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.

Football - JV vs Mt. Vernon, Freshmen vs Marysville

There were two sub-varsity football games this week at Wildcat Memorial Stadium. On Monday the JV team faced the Mt. Vernon Bulldogs.

MV started the scoring by driving 64 yards in 12 plays and converted a 2-point PAT to lead 8-0 halfway through the 1st quarter.

The Wildcats responded with a 10 play drive covering 74 yards, ending with a Jayden Davila pass reception in the end zone. The 2-point PAT failed, leaving MV ahead 8-6.

Later, Mt. Vernon was facing a 2nd and 15 at their own 44 when Isaiah Trower intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for a score. He added a 2-point PAT run to make it 14-8 Wildcats. The lead didn't last as the Bulldogs returned the ensuing kickoff for a score. Their 2-point conversion attempt failed, tying the score at 14.

In the 2nd quarter, Mt. Vernon pulled ahead 22-14 after running in for a score and converting the PAT. Three minutes later the Wildcats were on the board again after Ian Kolste completed an 8-yard pass to Davila in the end zone. The PAT failed and MV led 22-20 with 6:21 left in the 1st half.

The next MV drive was stopped when Michael LaBelle intercepted a pass at the OH 42, returning it to near midfield. OH drove all the way to the MV 8 yard line when a Kolste pass was intercepted and MV broke their runner for a 91-yard score on the next play. The pass PAT failed making the score 28-20 at halftime.

MV attempted an onside kick to start the 2nd half, but the ball went only 9 yards, giving OH the ball at the MV 49. Driving down to the Bulldog 2 yard line, QB Jordan Oliver faked a handoff to Justin Everett and ran the ball up the middle for a touchdown. The run failed and OH was down 2 points, 28-26 halfway through the 3rd quarter.

As the 4th quarter opened, OH had the ball, 4th and goal on the MV 11 but failed to convert. Three plays later, Cody Sanders intercepted a Bulldog pass at the MV 33 and returned it to the 10 yard line. Oak Harbor took the lead a few plays later after a QB sneak and a converted pass PAT. With 6:43 left in the game it was now Oak Harbor 34, MV 28.

MV still had a chance, but Trower intercepted another pass, this one at his own 20 and returned it all the way to the MV 29. Oak Harbor was flagged for an illegal block on the return. It didn't matter much as after getting a couple of first downs, Oak Harbor was able to run the clock out to win 34-28.

On Wednesday, the Freshman team hosted Marysville-Pilchuck. MP scored first with a 6-minute drive ending with a 1-yard run. The PAT failed, so it was 6-0 Tomahawks.

The Wildcats answered with a 28-yard score by #34 (no freshman roster is available - sorry!) and the run PAT attempt was good to put the 'Cats up 8-6.

In the 2nd quarter, #23 recovered a Tommie fumble and OH drove for another score, this one by #13 on a 33-yard scamper. The half ended with the score 14-6.

Oak Harbor took the 2nd half kickoff deep into MP territory but it came back to midfield due to a flag. It wasn't until 1:37 left in the 3rd that there was another score, this one a 2-yard QB sneak by #12 for the Wildcats, pushing the lead to 20-6.

The Wildcats scored once more, with 1:26 left in the game on another short QB sneak by #12, making the score 26-6. MP was able to get on the board once more, scoring on a long pass play with just 45 seconds left in the game. The onside kick attempt failed and OH ran the clock out and won 26-14.

JV highlight video clips are HERE.

JV photos are posted HERE.

Freshman game video highlights are HERE.

Youth football 2010-10-09

It wasn't a good day for Oak Harbor Youth Football, as only 2 of the 5 teams in action last Saturday were able to earn a victory.

At Ft. Nugent, the Cougars lost to Stanwood Black 16-14 on a late-game 2-point PAT kick.

The Pumas were victorious over Sedro Blue 22-6 and the Bobcats fell 14-0 to Burlington Blue.

At Burlington, the Pathers lost to the Gold team 44-22 and finally, at Sedro Woolley the Jaguars beat the Cubs 21-0.

Bobcats photos are posted HERE.

Click HERE for 26 Cougars pictures

32 Pumas pics are HERE.

Boys Tennis vs Lynnwood, Meadowdale & Jackson

With the courts at OHHS now finished, the Boys Tennis team is getting a lot of home matches. The last 3 were all played at home.

Lynnwood came to town on Oct 7th and although the Royals captures both 1st singles and 1st doubles, Oak Harbor took the other 5 matches to win 5-2. Singles winners were Josh Evans (6-3, 6-2), Brandon Vagt (6-2, 6-1) and David DeGuzman (6-2, 6-2). In doubles, winners were Eric Berner and Michael Serna (6-2, 6-3) and Ben Harrison and Will Southard (6-4, 6-1).

First place and 13-1 Meadowdale came to town on Monday the 11th and swept the 'Cats 7-0. With the post-season looming, Coach Mells made a few changes to his lineup. 2nd and 3rd singles, Josh Evans and Brandon Vagt teamed up to form the 1st doubles team and the 3rd doubles team of Will Southard and Eric Berner were split and played as 3rd and 4th singles. David DeGuzman moved up to 2nd singles.

As if facing Meadowdale wasn't enough, two days later, 4A and undefeated Jackson came to town and the Wildcats were swept again 7-0 using the normal lineup. Only Josh Evans, Brandon Vagt and 3rd doubles Ben Harrison and Michael Serna were able to win any games at all.

55 Photos from the Meadowdale match are posted HERE.

Girls Basketball 2010-10-10 Fall League

The fall girls basketball league in Mt. Vernon is starting to wind down and the OH girls haven't seen much success. To begin with, for the first time in recent memory, there is only one OH team playing. Usually the girls have both a varsity and JV squad. Secondly, the fall league team has only one senior and two players with any varsity experience.

Why? In the past few years, the girls basketball team was made of mostly one-sport girls. This year, most of the girls on the team are playing multiple sports so just don't have the time to participate and there is always the threat of injury.

Anyways, the girls played hard, but fell to South Langley from Canada 47-18.

Two video highlights are posted HERE

27 photos are HERE.

Girls Soccer 2010-10-08 vs Glacier Peak

On a pouring wet Saturday afternoon the OHHS JV girls soccer team were challenged not only by the weather by by a very good Grizzly team. The rain continued throughout the first half while the second half was fairly dry, but GP was able to outscore the JV girls 5-0.

The varsity game was dry but windy.

In their first meeting, the Wildcats lost 6-0. Still undefeated, Glacier Peak had a hard time against the Wildcats. While the Grizzlies made several shots on the OH goal, Jordan Boucher was able to scoop up most of them, but two did get through and that was the difference in the game.

Although it was a loss, Coach Jeff Laiblin was please with the overall Wildcat performance.

61 JV photos are posted HERE.

73 photos of the varsity match are posted HERE.

Youth soccer 2010-10-09

The fall Youth Soccer season is half over, and as usual, there here hundreds of young soccer players running all over the fields. While it was a cool, cloudy day, the rain held off until most of the younger kids were done.

Photos from 4 games, a U-8 teams are posted below.

Click HERE for 32 photos of the Black Scorpions and Green Dragons

HERE are 49 photos of the Blue Eagles and Grey M-16s.

21 photos of the Red Dragons and Blue Scorpions are HERE.

The GU-8 Pink Panthers went against the Green Leprechauns and 36 photos are posted HERE.

Football 2010-10-08 Varsity @ Mt. Vernon

Two big plays. That's all it took for the Wildcats to beat the Mt. Vernon Bulldogs last Friday in Mt. Vernon.

Mt. Vernon got the ball first, returning the opening kickoff to their own 16. After a long pass play into Oak Harbor territory, the Bulldogs had a 3rd and 2 at the OH 22, but big Kyle Frank recovered a fumble and the Wildcat offense was in business.

The first play was stopped for a 2-yard loss, but on 2nd down Josiah Miller found a hole and sprinted 81 yard to the end zone.

Four plays later, Justin Counts was in the right place at the right time and picked off the MV pass at the OH 31 and returned it to make the score 14-0 with 5:19 left in the first.

However, that was it for Oak Harbor scoring

Mt. Vernon got on the board after a 10-play drive that started with a fumbled OH snap on a 4th down play. The drive finished with a 6-yard run. The half ended with the score 14-7 in favor of Oak Harbor after Sam Wolfe batted away a long MV pass as time expired in the half.

The third quarter was filled with 3-and-outs by both teams and ended with the same 14-7 score, but with the Bulldogs looking at a 4th down on the OH 11 yard line.

Mt. Vernon attempted a field goal to start the 4th quarter, but the kick was wide right and Oak Harbor took over at the 20 but wound up punting. MV also punted, but their kick, aided by a strong wind, rolled down to the OH 1-inch line. Two plays later the Wildcat runner ran into a wall and was stopped in the end zone, giving MV 2 points.

After the free kick, MV took the ball at their own 34 and moved the ball deep into OH territory. With a 1st and 10 on the OH 35, Aaron Boesch was able to get a hand on the runner and knock the ball loose and Zack Ayer jumped on it at the 37 yard line. While OH wasn't able to move the ball on the series, they stopped the MV drive and ate up valuable time.

After a final defensive stop, Oak Harbor had the ball on their own 38 yard line and 3 minutes left in the game. After a couple of first downs and 30 yards there were only 25 seconds left on the clock and the Wildcats took a knee to win the game 14-9.

The 4-2 Wildcats finish out the season at home. This Friday Shorecrest comes to Wildcat Memorial Stadium with the winner having a decent shot at a playoff spot. The following Friday it's Lethbridge from Alberta, Canada in town and the season ends on a Thursday night, Oct 28th with Meadowdale.

Video highlights from the game are posted HERE.

Middle School Cross Country

In Burlington at the Skagit River Park, the Wildcat United (combined North Whidbey and Oak Harbor) cross country team competed against Burlington and Cascade Middle Schools on Thursday.

In the 7th grade girls race, Oak Harbor's Susan Kaltenvach won with a time of 9:41. Second place was a B-E runner in 10:02, then Whidbey's Brittany Jenkins and Mariel Empinado in 10:14 and 10:21 respectively. Also in the 7th grade race for the Whidbey/Oak Harbor team were Caitlyn Dodge (6th), Karlie Hall (7th), Oliva Thrailkill (8th), Destiny Garcia, Julianne Sem and Chastity Mackey. The slowest OH time in the race was 16:15 while last place checked in at 17:54.

7th grade girls photos are posted HERE.

Out of 34 runners in the 7th grade boys race, 16 were from Oak Harbor/North Whidbey. It was a close finish, but Steven Dixon finished in 2nd place by just 2 seconds, in 8:50. Right behind him was Logan Clark in 9:05. Jon Dix (10:07), Jacob Mutchler (10:14) and Tristan Gained (10:39) were also in the top 10.

Click HERE to access the 7th grade boys pictures.

Not quite half of the 8th grade girls race consisted of OH/NW runners, with Hayley Lundstrom crossing in 3rd place overall with a time of 9:52. Jonalynn Horn wasn't far behind in 4th (10:03) and Marisa Sligh was just 10 seconds behind her in 5th place overall. Also in the race were Mariah Azot, Mollie Briddell and Sydney Ericksen.

The 8th grade girls photos are HERE.

Finallly, in the 8th grade race there were only two local runners, Joel Erickson and Hunter Adams. Joel Erickson finished in 2nd overall with a 9:02, but was neck-and-neck with the winner through most of the race. Hunter finished with a time of 12:11.

11 photos of the two runners are posted HERE.

This coming Thursday, the NW/OH cross country team travels to Anacortes, with the races starting and finishing on the lower fields behind the high school.

Boys Tennis vs Shorewood & Everett

On Monday the Boys Tennis team hosted Shorewood. Earlier in the season the team was swept by the Thunderbirds 7-0, but this time the Wildcats took advantage of some reshuffling of the Shorewood lineup to win the second matchup 4-3, sweeping the singles matches in straight sets. Ben Cardinal won 6-4, 7-5, Josh Evans 6-2, 6-1, Brandon Vagt 6-3, 6-2 and David DeGuzman 6-4, 7-6(1).

On Wednesday, things didn't go as well, hosting Everett. The Seagulls won the match 5-2, with wins coming from 3rd singles Brandon Vagt (6-3, 6-0) and 4th singles David DeGuzman (6-3, 6-3).

Photos of the singles players in action are posted HERE.

Doubles pics are HERE.

Volleyball 2010-10-04 vs Everett

While the JV football team was dominating on the field, the JV volleyball team was dominating in the gym. The JV girls stumbled a bit in the first set, losing to the Seagulls 21-25, but rallied to win the next two by 25-18 scores.

The freshman team also won their match, winning 25-21 in the first set and getting the close 27-25 victory in the 2nd.

The varsity match was nothing if not exciting. Oak Harbor won the first set 26-24 but had problems in the 2nd and 3rd sets, losing 22-25 and 16-25. They rallied to win the 4th set 25-19 to tie the match and played a close 5th and deciding set before falling 12-15.

The loss creates a 4-way tie at the top of the WESCO 3A league. The Wildcats travel to one of those schools, Meadowdale, Wednesday.

107 photos of the Varsity team in action are posted HERE.

A short video clip of the varsity match is HERE.

Football 2010-10-04 JV vs Lynnwood

Monday saw Oak Harbor's continued domination over Lynnwood in football this year, as the JV team beat the Royals 48-6 at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

Lynnwood's problems started early when the punter dropped a knee to the ground while fielding the snap, giving OH the ball at the Royal 11. Seven seconds later Justin Everett took the handoff from Ian Kolste and ran up the middle for the first score of the game.

Oak Harbor started their next possession on the 50 yard line after Lynnwood went 3-and-out and this time took 10 plays to score, ending with an Ian Kolste sneak from the 1 yard line.

Lynnwood's next possession again lasted 4 plays, this time ending with a Dakota Sinchak interception at the Lynnwood 43. He returned it all the way to the 1 yard line, but a penalty brought it back to the Lynnwood 44. The quarter ended with Oak Harbor leading 14-0 and with a 1-10 at the Lynnwood 49.

For the 2nd quarter, sophomore Jordan Oliver stepped in at QB. His first two throws were 10-yard and 9-yard completions to Lanningham, bringing the team to the 10 yard line. 3 plays later it was Michael LaBelle for a 1-yard TD. Wildcats 21-0.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lynnwood took the ball at their own 11 yard line and returned it to the OH 16. That's as far as they got as they were soon facing 4-24 at the OH 30. The punt snap went high and OH took over on their own 46 yard line.

This was the first OH drive that didn't result in a score and the Wildcats punted from the Lynnwood 44. The Royals actually gained yards on the drive and crossed into OH territory, looking at 4-1 at the OH 47. The snap was fumbled and Lanningham was able to pick it up and run untouched to the end zone for yet another Wildcat TD. 28-0 with 2:39 until halftime.

Again Lynnwood punted and Oak Harbor got the ball on their own 37. The first play was a long pass from Oliver to Sinchak, caught at the Lynnwood 39 and run down to the 3 yard line. The next play was Lanningham running it in to make the score 35-0 with just over a minute left in halftime.

On Lynnwood's final possession of the first half, Frank Grecco and James Engen combined for two tackles for loss to end the half.

Oak Harbor received the kickoff to start the 3rd quarter and started at their own 28. Seven plays later it was Isaiah Trower with a 44-yard run. Grecco missed his only PAT of the night after this score, making it 41-0 in favor of Oak Harbor.

Lynnwood had another 4-play drive, this one ending at their own 32 after a Jennifer Fremd interception at the 37. The Wildcats drove down to the 16 yard line and were looking at a 3rd-and-11 play. On that play, Kolste threw out to the sideline and it bounced incomplete. However, the officials never blew their whistle as they ruled it a backwards pass. Lynnwood picked up the ball and returned it for a touchdown. Reviewing the video the next day, Kolste clearly has both feet just outside the 21 yard line when he released the ball, and it just as clearly shows the ball bouncing about 2 inches outside the 20 yard line - an incomplete pass. Since there's no replay in high school football, the touchdown stood and Oak Harbor's lead was 41-6, and that score would stand until the end of the 3rd quarter.

At the end of the 3rd and into the 4th quarter, Lynnwood was able to run 12 straight plays, moving the ball from their own 41 down to the OH 26, when a 4th-and-6 pass fell incomplete. The Wildcats went to a direct snap system, with no quarterback and Michael LaBelle taking the snaps and running the ball. He did this several times, ending in a 37-yard TD run featuring him evading not just one, but FIVE would-be Lynnwood tacklers on his way to the goal line. 48-6 Wildcats.

Lynnwood's final drive ended with a whimper when Sinchak intercepted a Royal pass at the OH 8 yard line with just second left in the game.

Final score - Oak Harbor 48, Lynnwood 6*

The JV team plays at home again next Monday, facing the Mt. Vernon Bulldogs. Admission is free.

43 photos from the game are posted HERE

A video highlight clip is posted HERE.

Youth football 2010-10-02

Again, all 7 Oak Harbor Youth Football League teams were in action, 3 away and 4 at home.

Starting with the away games, the Peewee Lynx traveled to Arlington to win 24-8. The win improves their record to 3-2.

At the Corn Field in east Burlington, the Cougars fell to a dominant and some would say overly aggressive Burlington Blue team 72-44. The Cougars are now 2-3 with 3 games to go.

Also in Burlington, the Jaguars lost to the Junior Blue team 32-13. Their record is now 3-1, tied for 2nd place in the standings.

On the home field, thing were a bit different.

The Pumas started the day with a strong showing, defeating Burlington Gold 31-0 and improving their record to 3-2, now in 4th place.

29 photos of the Pumas game are HERE

Next were the Senior Wildcats, coming off their first win of the season. They played hard and the game was in doubt until the end, but the Wildcats improved their record to 2-3, beating Up River (Concrete) 26-20.

56 Wildcats photos are posted HERE

The Panthers continued the winning streak, beating Sedro White 18-7. The Panthers are now tied for 3rd with a 3-1 record.

40 images of the Panther Cheer squad are HERE

HERE are 69 photos, including group shots, of the Panthers

Finally, the Bobcats earned their first win of the season, pounding Sedro Blue 26-0 and sealing the home sweep.

84 Bobcats pictures are posted HERE.

Next Saturday the action starts at 9am at Ft. Nugent with the Cougars vs Stanwood Black, followed by the Pumas vs Sedro Blue at 11 and the Bobcats vs Burlington Blue at 1pm.

The Jaguars are on the road at Sedro Woolley at 1pm and the Panther at Burlington at 3pm.

Cross Country at Baker Invite

The Girls cross country team continues to justify their state ranking (#7) by winning the 16-team Mt. Baker Invitational this past Saturday.

Addy Royal was the first Wildcat across the finish line, posting a time of 19:24 over the 5K course for 6th place overall. 7th and 8th overall were Allison Duvenez and Christina Wicker. Abby Leete was 10th, Alex Laiblin 14th and Hannah Bressler 18th, all out of 111 runners. The varsity girls' point total came in at 40, with the 2nd place team (Burlington) scoring 109.

Taylor Von Grey won the girls JV race with a time of 21:03 while Heather Dale, Emily Bain and McKenzie Jackson were also in the top 20.

On the boys side, Coupeville's Tyler King won the boys varsity race in 15:05, nearly a minute faster than the 2nd place finisher. Josh Schrum was the top OH finisher with a time of 17:59 adn 55th out of 120.

Caley Powers and Clay Richardson finished 2nd and 11th out of 97 in the Freshman boys race.

Varsity football @ Lynnwood 2010-10-01

Firing on all cylinders, the Oak Harbor Wildcat varsity football team took it to the Lynnwood Royals, spoiling their homecoming by demolishing the hosts 53-6 in the early (5pm) game at Edmonds Stadium.

Oak Harbor scored on every possession and twice on special teams.

The first drive started at the OH 30, but the team advanced 50 yards in just two plays - runs by Sam Wolfe and Josiah Miller. The drive was capped by a Miller 10-yard run.

The second drive started at the Lynnwood 36 and this time Wolfe punched it in, diving across the corner of the end zone for another 6 points. The kick failed leaving the score 13-0

Less than 3 minutes later, Miller returned a Lynnwood punt 82 yards for another score.

After Lynnwood downed the OH kickoff at their own 10 yard line, it took only 2 plays for the Wildcats to get the ball back when a Royal pass was intercepted by Judd Ford at the Lynnwood 14 and returned to the 9 yard line. Two plays later Peter Franssen caught a Matt Burgoyne pass for an 11-yard touchdown. The kick failed and the 1st quarter ended with OH in the lead 26-0.

Lynnwood's woes continued in the 2nd quarter when Miller intercepted a pass at the Lynnwood 35, returning it to the 16, and a penalty for a late hit was added when he was thrown to the ground out near the running track. Again, it took OH only a couple of plays to score again, this time on a Burgoyne pass to Aaron Boesch, good for 6 yards. The kick was blocked leaving the score at 32-0 with 8:58 left in the half.

Three minutes later it was Isaiah Trower's turn to score, breaking loose from 30 yards out. 39-0 Wildcats with 5:51 still to play.

Again, Lynnwood downed the kickoff deep in their own territory, then Justin Counts snagged the Royal pass at the 24 and brought it all the way back to the 9 yard line. 2 plays later it was Jon Lanningham from 2 yards out for the score. It was now 46-0 with 4:26 left in the half and that score would stand until the horn.

In the 3rd quarter, Oak Harbor scored once more when Miller returned a punt 56 yards to the end zone.

Lynnwood finally got on the board when they broke their runner loose and he romped for 53 yards down the sideline as time expired in the 3rd quarter. The kick failed and the score to start the 4th quarter was 53-6. With such a differential, the clock was no longer stopped but continued to run, ending the game shortly after 7pm.

Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Mt. Vernon for a non-league game against the Bulldogs this Friday.

HERE is the video highlight clip - it's a little longer than the others.

HERE are some photos of the game.

Cross Country 2010-09-30 at City Beach

The Oak Harbor Cross Country team hosted the only home meet of the season last Thursday at Oak Harbor's City Beach. Visiting the Wildcats were the 3A Lynnwood Royals and 4A Lake Stevens Vikings.

Running first were the JV boys, with Josh Schrum coming in first place with a time of 17:15 over the 2.75 mile course. Adriel Eckart was 5th overall in 18:28. Sidney Dawson and Aaron Yonkman were only 5 seconds apart in 12th and 13th, Brendan Bristow and Ryuta Meany were 10 seconds apart in 19th and 20th. Dustin Mirabal was 25th, Steven Souza 29th, Ben Pralle 31st and Stacy Jappert 35th. Lake won the JV team title with 22 points. OH was 2nd with 39 points and Lynnwood earned 81 points. (Low score wins).

The girls run a combined JV/Varsity race. Two Vikings crossed the finish line in 1st and 2nd, then there were 7 straight Wildcats. As is becoming tradition, the girls run as a group, saving themselves for Saturday's prestigious Baker Invite. Six of the girls crossed the line over a 3-second period in the order Abby Leete, Allison Duvenez, Adrianna Royal, Christina Wicker, Hannah Bressler, and Alex Laiblin. Olivia Meyer crossed 14 seconds later in 9th place. The winning time was 18:15 and the top OH time was 19:01.

Taylor Von Grey was the first OH JV girl, finishing in 91:44. Heather Dale, Emily Bain and McKenzie Jackson finished 16-17-18 overall, Bailey Martinez was 28th, Megan Maronde 30th and Ashley Cooley 33rd. Oak Harbor win the team title with 25 points, Lake Stevens was 2nd with 36 and Lynnwood 3rd with 85.

In the Boys Varsity race, the winner was Tyler King in 15:13, wearing Coupeville colors but training with and strongly supported by Oak Harbor runners. Lake Stevens finished in 2nd place, over 30 seconds behind King. The first true Oak Harbor runner was Caley Powers, 4th overall with a time of 16:06. Wyatt Homola, Mike Kincy and Clayton Richardson finished 13-14-15, Nate Miller 18, Thomas Honeycutt and Chris OpDyke were 20th and 21st. Lake Stevens was first overall with 18 points, Oak Harbor 2nd with 46 and Lynnwood 3rd with 82.

165 photos covering all 3 races are posted HERE.

Football 2010-09-29 - Freshmen vs Everett

The Freshman football team played a solid, if unexciting game at Wildcat Memorial Stadium last Wednesday, hosting the Everett Seagulls.

The Wildcats scored with 4:42 left in the first on a 7-yard QB keeper. The kick failed to make the score 6-0. That score would stand until halftime.

In the second half, the two teams went back and forth until late in the 4th quarter. Running out of time, Everett went to a predominantly pass offense. On a 1-10 play at the OH 45 yard line with 54 seconds left in the game, Oak Harbor intercepted the pass at the OH 31 and returned it 69 yards for a score. A 2-point PAT attempt was no good and the Wildcat defense was able to keep Everett from moving the ball. The game ended with an OH knee and a 12-0 OH victory.

38 photos from the game are posted HERE.

A short clip of video highlights is HERE.