the JV game, Oak Harbor jumped to an 8-0 lead that they held until 3:57 in the 1st when MP got their first points. They scored 9 more in the last 3 minutes of the period to tie the game at 11 at the first buzzer.

In the 2nd period, both teams went cold. OH scored first, but scored only 5 more points all period, but the defense held MP to just 5 points total, and the Wildcats went into the locker room with an 18-16 lead.

MP woke up after the halftime break and scored 13 points in the 3rd period to take the lead back 29-26 and put the game away by holding the 'Cats to just 7 points in the final period. In the end it was MP 41, OH 33.

Patrick Bell led the JV squad with 9 points. Anfernee Angkaw, Michael LaBelle and Chris Hailer scored 6 points each, Dayne Herron hit 4 and Paul Johannsen 2.

In the Freshman game, the Wildcats found themselves down by 2 points at the first buzzer, 9-7, but corrected it quickly by taking a 27-23 lead into halftime. Coach Schulle's locker room speech worked wonders, as OH went on a 24-9 run in the 3rd period and never looked back on their way to a 66-40 victory.

Drew Washington scored 24 points to lead the team, Gabriel Groenig scored 8, Casiano Atienza 7, Matt Zafra 5, Rys Mattila 4 and Zach Gibbs 3.

The first game of the season was at Cascade HS in Everett. There, the Freshmen won their game 61-49, but the JV fell 66-34 and the varsity 77-64.

Next up for the boys is a trip to Anacortes on Wednesday, Dec 8th for the Freshman team and all 3 teams travel to Lynnwood on Friday the 10th to open league play. The next home game for the boys is Tuesday the 14th against Shorewood.

63 photos from the Freshman, JV and Varsity games can be found by clicking HERE.

A JV and Varsity video highlight clip is posted HERE.

Boys Swimming 2010-12-01

In the first meet of the season, the OH boys swim team proved themselves a force in WESCO, easily dispatching Glacier Peak and Snohomish in a meet at Oak Harbor's Vanderzicht Memorial Pool on December 1st.

The boys won 8 of 12 events, including all 3 relays and Coupeville's Cole Weinstein won the 400 freestyle.

Overall the Wildcats beat league opponent Glacier Peak 147-29 and beat Snohomish 124-61.

70 photos from the 200 Medley Relay through the diving event are now posted HERE.

200 Medley Relay
1st OH "A" (Jacob Jepsen, Josh Jepsen, Brandon Vagt, Ben Cardinal) 1:57.04
3rd OH "B" (Brett Vagt, Jarik Bainco, Caley Powers, Jaxon Wolfe) 2:10.45
4th OH "C" (Ryan Cuajunco, Clayton Livermore, John Kaltenbach, Kevin Levy)2:19.61
JV OH (Cole Weinstein, David Kusnick, Jeron Kosbar, Konrad Borden 2:20.60

200 Free
1. Josh Jepson 2:08.39
3. Devin Schell 2:14.16
4. Caley Powers 2:22.28
JV Tyler Long 3:09.75

200 Individual Medley
1. Jacob Jepsen 2:18.43
2. Price Hu 2:25.30
3. Cole Weinstein 2:26.78
4. Ryan Cuajunco 2:36.77
JV Keaton Dieter 3:09.72
JV Clayton Livermore 3:41.48

50 Freestyle
1. Ben Cardinal 27.79
2. Jaxon Wolfe 30.03
6. Tucker Lundstrom 33.08
JV David Kusnick 31.49
JV Judd Ford 31.57
JV Bailey Rivers 34.78
JV Eli Mitchel 39.93
JV Dylan Klein 40.47
JV Cody Hernkind 40.85
JV Stacy Jappert 41.55

Diving
2. John Kaltenbach
3. Matt Reith
JV Blake Leech

100 Butterfly
2. Price Hu 1:03.73
3. Brandon Vagt 1:06.39
5. Caley Powers 1:13.34

100 Freestyle
1. Kevin Levy 1:03.40
2. John Kaltenbach 1:06.32
4. Judd Ford 1:14.58
5. Konrad Borden (Coupeville) 1:17.11
JV Tucker Lundstrom 1:17.93
JV Bailey Rivers 1:19.61
JV Tyler Long 1:25.51

400 Freestyle
1. Cole Weinstein 4:34.93
3. Jarik Bainco 4:54.10
4. Devin Schell 5:02.63
5. Jeron Kosbar 5:23.97

200 Freestyle Relay
1. OHHS "A" (Cardinal, Vagt, Powers, Hu) 1:54.36
2. OHHS "C" (Vagt, Levy, Cuajunco, Bainco) 2:00.80
3. OHHS "B" (Wolfe, Ford, Lundstrom, Schell) 2:05.37
5. OHHS "F" (Kosbar, Livermore, Dieter, Rivers) 2:29.94
7. OHHS "D" (Jappert, Leech, Mitchel, Klein) 2:59.52

100 Backstroke
2. Jacob Jepsen 1:02.82
3. Brett Vagt 1:13.86
4. Ben Cardinal 1:14.92

100 Breaststroke
1. Josh Jepsen 1:12.02
4. Brandon Vagt 1:18.95
7. Clayton Livermore 1:45.30
JV David Kusnick 1:32.20
JV Keaton Dieter 1:43.96

400 Free Relay
1. OHHS "A" (Jepsen, Hu, Bainco, Jepsen) 4:00.37
4. OHHS "B" (Schell, Kaltenbach, Vagt, unreported) 4:56.69
5. OHHS "C" (Kusnick, Wolfe, Ford, Lundstrom) 5:11.28
JV OHHS "D" (Levy, Cuajunco, Borden, Weinstein) 4:40.02
JV OHHS "E" (Rivers, Dieter, Kosbar, Long) 5:30.73

Middle School Volleyball 2010-11-30

After a long break due to the snow closures, the North Whidbey Middle School volleyball teams were back in action on November 30th, facing off against Cascade Middle School in Sedro Woolley.

Both the 7th and 8th grade teams played well, for the most part overpowering the visitors.

50 7th grade 'A' team photos are posted HERE

70 8th grade photos are posted HERE. These include the 'A' team in action and group photos of both the 'A' and 'B' teams.

GBB 2010-11-30 vs Stanwood

The girls kicked off the 2010-2011 basketball season with a home game against the 4A Stanwood Spartans. Stanwood is one of the better WESCO 4A teams and they showed off their skill and experience last night against the Wildcats.

At 5:40pm the JV team got things started, but it was a slow start for Oak Harbor. The Wildcats didn't get any points on the board until halfway through the 1st quarter when Lia Pantoleon hit a 3-pointer, making the score 9-3 in favor of Stanwood. Unfortunately, that's as close as it would get as the Spartans cruised on to win 75-35. Morgan Young led the JV squad in scoring with 7 points while Pantoleon, Kaileen Burleson and Kelsey Rankin each scored 6. Marissa Lewis scored 5, Erika Flores 3 and Rayan Russell 2. Stanwood had 4 of their players in double figures.

The varsity got off to even a slower start, spotting Stanwood a 16-0 1st quarter lead. The two teams played even in the 2nd quarter, with Stanwood leading 27-11 at the half. In the 2nd half the Spartans showed their strength and built their lead to a final 65-26. Annie Leete scored 9 points to lead the team, Tatiana Cumming added 6 of her own and Janelle Yoshimoto scored 5. Ciera Wiser, Dominique Jackson (DJ) and Emilie Renninger each scored 2 points.

76 photos of JV and varsity action are posted HERE.

A few video highlights can be found HERE.


The girls travel to Arlington Thursday evening for their next game, then at Squalicum on Saturday. The next home game is Wednesday, December 8th vs Lynden.

Middle School Volleyball

Sorry about the delay, but there were some loose ends from the high school volleyball season to clean up.

The middle school volleyball season kicked off back on November 16th at NWMS as the OHMS Panthers came for a visit.

As has been the pattern over the past few years, each grade was spit into an "A" squad and a "B" squad. The day's action started with the 7th grade and 8th grade "B" squads playing on side-to-side courts, followed by the "A" squads.

Linked below are photos to all but the 8th grade "A" squad, as the match was not in synch with the 7th grade match. 8th grade photos from both teams will be taken at a later date. In the 7th grade photos are some group and buddy photos from the NWMS "A" squad.

Both teams were to have played away matches on Nov 23rd, but were snowed out and as of now, make up dates have not been announced.

7th grade photos are posted HERE.

8th grade photos are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2010-2011 Schedule

This is the schedule for the 2010-2011 wrestling season as of today. Changes can and do occur with no notice.

Home meets are in Yellow.

12/3 Double dual vs Monroe & Arlington at Monroe at 5:30pm
12/9 Tri-meet vs Marysville and Lakewood at Marysville at 5:45pm
12/11 Varsity at Spud Walley tournament at Sedro Woolley HS at 10am
12/11 JV at Panther Classic at Snohomish HS at 10am
12/16 at Glacier Peak at 5:45pm
12/18 Varsity at Graham Morin Invite at Squalicum HS at 10am
12/18 JV at Everett Gold Metal Tournament at Everett HS at 9am
12/22 at Anacortes at 10am
1/4 Tri-meet vs Shorewood & Shorecrest at 5:40pm
1/8 JV and Varsity at Everett Classic at Everett HS at 9:30am
1/13 vs Everett at 5:45pm
1/14 at Highline, time TBD
1/15 Varsity at Tournament of Excellence at Mercer Island HS at 8am
1/15 Varsity at Arlington JV tournament at Arlington HS at 9am
1/19 Mountlake Terrace at 5:45pm
1/21 at Meadowdale at 5:45pm
1/22 Varsity at Lynden tournament at Lynden HS at 9am
1/22 JV at Cavelero Colts Classic at Cavelero Mid-High (Lake Stevens) at 9am
1/27 Lynnwood at 5:45pm

Boys Basketball 2010-2011 Schedule

This is the current boys basketball schedule for 2010-2011. Remember that schedules and and do change with no notice.

Unless otherwise noted, all games have a start time of 5:40pm for JV and Freshman teams and 7:30 pm for Varsity. Home games are in Yellow.

11/30 at Cascade
12/2 Marysville
12/3 at Lake Stevens
12/7 at Anacortes at 6pm - Freshmen only
12/10 at Lynnwood, freshmen at 3:45pm
12/14 Shorewood
12/17 at Everett
12/22 Mountlake Terrace
12/27 Anacortes at 6pm - JV and Freshmen only
12/28 at Bellevue College tournament
12/29 at Bellevue College tournament
12/30 at Bellevue College tournament
1/4 at Meadowdale
1/7 at Shorecrest
1/11 Glacier Peak
1/14 Lynnwood
1/18 at Shorewood
1/20 Everett
1/25 at Mountlake Terrace
1/28 Meadowdale
2/1 Shorecrest
2/3 at Glacier Peak

Girls Basketball 2010-2011 Schedule

Remember that all schedules are subject to change with no notice. Home games

Unless otherwise noted, all games have a start time of 5:40pm for JV/Freshmen and 7:30pm for varsity.

11/30 Stanwood
12/2 at Arlington at 5:45pm
12/4 at Squalicum (JV/Varsity only)
12/8 Lynden
12/10 Lynnwood
12/15 at Shorewood (3:45 freshman start time)
12/17 Everett
12/22 at Mountlake Terrace
12/29 Santa Slam at OHHS, teams and times TBD
12/30 Santa Slam at OHHS, teams and times TBD
1/5 Meadowdale
1/7 Shorecrest
1/12 at Glacier Peak
1/14 at Lynnwood
1/18 Shorewood
1/20 at Everett
1/26 Mountlake Terrace
1/28 at Meadowdale
1/31 at Shorecrest
2/2 Glacier Peak

Boys Swim schedule 2010-2011

Here is the 2010-2011 boys swim schedule. Remember that all schedules are subject to change with little or no notice. Home meets

12/1 vs Glacier Peak & Snohomish at 6pm
12/4 vs Mercer Island at 10:15am
12/6 vs Stanwood at 6pm
12/9 at Mt. Vernon, time TBD
12/15 vs Jackson/Cascade at 6pm
1/4 at Lake Stevens at 3:15pm
1/8 at Anacortes - District dive meet at 2:30pm
1/11 at Marysville at 2:45pm
1/15 vs Kentridge at King County Aquatic Center, time TBD
1/17 vs Shorecrest at 6pm
1/22 at Anacortes - District dive meet at 2:30pm

More Youth Wrestling 2010-11-13

The Whidbey Wildcat Wrestling club was in action again last Saturday with a tournament at Arlington High School.

Oak Harbor took 21 wrestlers to the tournament and came away with 6 first place finishes. Five others finished in 2nd place, and at the Novice 85 weight class, the Wildcats finished 1-2 in the bracket.

As a team, they amassed enough points to finish in 4th place out of 23 teams.

Good job guys and gals!

Photos from the days' action can be found by clicking HERE.

Wildcat Volleyball at State

The OH Volleyball team started their state tournament run Friday against #2 seed West Valley of Yakima, and didn't do so well, falling 3-0 by game scores of 22-25, 19-25 and 16-25.

Starting the day Saturday morning at 9:30, they faced Holy Names of Seattle who lost in straight sets Friday to Kennedy HS, and the 'Cats kept their hopes alive with a 3-1 win.

They then played Bishop Blanchet of Seattle for a spot on the podium. Win the match against Blanchet and the Wildcats could finish the tournament in 5th place.

Blanchet won the first set and OH took the second, but Blanchet won the next two to eliminate Oak Harbor.

It was a great ride the the girls must be holding their heads high as the first Oak Harbor representatives to the volleyball state tournament in nearly 20 years.

Great job girls!

Youth Wrestling 2010-11-6-2010

Youth wrestling kicked off the 2010-2011 season with the annual Whidbey Wildcat Salute to the Veteran's tournament at OHHS on November 6th with 18 teams in attendance.

The Wildcats started the season off with a bang, earning 16 teams points to capture the tournament title. Sedro Woolley was in 2nd place with 10 team points.

Of the 24 events in which Wildcats were wrestling, they came away champions in 8 of them. Wildcats also placed 6 wrestlers in 2nd place, 2 in 3rd place and 6 in 4th place.

69 photos from Saturday's action are posted HERE.

A short video highlight clip is posted HERE

The next day, Sunday, the Kickoff Novice tournament was also at OHHS. This tournament was for 1st and 2nd year wrestlers only. The Wildcats had 18 wrestlers entered in this tournament and came away with 6 champions. Five others won 2nd place and six 3rd place.

Next weekend the team travels to Arlington.

Varsity football @ Monroe 2010-11-04

Sorry for the delay but here it is.

On Thursday, November 4th the Varsity football team traveled to Monroe for a non-league, non-playoff "just because" game. The week before the Wildcats were bounced out of the playoff picture by Meadowdale and Monroe went from playing for 1st place in WESCO North to the outside of the playoff picture. Both teams were still smarting from the losses.

However, Oak Harbor recovered well and proceeded to dismantle the Bearcat defense, scoring 55 points while holding Monroe to just 6.

The Wildcat scoring started with Sam Wolfe running the ball 34 yards into Bearcat territory on the opening play of the game and 8 plays later Jon Lanningham drove in from 1 yard out. 8:44 1st, OH 7, Monroe 0.

The OH defense forced a Monroe punt after they gained just 18 yards in 8 plays, 10 of them on OH penalties.

Starting at their own 29, Oak Harbor again put together a nice 10-play drive ending with Zack Ayer finding the end zone from 3 yards out. 0:35 1st, OH 14, Monroe 0.

The first quarter ended with Monroe losing 16 yards after Aaron Boesch sacked the Monroe QB. 3 plays later it was another Bearcat punt which Josiah Miller returned 47 yards for another Wildcat touchdown. 10:54 2nd OH 21-0.

Monroe had a better possession, keeping the ball for 9 plays and gaining 38 yards before failing to convert a 4th down attempt from the OH 39.

Four plays later it was OH in the end zone again. The drive started with a 7-yard run, continued with a 31-yard pass completion to Connor Meyer and a 12-yard Lanningham run, then Miller ran it in from the 10 yard line. 6:07 28-0.

Monroe did not punt on their next possession because a Bearcat pass was intercepted by Denzel Massey at the the 40 and returned to the Monroe 16. Four plays later Lanningham made it 34-0 after the PAT kick failed.

After than OH score, Monroe put together their only scoring drive. They started at their own 35 and used 9 plays to score with 0:15 left in the half. The kick failed and the half ended with the score OH 34, Monroe 6.

Monroe received the 2nd half kickoff and drove 8 yards in 4 plays before turning the ball over to OH at the Monroe 45. This time it was Isaiah Trower who scored from 14 yards out. 40-6 with 9:59 to go in the 3rd.

Monroe went 5-out on their next series and this time the Wildcats needed only 3 plays to get Trower a score, this one from 3 yards out after Miller set it up with a 38-yard run. 7:24 3rd 46-6.

The next OH drive lasted only 3 plays at the Jordan Oliver was hit just as he threw the ball and it fell into the hands of a Bearcat defender, but on the next play Brent Ryan and Lanningham teamed up for a 7-yard sack. The two were joined by Boesch 2 plays later to drive the Bearcats back another 12 yards, forcing a punt from the Monroe 6 yard line. It looked like the kick would be great for the Wildcats as it bounced at the 28 yard line, but the ball took some nice rolls and hops, finally stopping on the OH 45.

No matter, as Ayer brought the ball back into Bearcat territory on his first carry. The 3rd quarter ended with Ayer driving the pile forward on a 4th-and-1 run. On the next play, the first of the 4th quarter, Peter Franssen took the handoff and ran untouched for 23 yards, then kicked the PAT to make it 53-6 for Oak Harbor with 11:53 left in the game.

With that score, the mercy rule was invoked and the rest of the game was played with a running clock.

Monroe started their next possession at their own 23 and 3 plays later lined up to punt from their on 21. The punt didn't get off as Boesch got through the line and got a hand on the ball, sending it in and out of the end zone for a safety. 9:07 left, OH 55, Monroe 6.

Oak Harbor took the free kick at the Monroe 30 and went back and forth a couple of times - running forward 5 yards then backing up 5 yards. After 9 snaps the Willdcats were looking at 4th-and-10 at the Monroe 15 with 57 seconds left. There, instead of throwing the ball or running around the end, the Oak Harbor coaches put Sam Wolfe in as quarterback with instructions to take a knee and turn the ball over.

2 Monroe run attempts later, the final horn sounded. Oak Harbor 55, Monroe 6. It was a great way to end a season that started out rather slowly.

On Wednesday, November 10th, the team held their annual awards banquet and recognized the departing seniors: Sam Wolfe, Justin Counts, Paul Kirk, Ian Sinchak, Marcus Jordan, Denzel Massey, Zack Ayer, Kyle Mellow, Judd Ford, Kyle Frank, Robert Beadles and Aaron Boesch.

It was a fun ride, guys. Thanks for all your efforts!

Video highlights from the game are posted HERE.

Volleyball state brackets

The complete bracket can be found HERE.

The girls start tournament play Friday, November 12th at 1:30pm at Toyota Center in Kennewick against West Valley (Yakima).

WHEN the girls defeat W. Valley, they will play the winner of the Holy Names/Kennedy match at 7:30pm Friday.

IF by chance they lose, the play the loser of the Holy Names/Kennedy match at 9:30am on Saturday, Nov 13th.

The championship match will be at 7:30pm on Nov 13th.

Breaking news

The following reports are unconfirmed but are from a reliable source.

Girls Cross Country team goes to the podium with a 3rd place finish in State.

Wildcat volleyball wins 2 matches for a trip to the state tournament.

Volleyball 2010-11-03 WESCO 3A tournament

Half of the WESCO 3A volleyball state play-in bracket took place at OHHS last Wednesday. Four teams came to play - Oak Harbor, Glacier Peak, Ferndale and Everett, in a 2-match double elimination tournament. Of the 4 teams, one was guaranteed a trip to the first round of the state tournament.

In the field house, Ferndale defeated Everett 3-1 to meet the winner of the OH-GP match. Oak Harbor met and beat the Grizzlies twice this year, the last meeting just last week where the Wildcats swept the match 3-0.

That wasn't going to happen again. The first game was back and forth the entire way, with neither team ahead by more than 2 points and the game tied numerous times. In the end it was Glacier Peak with a block to win 25-23.

The score was reversed in game 2 with Roshel Muzzall getting the kill for the win.

The Wildcats went down 19-25 in game 3, coming back from 16-23 but never really getting their rhythm.

Down 2-1 and with their backs against the wall, Oak Harbor dug in, and after a slow start, grabbed a 10-9 lead on a Muzzall kill and building their lead to 24-15 after a Christina Alexander ace. Glacier Peak started to catch up but a kill by Janine DeGuzman put the game away 25-19.

In the final game, Oak Harbor spotted GP a 7-3 lead, but starting with a Kristine Bouchard solo block, the Wildcats chipped away with the freshman, Kayleigh Harper, tying the match at 11 with a kill. GP took the lead back 12-11, but a lift call and two hitting errors put the Wildcats at match point. Kelsey Terrazas-Cooley went back to the line to serve, the ball sailed across the net and was shanked to the side by the Grizzlies, giving OH at 15-12 win, a 3-2 match victory, a trip to the 2nd day of the tournament and a match against Ferndale in 15 minutes for a trip to state.

Oak Harbor fully expected to play against Everett for their 2nd match, so weren't fully prepared for Ferndale. The Wildcats were drained after the emotional match against Glacier Peak but fought hard. Game 1 was close early then Ferndale went on a 4-0 run to take a 15-10 lead then held game point at 24-18. Oak Harbor didn't go quietly, taking advantage of Ferndale errors to close it to 24-21, but that was it as Ferndale won the first game 25-21.

Game 2 was all Ferndale as the Golden Eagles built a commanding 21-9 lead and won the game 25-15.

In game 3, Ferndale held a 15-11 lead but a kill by Katelyn Bristow and a kill and ace by Muzzall closed the gap to 14-15, and later a kill and block by "Big Blue" Amanda Blau put the Wildcats ahead 19-18. Unfortunately it didn't last long as on the next play the Wildcats were uncharacteristically called for a double hit on the set. Ferndale then took the lead on an overpass kill and won 25-20, winning the match 3-0.

The Wildcats aren't out yet at they travel to Glacier Peak on Saturday to continue the tournament. The girls start at noon against Mt. Vernon, who lost to Shorewood and beat Mountlake Terrace. WHEN the girls win that match, the play the winner of the Glacier Peak/Shorewood match at 2pm, with the winner going to state.

A combined video clips with highlights from both matches are posted HERE, including Kelsey's match point service ace in the Glacier Peak match.

A total of 62 photos covering both matches are posted HERE.

Varsity football vs Lethbridge back in October

I just noticed that the video clips and photos from the Oct 22 varsity football game vs Lethbridge never got posted.

As almost everyone knows by now, we beat the visiting team from Alberta, Canada 41-7 after leading 26-0 at half.

Ian Kolste was in as the new QB for the Wildcats and passed for 97 yards and Jon Lanningham spent a lot of time in the backfield as well.

Video highlights are posted HERE.

Photos from the game are HERE

Football 2010-10-28 vs Meadowdale

Last Thursday the Oak Harbor Wildcat varsity football team played their last regular season game against the Meadowdale Mavericks with a playoff spot on the line.

After introducing the seniors who were playing their final game on Oak Harbor's turf, the game got started. After Isaiah Trower returned the kickoff to the OH 45 yard line, Josiah Miller took the handoff and ran 55 yards to the Maverick end zone. Just 17 seconds into the game it was Oak Harbor 7, Meadowdale 0.

The OH celebration didn't last long, as 3 plays later Meadowdale scored on a 55 yard pass play. They missed the PAT kick leaving the score at 7-6 with 9:33 to go in the 1st quarter.

Oak Harbor punted on their next possession, but shortly after the Meadowdale quarterback was sacked and a fumble forced, recovered by Judd Ford at the Meadowdale 15 yard line. After moving down to the 8 yard line, OH attempted a field goal but it was blocked by a high-jumping Maverick lineman and they took over on their own 31 yard line. 8 plays later Miller forced a fumble and Kyle Frank recovered it giving Oak Harbor the ball back at the OH 18.

The Wildcats mounted a sustained drive, including a long run by Sam Wolfe to get it started and a nice reception by Justin Counts to keep it going, and it ended with a Jon Lanningham 7-yard touchdown run. Peter Franssen's kick was good, increasing the Wildcat lead to 14-6.

On their next drive, Meadowdale also put together a long drive, going 80 yards in 11 plays for a score. Again, their PAT kick missed, leaving OH ahead 14-12 with 9:56 left until halftime.

After an OH punt, Meadowdale drove 65 yards for their 3rd TD of the half. Instead of kicking they went for a pass PAT which was completed, putting the Mavs ahead 20-14 with 4:32 left in the 2nd quarter.

OH punted again, but this time the kick was muffed by the Meadowdale receiver and Sam Wolfe recovered the ball at the Meadowdale 21. 3 plays later Wolfe ran the ball in from the 11 yard line. Franssen's kick missed, and the game was tied at 20 with 1:44 left until halftime.

Meadowdale thought they could score again, but big sacks by Brent Ryan and Kevawn Brooks ended that though, then the Mav punt traveled only 10 yards. With 37 seconds left, OH had a chance to score again with teh ball at the Meadowdale 35 yard line, but the pass was intercepted at the Meadowdale 10 yard line. Now with 25 seconds left, Meadowdale got into OH territory with 6 seconds to go but Miller snagged the Maverick pass to end the drive and the teams went into the locker room tied at 20.

Oak Harbor got the ball to start the 2nd half and drove deep into Meadowdale territory, but another pass was intercepted, this one in the Meadowdale end zone. The Wildcat defense held and forced Meadowdale to punt, but OH fumbled the ball at the 50 yard line and the Mav's completed the bomb pass for a 48-yard score to go ahead 26-20, and that score would stand until the end of the 3rd quarter.

In the 4th, Meadowdale drove down to the OH 20 and went for it on 4th and 2. The pass fell incomplete, but a very questionable defensive pass interference call on the Wildcats gave new life to the Meadowdale drive, and 2 plays later completed a pass for a touchdown and added a 2-point PAT to make the score 34-20.

On Oak Harbor's next possession, QB Ian Kolste was sacked and fumbled the ball, recovered by Meadowdale. The fumble was very understandable because as he went down Kolste fell on his right arm, breaking the bone.

Meadowdale advanced the fumble to the OH 13 yard line and 2 plays later ran it in for a TD, making the score 41-20 with 2 minutes left in the game, and that score would also be the final.

The Wildcats play one more game, a non-league crossover game next Thursday, November 4th at Monroe HS.

Click HERE for some video highlights. (no, Ian's broken arm is not on it.)

HERE are some photos from the game, as well as photos of each senior before the game, taken from the booth.

Middle School Cross Country

On Thursday, October 28th, the combined OHMS and NWMS "Wildcat United" cross country team participated in the league championships in Sedro Woolley on the grounds of the abandoned Northern State Hospital.

The 7th grade girls dominated the race, capturing the first two places and placing 4 of the top 10. Susan Kaltenbach was first overall in a time of 10:04 over the 1.5 mile course. Muriel Empinado was 2nd in 10:19. Karlie Hall was 8th and Caitlin Dodge was 9th. Other Oak Harbor finishers were Olivia Trailkill, Julianne Sen, Destiny Garcia, Jayme Graves, Chastity Mackey and Kristen FiskBryant. If any names are incorrect, please accept apologies and send an email so they can be corrected.

The 7th grade boys were also successful with Logan Clark finishing 2nd overall in 9:24. Logan's teammate, Steven Dixon, was not able to run today's race, but the two had been close all year. The race winner was a Cascade MS runner who clocked 9:00. Finishing in 10th place was Jacob Mutchler. Other finishers were Michael Thornton, Orien Altman, Tristan Gaines, Garrett haugen, Matt Molitor, Garrett Stahl, Michael Catanzaro, Casey Quijano, Isaac Deleon, Fred Miller and Justin Cress.

In the 8th grade girls race, Hayley Lundstrom was the top Wildcat finisher, running in 9:53, good enough for 3rd place. The winning time was 9:45. Marisa Sligh was not far behind, finishing 4th in 10:04 and Jonalynn Horn was 5th, just 3 seconds behind Marisa. Mollie Briddell, Sydney Erickson and Ashley Patrick also finished the race.

The 8th grade race there was only one participant from Oak Harbor in the race. Joel Erickson finished in 11th place overall in 9:48.

7th grade girls photos are HERE

7th grade boys photos are HERE

8th grade girls photos are HERE

8th grade boys photos are HERE.

Volleyball - week of October 25th

After securing a spot in the playoffs, the Wildcats still had two more matches to play - at home against Glacier Peak and on the road at Everett.

After emotional senior night introductions, the varsity team went to work and swept the Grizzlies 3-0. While our girls swept the match, the individual games were fairly close and OH never had a comfortable lead until late in each game. Game scores were 25-20, 25-16 and 25-21. Both JV and freshman squads won as well. JV scores were 25-13, 25-14 and 25-16. Freshman games were closer, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-22.

Freshman and Varsity video highlights from the GP match are HERE.

Click HERE for freshman photos

HERE are JV and varsity photos

Wednesday the girls were at Everett's gym - call "The Pit". It's a loud gym with obnoxious fans, but Oak Harbor worked through it. After losing the first game 21-25 the girls rallied to win games 2 and 3 25-14 and 25-22. They stumbled in the 4th 19-25 but came back in the final game. With the score at 14-12, senior Katelyn Bristow had the serve. After getting the ball across the net, Everett set up to give the ball to their big hitter, but the Wildcats were ready. As the Seagulls went up for the kill, the Wildcats went up with a double block and totally stuffed the hit to give game and match point to Oak Harbor.

Wednesday, November 3rd the girls play at 5pm at home in a rematch against Glacier Peak. At the same time Everett will be playing Ferndale. The two winners will play each other for playoff seeding while the two losing teams play in a loser-out match.

When the Wildcats win, they will then travel to Glacier Peak HS on Saturday, November 6th.

Everett Herald names Jordan Faralan Athlete of the Week

See the complete article in the Everett Herald.

Everett Herald Athlete of the Week article

Youth football 2010-10-23

For the final week of regular season games this year, none of the OHYFL teams were at home.

Both peewee teams completed their season last week. The Lynx finished 3-3 and were in 5th place, one game out of the playoffs. This was a great improvement from last year's 0-6 season. The Bobcats finished 2-4 in 9th place.

In the midget division, the Panthers came in 5th place with a 5-3 record while the Cougars were 8th with a record of 4-4. The top 8 teams move on to the playoffs. Last Saturday the Cougars had little trouble handling the 0-7 Mt. Vernon Black team, winning 36-16, but in the Panther game against MV Green, it was a nail-biter until the very last second.

The Panthers found themselves down early 16-0 but fought back to make it 18-30 at halftime. With 8:41 left in the game, Oak Harbor was able to tie the game at 38, but 6 plays later MV was back ahead 46-38. Two plays later, the Panthers broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run but the kick failed, leaving them down by 2, 44-46.

With 4:49 left in the game, the Panthers were able to recover the kickoff at the MV 44 yard line, then scored a touchdown on a 12-yard run to go ahead 50-46.

Mt. Vernon got the ball down to the OH 25 with 47 seconds left, then to the 21, then the 15 with 19 seconds left. The 1-10 play ran to the left and down to the 3 yard line but the runner was not able to get out of bounds. The MV team rushed back to quickly down the ball to stop the clock, but not everyone was set so flags flew with 1.4 seconds on the clock. After this penalty the clock would start with the referee's signal, not the snap. MV was lined up but could not get the snap off before time expired and the Panthers took the win 50-46. On average it took each team only 4 plays to score a touchdown during this game.

Highlight clips from the Cougars game are posted HERE.

Clips from the Panthers game are HERE.

In the final regular season game of the season, the Junior Pumas bead the Sedro Cubs 56-6 and the Jaguars lost to Sedro White 8-6. The Pumas finished the season in 3rd place with a 6-2 record while the Jaguars were in 6th with a 4-3 record. Both teams move on and play next week.

Finally, the Wildcats finished at 3-4. The won their final game 22-8 at Friday Harbor.

Freshman football 2010-10-20 vs Shorecrest

After a great first drive, the Wildcat freshman football team just couldn't seem to get the engine back in gear.

Shorecrest went 2-and-out in their opening possession, punting to Oak Harbor at the OH 45 yard line. Two and a half minutes later it was Oak Harbor 8, Shorecrest 0 after the pass conversion.

That was it for Oak Harbor scoring. The offensive scheme worked well, as often the boys would run for 8-10 yards per play, but almost every OH series ended with a turnover which Shorecrest converted into points.

At the end it was Shorecrest 40, Oak Harbor 8.

Video highlights are posted HERE.

37 Still photos are posted HERE.

Volleyball update

Last week the Volleyball team had two matches, one at last place Mountlake Terrace and one at home against second-to-last Lynnwood.

At MLT, both the JV and Freshmen won their first two games and dropped the 3rd game.

Varsity did the opposite. The got down early in the first game and down 18-24, were able to pull within 3 points when MLT got the game point to win 25-21.

In the 2nd game the Wildcats led early 3-0 and built their lead to 10-4 but it wasn't enough at the Hawks tied the game at 19 and went on to win 25-22.

With their backs against the wall and little room for error, and with a playoff spot on the line, our girls dug in and found a way to win. The dominated the Hawks for the rest of the match, winning game 3 25-14, game 4 25-16 and the final game 15-12, ending the match with an exclamation point - a big Roshel Muzzall kill.

Thursday our girls hosted the Lynnwood Royals. The Royals were able to pull out JV and Freshman wins, but that was it.

Game 1 of varsity was a back-and-forth affair until the Wildcats built a 16-12 lead after 4 straight points by Kristine Bouchard followed up by a Katelyn Bristow service ace, forcing a Lynnwood timeout. Strong front row play by Muzzall and Janessa Ramos increased the OH lead to 22-14 when the Royals started to creep back into the game. Lynnwood closed the score to 24-20 but a service error ended the game in Oak Harbor's favor, 25-20.

Game 2 was all Wildcats as starting with a 5-5 score, the girls slowly pulled away, ending the game with a tip by setter Jordan Faralan.

Game 3 could have gone either way, as neither team could build more than a 3-point lead, but Lynnwood captured the game on a Wildcat hitting error, 26-24.

Determined to win a playoff spot, the Wildcats went to work in game 4, systematically dismantling the Lynnwood attack. Ramos sealed with win with a big kill. Final score Oak Harbor 25, Lynnwood 19 in game 4, Wildcats winning 3-1.

With the win the Wildcats earned a playoff spot, but seeding is still to be determined. Tonight, Monday, is senior night as the Wildcats face off against Glacier Peak, currently tied with OH. The girls then finish the regular season Wednesday at an always hostile Everett High School gym - The Pit.

HERE are video highlights from the Terrace match, including some Freshman action

HERE are Lynnwood highlights.

Click HERE for 81 Mountlake Terrace photos

77 Lynnwood photos are HERE.

Youth soccer 2010-10-16

With only 3 weeks left in the fall youth rec soccer league it was as busy as ever this past Saturday at the Ft. Nugent fields. We'll be back again on Oct 30th, the final day of soccer for the fall rec season. If anyone has any special requests, feel free to contact the photographer and ask!

We were able to get to 9 games for photos, linked below.

BU-10 Red Starfire vs Yellow Sidewinders (42 pictures)

BU-10 Black Scorpions vs S. Whidbey (52 photos)

BU-10 Blue Lightning vs Blue Tidal Wave (23 pictures)

BU-6 Great Blue Sharks vs Red Fireballs (42)

BU-6 Grey Dragons vs Black Steamers (29)

BU-6 Yellow Jackets vs Golden Tigers (36)

BU-8 Pale Yellow Sharks vs Red Dragons (39)

BU-8 Yellow Stingrays vs Black Scorpions (52)

GU-10 Purple Pumas vs Blue Thunder (50)

Youth football 2010-10-16

All 7 OHYFL teams were in action this past Saturday, but unfortunately there wasn't a lot of success.

Of the 3 teams at home, only the Bobcats were able to pull out a win, beating Arlington Blue 20-19. The Wildcats fell to Sedro Woolley 13-6 and the Panthers, after a good start, fell to Burlington Blue 44-32.

In away games, the Lynx fell to Arlington White 19-7, and the Jaguars lost to Ferndale Blue.

At Mt. Vernon High School, the Cougars were stellar on offense, blowing up the MV Green midget team 48-20. Later, the junior Pumas beat MV 38-13

There are no photos from today's games, but below are links to video clips of the Cougars and Pumas victory.

The Cougars clip is HERE.

The Puma clip is HERE.

Football vs Shorecrest

With only 1 league game left, the Wildcats still have a shot at the playoffs after falling 28-21 in overtime to the Shorecrest Highlanders last Friday at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

After the game, the Wildcats had a 3-3 league record with Meadowdale still to face. Glacier Peak is at the top of the standings at 5-0 and Everett is 2nd at 4-1. Meadowdale is currently 3rd with a 3-2 record, Shorecrest is 4-3 and Oak Harbor is 5th at 3-3. If Meadowdale wins this Friday (likely against Lynnwood) and then the Wildcats win the head-to-head contest, Oak Harbor will take the 4th and final postseason spot, but will have a play-in game against the 2nd place team from the Northwest Conference for a spot in the State playoffs.

In Friday's game, Shorecrest started the game with an onside kick, which they recovered and drove 39 yards to score with 8:01 left in the 1st quarter.

The first quarter ended with the score 7-0 in favor of Shorecrest and Oak Harbor driving, but a fumble ended the drive at the Shorecrest 21, but the Wildcat defense held and forced a punt from the SC 20. Starting at their own 27, the Wildcats drove down to the Shorecrest 36 thanks to a nice run by Sam Wolfe, then Josiah Miller found his way through the line for a 36-yard TD run, tying the game 7-7 with 8:25 left to go in the 2nd quarter.

Oak Harbor then tried their own onside kick, recovering the ball at the Shorecrest 45, then used 10 plays, ending with a 1-yard Zack Ayer run, to make the score 14-7 with 4:50 remaining in the half.

The Scots then worked the ball into Wildcat territory, but a fumble on a run was recovered by Justin Counts. OH got into Shorecrest's half of the field by the drive stalled and OH punted at the Shorecrest 46 with 1:33 left until the half. Again, the defense held strong, forcing Shorecrest to punt. Shorecrest tried a rugby-style kick with the punter on the run and the ball sailed out of bounds after traveling only 4 yards. Oak Harbor first down at the Shorecrest 43 with 22 seconds left, but a Burgoyne pass with 6 seconds left was intercepted at the 2 yard line to end the half with Oak Harbor leading 14-7.

OH kicked off to start the 2nd half and a 4th down pass attempt by Shorecrest fell incomplete, giving the Wildcats the ball at the OH 36. Ten plays later it was OH 21-7 after a 25-yard run by Miller and a Franssen PAT kick. That score would stand to the end of the 3rd quarter.

Shorecrest closed the gap to 21-14 on an 8-yard TD pass with 10:53 left in the game then scored again on a heads-up play by a Shorecrest player. After a 14- yard run, the Scorecrest runner was hit at the 1 yard line by Sam Wolfe and fumbled the ball. The ball bounced around and seemingly jumped up into the hands of another Scot who ran it the final yard into the end zone. The kick was good and the score was tied at 21 with 3:16 left.

Oak Harbor had one final chance to score with 33 seconds left in regulation, but the Wildcat pass was again intercepted, ending regulation time 21-21.

In overtime, Oak Harbor won the toss and Shorecrest got the ball first, then scored on their 2nd play on a 25-yard TD pass play and kick was good.

On Oak Harbor's possession, with a 3rd and 10 at the 15 yard line, a Scot defender stepped in front of the Oak Harbor pass and intercepted to end the game with a 21-28 Oak Harbor loss.

In Monday's JV game, Oak Harbor beat Shorecrest 19-14.

37 photos are posted HERE.

Click HERE for video highlight clips.

Volleyball 2010-10-14 vs Shorewood

With just 4 matches left in the 2010 season, the OHHS volleyball team is still in the playoff hunt. Sitting at 3-3 with just 4 matches left, the girls are in good shape. Two of the remaining matches are against the bottom two teams in the conference, Mountlake Terrace (1-5) and Lynnwood (2-4). The other two are at #2 Everett and Glacier Peak, with whom the Wildcats are currently tied.

The cause wasn't helped much Thursday night in the match against the Shorewood Thunderbirds. In the first game, the Wildcats jumped out to a 6-1 lead, but Shorewood fought back and tied the game at 16 then went on to build a 24-19 lead. Oak Harbor wasn't out yet, as kills by Roshel Muzzal and Janessa Ramos along with a great block by Ramos brought the Wildcats to within 1, 23-24 when a T-bird kill ended the first match 23-25.

Oak Harbor woke up halfway through game 2. Down 3-10, the girls came roaring back behind a nice overpass kill by Freshman Kayleigh Harper and a pair of back-to-back kill by Ramos. Two kills by "Big Blue" Amanda Blau brought Oak Harbor to within 1 point, 12-13, and from there it was all OH. Harper had multiple blocks during one rally which ended with game point for the Wildcats and a T-bird in the net gave game 2 to OH 25-17.

Game 3 was a close, back-and-forth game with no more than 3 points separating the two teams until late in the match when Shorewood was able to put the game away 25-20.

Down 2-1 in the match, the Wildcats needed to win game 4 and they did, but it wasn't easy. After moving out to a 4-0 early lead, Shorewood crept back and tied the game at 9, but never led and a solo block by Kristine Bouchard, and dink kill by Mandy Kepner and final kill by Ramos won the game for the Wildcats 25-19.

The girls led early in the 5th and final game, 3-1, but Shorewood stayed with the 'Cats and slowly pulled away to win the game 15-10 and the match 3-2. The final game featured an exceptionally long rally, lasting nearly a full minute (most volleyball action is over in about 10 seconds).

On Saturday, the varsity team was at Mt. Vernon high school for an all-day tournament. The Wildcats, missing senior setter Jordan Faralan who was at the University of Washington for academic work, finished 3rd in pool play then went on to win the silver division. Sophomore Taylor Nienhuis stepped up to take setting duties and Freshman Kayleigh Harper had a lot of playing time.

Video highlights from the varsity match, including 2 clips from the Freshman match, are posted HERE.

40 JV photos are posted HERE

HERE are 69 varsity photos

29 Mt. Vernon Tourney photo are HERE

Volleyball 2010-10-12 vs Shorecrest

The Wildcat volleyball team faced the Shorecrest Scots for the 2nd time this year, this time at OHHS. The first meeting, a non-league match, was at Shorecrest and the varsity team defeated the team picked to finish 1st in WESCO 3A 3-2.

In the rematch, this one counting for league standings, the Wildcats jumped to an early 14-9 lead, but let the Scots back in the game, and even gave them a 16-15 lead. Then a big kill by big Amanda Blau sparked OH and the two team fought back and forth. A OH service error gave game point to Shorecrest, but Kristine Bouchard tied the game at 24, a pass error by Shorecrest gave game point to the Wildcats, then a double block of Blau and Bouchard was not handled by Shorecrest, giving game 1 to Oak Harbor 26-24.

In contrast, nothing seemed to go right for Oak Harbor in game 2. Halfway through the game, the Wildcats were down by only 1 point, 11-12, but scored only 3 more as Shorecrest won 25-14.

Game 3 was exciting and close. OH led for the whole game, but never by much. A service ace by Christina Alexander followed by a Janessa Ramos kill gave the Wildcats their biggest lead, 23-18, but the Scots didn't give up, closing to 24-22 when Mandy Kepner smacked her first kill of the game for game point.

While game 3 was exciting, game 4 was just a pleasure to watch. Before anyone knew what was really happening, the Wildcats found themselves ahead 6-0, forcing a Scot timeout. Oak Harbor score 4 more after the T.O. to lead 10-0. Oak Harbor made their first error at this point, sending the serve into the net to make the score 10-1, at that's as close as it would get as the Scots spent the rest of the game completely confused and having no answer for the Wildcat attack. When it was all over, the Wildcats were 25-8 winners and won the match 3-1.

Next up are the Shorewood Thunderbirds. The T-birds are right behind the Wildcats in the standings with equal 3-2 league records. The Wildcats are ahead due to their 6-3 overall record.

Video highlight clips of JV and Varsity action are posted HERE.

131 JV and Freshman warmup and game photos are posted HERE.

Click HERE to view and order Varsity photos.