VB - Special Coupeville Edition - 2011-09-29 vs Lakewood

If you weren't in the Coupeville gym Thursday night, you missed some exciting volleyball.

In JV action, the Wolves found themselves down early and fought back to make it a game before falling 19-25 in game 1. Game 2 was even closer, with the girls right in it the whole game, but again Lakewood was able to pull out a win, 25-22. In game 3 it was again back and forth but this time the Wolves came out on top 25-21.

The varsity team had a rough start in game 1 and couldn't overcome the deficit and fell 21-25. They played well in game 2 and won 25-21 and also won game 3 25-22 to take a 2-1 match lead.

Things fell apart in game 4 as the Cougars won 25-14 to tie the match.

That's when it REALLY got exciting. In the first-to-15-but-win-by-two final game, neither team seemed to have the game in hand until Coupeville went on a 5-0 run late to hold match point, 14-10. However, two Wolf hitting errors and a pair of Cougar service aces tied it up at 14. From there, neither team could get the decisive 2-point lead to win until Lakewood finally took the game 19-17 and won the match 3-2.

A total of 182 photos of both JV and Varsity action are posted HERE.

We'll be back in 2 weeks for the Coupeville-South Whidbey match on October 13th. We'll also be at the soccer game on October 20th against Sultan.

VB 2011-09-27 vs Everett

The OH Volleyball team continued their win streak with an exciting 3-1 victory over the visiting Everett Seagulls last Tuesday.

Oak Harbor jumped to an early 8-3 lead but Everett crept back in, tying the first game at 15. The Wildcats started to pull away 22-18 and finished up winning 25-21. Game 2 started out even, and the 'Cats were down 8-10 at one point, but the girls gathered themselves and finished with a 8-3 run to win 25-17, In game 3, the Wildcat slipped a little and Everett picked up a 25-19 win. Game 4 was totally back-and-forth, with neither team ahead by more than 2 points until late in the game when Janine DeGuzman got hot. She pounded down 4 of the final 5 OH points (Kayleigh Harper got match point) as Oak Harbor won game 4 25-23.

The JV team was down big early, 10-4, but fought their way back into the game and won the first game 25-21. The also won game 2 25-19 to win the match. In game 3, Everett got a 25-22 win.

Over in the dome, the freshman lost a close game one 22-25, won game two 25-19 then fell in game three 15-25

A total of 162 photos are posted HERE. They include Freshman, JV and Varsity action, as well at Freshman and JV individual and group photos.

Video highlights from the freshman and Varsity matches are posted HERE.

Thursday night at Shorecrest, the Wildcat varsity got it done quickly, winning 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-15). Both the JV and Freshman teams won 2-1.

Next for the volleyball team is a trip to Shorewood on October 4th and at home against currently undefeated Meadowdale on Thursday the 6th.

Christina Wicker named Athlete of the Week

See the full article in the Everett Herald.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110926/SPORTS01/110929792/1007

FB 2011-09-26 JV vs Everett

It wasn't pretty, but our boys got the job done, beating the Everett JV football squad 13-6.

Everett got on the board first with a 9-yard QB scramble. The PAT attempt failed, leaving the score at 6-0 with 5:29 left in the 2nd quarter.

Oak Harbor came right back and tied the game on a 49-yard pass completion from Anthony Smith to Frank Grecco with 3:49 left in the first half. That PAT also failed.

The final score came when Cord Krueger put his head down and ran over the Everett defender from 11 yard out. That kick was good with 2:39 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Everett had a chance to tie the game with 10 seconds left on a 4th and 15 play, but Wildcat pressure on the quarterback forced an incompletion.

55 photos from the first half are posted HERE.

Video clips from the second half are posted HERE.

Youth football 2011-09-24

Five of the six Oak Harbor teams were in action Saturday, 3 at home and two away.

At home the Pumas started with a 50-6 thumping of Sedro Woolley. The senior Wildcat team went next, keeping the win streak going with a closer 27-12 win over Anacortes. Then at 1pm things didn't go well for the midget Panthers as they fell to Arlington Gold 46-0.

On the road, the Bobcats were at Sedro Woolley and lost their first game of the season, coming up just a PAT short, 6-8.

Finally, the midget Cougars picked up their first win of the season with a come-from-behind victory over Mt. Vernon. The Bulldogs led early, 14-0 and 22-14 at the half. The Cougars took the lead 26-22 with 9:08 left but MV responded by scoring and kicking a PAT to retake the lead 30-26 with just 46 seconds on the clock. The Cougars responded well to the pressure, taking just 25 seconds to take a slim 32-30 lead with 21 ticks left on the clock. The OH defense rose and shut down the MV offense as time ran out.

103 photos of the Cougar game, including the cheer squad, are posted HERE.

FB 2011-09-23 @ Everett

At the beginning of the season, Oak Harbor was picked by the coaches to finish 3rd in WESCO 3A, just ahead of Everett. Last Friday, it took just 2 plays to show that Oak Harbor was more than one place better than the Seagulls.

Everett received the opening kickoff and on their first play Tucker Lundstrom stripped the ball and Josiah Miller fell on it giving OH a first down at the Everett 25. On the very next play Miller ran around the right side to put Oak Harbor up 7-0 just 12 seconds into the game. Everett's next possession ended with a punt at midfield after 7 plays, then the Oak Harbor drive was stopped short at the Everett 2 yard line by a Seagull interception. Everett returned the ball to their own 47, but 6 plays later, facing a 4th and 6, Josh McVey got in and sacked the QB to give OH the ball.

Oak Harbor then put together a 9-play drive that ended with a Brent Ryan 1-yard TD run with 9:47 to go in the 2nd quarter. The PAT kick failed, giving OH a 13-0 lead. Oak Harbor's kickoff went out of bounds giving Everett excellent field position at their own 35, but 3 plays later Miller picked off the Seagull pass then on the Wildcats' first play ran 67 yards to the end zone. The 2 point PAT attempt was no good. With 8:47 left in the half it was OH 19, Everett 0.

Everett went 3-and-out on their next possession, punting down to the Oak Harbor 8 yard line. Quickly moving back out to mid-field, quarterback Ian Kolste handed the ball to Brent Ryan who rumbled 50 yards up the middle for another Oak Harbor touchdown. The kick was good to make it 26-0 with 5:48 left until halftime.

Everett finally got on the board, tossing a pass just over the head of the Wildcat defender for a 44-yard TD with 3:57 left in the half. Oak Harbor 26, Everett 7.

This is when OH really got rolling. On a 3rd and 9 play at the Everett 46, Kolste found Miller open at the 40 yard line then Josiah evaded a bunch of Seagull defenders to boost the OH lead to 33-7 with 1:08 to go. Oak Harbor then tried an onside kick which was recovered by Michael Maletto at the Everett 46. Then, running nearly the same play, Kolste got the ball to Isaiah Trower at the 38 and he ended up in the end zone to make it 40-7 with 55 seconds on the clock.

In the second half, the Wildcats got the ball first and it looked like Peter Franssen scored yet again for the 'Cats, but his 47-yard run was called back. No matter, as 5 plays later Ryan punched it in from 4 yards out to put OH up 47-7 and start a running clock for the remainder of the game.

Everett's next possession went nowhere, ending with two straight sacks, one by Troy Sturdevant with Tucker Lundstrom, the other by Casey Ferguson.

Everett finally scored again with both teams deep into their depth charts on a QB run from 13 yards out.

Final score - Oak Harbor 47, Everett 14.

Next up for the 'Cats is a home game Friday against the winless Lynnwood Royals, who are giving up an average of 44 points per game. Kickoff at 7pm at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

79 photos from the first half are posted HERE.

Video highlights are HERE.

Little League baseball Fall Ball - 2011-09-24

On Saturday, both North Whidbey little league teams played at the Windjammer Fields in Oak Harbor.

In the early game, the A-Team defeated the Black Hawks 15-4 (both team from North Whidbey) and in the nightcap of the doubleheader, the A-Team hosted South Whidbey.

South Whidbey took an early 5-0 lead, but errant pitching by South Whidbey walked in a number of runs, two of them by batters hit by pitches. The A-Team kept the pressure on and won the game 11-6.

98 photos of the second game are posted HERE.

Girls Soccer 2011-09-24 vs Marysville-Getchell

The Oak Harbor Wildcat girls soccer team had their first Saturday match of the season, and it was a beautiful, sunny day at Wildcat Memorial Stadium against the Marysville-Getchell Chargers.

The JV game ended in a typical unsatisfying soccer score - 0-0.

In the varsity game, Getchell scored once in each half to defeat the 'Cats 2-0.

111 photos from the varsity game, including the varsity intros, are posted HERE.

Cross Country @ City Beach and Seaside

The Oak Harbor Cross Country team held their only home meet of the year Thursday afternoon at Oak Harbor's City Beach park. Visiting were squads from 4A schools Cascade, Monroe and Kamiak.

The races started with the boys JV, and Oak Harbor dominated, capturing the first 8 places. Those first eight OH runners were Stephen Miller (16:53), Isaac Matthews, Adriel Eckart, Clayton Richardson, freshman Joel Erickson, Alex Krantz, and Nathan Wagner. Also in the race were Brendan Bristow, Gunnar Melnick, Ryuta Meany, Stacy Jappert and Alex Berry.

In the boys varsity race, Kamiak captured 3 of the top 7 places to win the met with 25 points. Oak Harbor finished 3rd with 65 points. First for the Wildcats was Matt Reith in 8th place and a time of 15:29. Freshman John Rodeheffer was just 3 seconds behind in 9th overall. Also earning points for the Wildcats were Josh Schrum in 10th, John Kaltenbach in 14th and Esai Cunningham in 27th overall. Freshman Dakota Powers finished 29th, Thomas Honeycutt 31st, Chris Opdyke 34th and Caley Powers 35th.

81 photos of the boys JV and varsity at City Beach are posted HERE.

Oak Harbor's Christina Wicker and Monroe's Megan Bull ran neck and neck for most of the 4,500 meter race, but Bull pulled off the win at the end, finishing in 17:21. Wicker finished in 17:27 for second place. Alex Laiblin, Hannah Bressler, Heather Dale and Taylor Von Grey rounded out the top 5 OH finishers, earning the Wildcats a first place team finish with 36 points. Kamiak was second with 43. Other OH runners were Jonalynn Horn, Ashley Everett, Mackenzie Jackson, Rachel Crowther, Carlie Kenny, Emily Bain, Nikki Blanchard, Emily Saar, Sophie Rath, Grace Pauley and Alexa Holmly.

Click HERE for 77 photos of the girls at City Beach.

The next day, both the boys and girls both left for Seaside, Oregon for the annual 3-course challenge. Laid out there is a 4,500 meter easy course, a 5,000 meter moderate course and a 5k hard course. There were a total of 79 teams fielding over 1,700 runners.

On the easy course there were 294 boys and 264 girls. Dakota Powers was the top OH runner, finishing in 22nd overall in a time of 16:40. His brother Caley, Alex Krantz, Nathan Wagner, Gunnar Melnick and Chris Opdyke were all in the top 100. Jonalynn Horn was the first OH girl, finishing in 12th with a time of 19:51. Ashley Everett, Mackenzie Jackson and Nikki Blanchard were also in the top 100.

John Rodheffer finished 2nd overall out of 375 runners in the boys moderate race, clocking in at 18:45. Esai Cunningham, Stephen Miller, Clayton Richardson, Isaac Matthews, Wyatt Homola and Patrick Mayer were all in the top 100. For the girls, Hannah Bressler was 7th out of 238 girls, finishing in 23:38. Taylor Von Grey was 18th and Carlie Kenny 25th.

Finally, in the hard course, OH senior Matt Reith was 6th of 366 boys, crossing the line in 20:15. Josh Schrum was 20th and John Kaltenbach 22nd. Oak Harbor junior Christina Wicker competed against 227 other girls on the hard course and beat them all, coming in first overall with a time of 23:48. Alex Laiblin was 28th, Heather Dale 31st and Rachel Crowther 73rd.

FB 2011-09-21 freshmen vs Shorewood

Wednesday night the Oak Harbor freshmen completed the 3-team sweep of Shorewood in football by defeating the Thunderbirds 70-0.

On Monday the JV squad traveled to Shoreline Stadium and shut out the T-birds 48-0. It was the JV team's first shutout of the season. Carlos Beltran scored first from 6 yards out and on the ensuing kickoff the 'cats forced a fumble on the Shorewood 4 yard line. Beltran took the ball in again. Anthony Smith threw two TD passes and Troy Sturdevant added a TD pass of his own.

Wednesday it was just ugly. Oak Harbor's first four touchdowns came on 1 play drives of 10, 2, 25 and 10 yards each. At the 9:49 mark in the 2nd quarter it was OH 29, Shorewood 0 and by halftime it was 50-0 after a 55 yard interception return. Oak Harbor opened the second half by running the kickoff 91 yards into the T-bird end zone and scored twice more on 59 and 16 yard runs.

The JV squad is at home Monday at 5:30pm and the Freshmen travel to Everett Wednesday for their next games.

61 photos from the freshman game are posted HERE.

Freshman video highlights clips are posted HERE.

VB 2011-09-20 vs Marysville-Getchell

Tuesday night was the first-ever meeting between the new Marysville-Getchell HS and the Oak Harbor Wildcats in volleyball. The MG team does not have a freshman team. Their JV team has one junior, two sophomores and the rest are freshmen.

Because of that, our JV team perhaps thought that the Charger JV team would be easy to beat, especially after the JV girls jumped to a 6-2 lead in game one. At that point, it looked like some complacency set in and quicker than it seemed, the Chargers were up 20-12. Not on good volleyball, but on unforced errors by the Wildcats. MG went on to win that first game 25-18. Our JV girls learned from that game, and in game 2 sprinted to a 10-1 lead on their way to a 25-12 game 2 victory. Game 3 was close early, until, with the Wildcats leading 12-7, Deanna Rueben served up 10 straight points, 8 of them service aces, leading the 'Cats to a 25-8 game 3 win and a 2-1 match win.

Game 1 of the varsity game was back and forth early, then OH opened a 10-6 lead and increased it to take game 1 25-10. Game 2 started with the Chargers up 4-0, then OH got back on track and took back the lead 7-6 then scored 4 straight to end game 2 25-17. In game 3 Oak Harbor jumped out to a 11-2 lead and never looked back, winning 25-13 and taking the match 3-0.

The VB girls are at Glacier Peak Thursday then return home Tuesday, Sept 27th to face the Everett Seagulls.

85 photos are posted HERE.

Video highlight clips are HERE.

Varsity Football 2011-09-16 vs Shorewood

The scoreboard operator was busy Friday night putting up a total of 13 touchdowns during the Wildcats' game against the Shorewood Thunderbirds.

Shorewood got on the board first with a nice-looking 61-yard drive in 6 plays. The kick failed giving the T-birds a 6-0 lead.

Oak Harbor struck back quickly, starting with Isaiah Trower's 42-yard kickoff return. 7 plays later Brent Ryan powered in from a yard out to make it 7-6.

The Wildcat defense adjusted quickly, forcing a Shorewood punt after only 3 plays and 4 plays later Peter Franssen ran 13 yards to put OH up 14-6.

Franssen played a big role during the next Shorewood possession, intercepting the ball at the OH 26, then just 2 plays later Trower scampered for 61 yards to make it 21-6.

Shorewood was forced to punt again. OH started on their own 18 yards line but a 45-yard run up Ryan set up a Ian Kolste to Trower pass from 20 yards out. With 7:39 left in the first half, Oak Harbor led 28-6.

Shorewood returned the OK kickoff 58 yards but 3 plays later fumbled with OH recovering. The next drive was the first time OH was not able to score. They went for it on 4th and 9 but came up less than a yard short of a first down. Shorewood took over at their own 34 yard line and took 12 plays to get to the Wildcat 7 yard line before scoring on a 7-yard pass with 19 seconds left in the half. The 2-point run conversion failed, leaving the score 28-12 at the half.

The Wildcats struck first in the second half, receiving the opening kickoff then scoring just over a minute later when Josiah Miller ran 28 yards to up the OH lead to 23 points, 35-12.

The Wildcats forced a T-bird punt on their first possession of the half, but OH fumbled the ball back and Shorewood completed a 21-yard TD pass to cut the OH lead to 35-20. Shorewood then got another turnover, this one an interception of a tipped ball at the OH 29 then scored from 2 yards out to cut the OH lead to just 9 points, 35-26 with 9:01 left in the game.

Oak Harbor wasn't about to let the recent Shorewood success continue. After the T-bird kickoff, the Wildcats used just 40 seconds and 2 plays to put Franssen back into the end zone after a 43-yard run and 10 seconds later Miller intercepted a Shorewood pass at the 30 yard line and ran it in for another score. The two TDs put OH back up by 23 points, 49-26.

Late in the game, Jack Richter scored on a 1-yard run with 4:29 left and Shorewood responded with a 3 yard run with 28 seconds left.

Final score: OH 56, Shorewood 33.

45 photos are posted HERE.

Video highlights are posted HERE.

Oak Harbor Youth Football 2011-09-17

All six Oak Harbor teams played last Saturday with all six games at away locations.

Overall, the OH boys did well, winning 4 of the 6 games and were in the other two.

Here's all the scores:

Wildcats 52, Mt. Vernon 6
Jaguars 28, Sedro Blue 8
Pumas 22, Bellingham 34
Panthers 24, Sedro Blue 6
Cougars 20, Burlington Blue 39
Bobcats 40, Mt. Vernon 8

The only photos from last week's games are of the Cougars game at Burlington. Those photos are posted HERE.

Youth Soccer 2011-09-17 @ Ft. Nugent Park

The Fall Youth Soccer season is underway, with teams playing their second game of the year at Oak Harbor's Ft. Nugent complex.

We were able to get photos at 6 games, linked below.

For more information on youth soccer, go to the NWSC website.

First up were the GU-6 White Pegasus Unicorns, wearing green uniforms, vs the Purple Sporty Dolphins, sponsored by GO Realty. 53 photos are posted HERE.

Next were the BU-6 Red Dragons, sponsored by All Island Pest Control against the Grey Super Seagulls. 49 photos are HERE

The as-yet-to-be-named BU-6 White team played the Lime Meanie Greenies and 53 photos are HERE.

Still with the U6 boys, 58 photos of the Orange Tigers and Green Hot Wheels are HERE.

Another girls game, the Red Crazy Daisies vs Light Blue Tangled has 40 photos HERE.

Finally, click HERE for 36 photos of the BU-6 Yellow Wildcats and Dark Blue Tigers, sponsored by Martin Auto Electric.

Our next set of photos will be on October 1st, concentrating mostly on the U-8 games.

Boys Tennis 2011-09-16 at Lynnwood

The boys tennis team fell in a disappointing 7-0 loss to the Lynnwood Royals Friday afternoon. The match was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon but was rained out

In singles action, only 3 matches were played as OH was forced to forfeit due to a lack of players, and Lynnwood dominated the matches that were played, winning in straight sets.

The first doubles team of Cameron Bester and David Kusnick took their first set through 5 tiebreakers before falling 6-7(5) and 2-6.

The tennis team is up next at home on Thursday the 22nd against Glacier Peak.

Girls soccer 2011-09-13 vs Glacier Peak

The girls soccer team played their first home game of the season, and it was against #6 ranked Glacier Peak.

The JV team played on of their best games of the season, but wound up on the short end of a 3-0 score.

The varsity team fell 7-1, with the OH score coming from Jember Jansen late in the first half.

On Thursday the teams traveled to Lynnwood. The JV team won 2-0 and the varsity tied 1-1. The OH score was by McKenzie Schneider with an assist by Faith Franssen.

The next game for the Wildcats is 9/20 at home against Meadowdale.

Over 100 photos from the Glacier Peak game, along with pre-season group photos are posted HERE.

JV Footballl 2011-09-12 vs Glacier Peak

The Wildcat JV team played their first game of the season vs Glacier Peak and overcame a late comeback by the Grizzlies to win 17-14.

Oak Harbor got on the board first with a Frank Grecco field goal with 30 seconds left in the first quarter. The Wildcats increased their lead to 10-0 after a 56-yard run by Sheyenne Sams with 7:26 left in the first half. Just over a minute later, GP scored on a 1-yard run to make it 10-7. Then, with just 3:30 left in the half, Julian Faralan crossed the goal line from 7 yards out to make it 17-7.

There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter, and with 7:19 left in the game, Glacier Peak closed to within 3 points with a 5-yard pass TD.

With Oak Harbor on their own 41 yard line, freshman quarterback Doughty completed a pass to Matilla on the near side. The pass was caught at the GP 43, then was knocked loose at the GP 26. Cumberbatch was right there and pickup up the ball in mid-stride and took it down to the 2 yard line before he was tackled.

Unfortunately, OH fumbled the handoff on the very next play, but Glacier Peak was kind enough to give the ball back to the Wildcats after just 4 plays.

Oak Harbor sealed with win with a great interception by Michael Maletto with just over 2 minutes in the game. OH was able to get a first down then ran the clock out by taking two knees.

Final score: OH 17, GP 14.

Video highlights clips are posted HERE.

Just 4 photos from the booth are HERE.

Boys Tennis vs Shorecrest and Shorewood

Friday afternoon the varsity boys tennis team traveled to Shorecrest and Monday hosted Shorewood, and in both matches were shut out 7-0.

At Shorecrest, all our boys lost in straight sets, with only the doubles team of Ben Harrison and Sam Glavick scoring more than 2 in any of their sets.

vs Shorewood, one of the best teams in the state according to OH coach Horace Mells, the Wildcat boys again didn't win any sets and won only 6 games total.

Coach Mells was impressed with how the OH players, even though overmatched, stepped up and played some of their best tennis of the year against Shorewood.

56 photos of the 3 doubles teams vs Shorewood are posted HERE.

Varsity Football 2011-09-09 at Glacier Peak

The Wildcat varsity football team traveled to Veteran's Stadium in Snohomish for their first road game of the year, against Glacier Peak.

After the first quarter ended 0-0, the 'Cats got on the board first with a 30-yard field goal by Peter Franssen to open the 2nd quarter. Glacier Peak answered with a 10-play drive capped by a 34-yard pass touchdown. Glacier Peak was now on top 7-3 with 9:07 to go in 2nd quarter. Glacier Peak's next drive was stopped by a leaping interception by Dakota Sinchak on the Oak Harbor 1 yard line. Oak Harbor then drove into Grizzly territory but time ran out in the half. Halftime score: 7-3 in favor of GP.

The Wildcats opened the second half with a 69-yard drive ending with a 3-yard Brent Ryan push into the end zone to put OH back up 10-7 with the 6:19 mark in the 3rd. GP regained the lead with a 75-yard catch and run touchdown with 5:21 remaining to make it 14-10, a score that would stand to the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter is when the game really got exciting. Oak Harbor went 3-out to start, then GP scored on a 5-play drive to make it 21-10 at the 8:35 mark. On their next possession, the Wildcats fumbled on the first play, giving the Grizzlies the ball at the OH 19 yard line and 2 plays later scored from 14 yard out. The kick failed, leaving GP ahead 27-10 with 7:09 left in the game.

Down but not out, the Wildcat roared back with an 8-play, 60-yard drive ending the Ryan diving across the goal line from a half-yard out. With 5:01 left in the game it was 27-17. The Wildcats held GP to just 4 plays, then Ian Kolste connected with Peter Franssen from 41 yard out with 2:48 left to cut the GP lead to 4 points, 27-23 after the OH PAT attempt failed. After the OH onside kickoff attempt, recovered by GP, the Grizzlies started on the OH 49. 4 plays later they fumbled and the ball was recovered by the 'Cats with 1:12 left in the game. Five plays later it was Ryan again to put OH up 30-27 with just 18 second left. Glacier Peak drove down into OH territory and with just 9 seconds left got off their final play. It was a pass to the far sideline, caught with about 4 seconds on the clock. Instead of stepping out of bounds, the receiver elected to try and run, and would up going backwards and scrambling around at about the OH 35. Stopped, he tossed the ball backwards to the GP quarterback. The Wildcats ganged up on the GP QB and stripped the ball from him and jumped on it to end the game with a 30-27 OH victory.

26 photos from the 2nd quarter are posted HERE.

Video highlights clips are posted HERE.

Oak Harbor Youth Football 2011-09-10

Five of the six Oak Harbor teams played this past Saturday, four of them at home.

In the single away game, the Jaguars traveled to Arlington Gold and put on an offensive show, winning 42-20.

At home, the day started with the midget Cougars vs Mt. Vernon Black. This was a back-and-forth game early with neither team able to advance the ball. Finally, MV was able to break their runner free on a 4th and 23 play for a 30-yard score with 8:06 left in the 2nd quarter. The Bulldogs scored again with 3:18 left to take a 13-0 lead. Oak Harbor closed the score on the first play after the kickoff on a 53-yard TD run. The Cougars though they had a 63-yard TD run with about a minute to play but it was called back due to a block in the back. The half ended with MV leading 13-7. MV got the final score of the game with 1:40 remaining in the 3rd quarter on a 43-yard run. Final score MV 19, Cougars 7.

Cougars video highlights are posted HERE

18 photos of the Cougars are posted HERE.

The 11:00 game was the senior Wildcat team vs Arlington Blue. Although the score shows a blowout, the game was anything but. The game was decided on just a few key plays by the Wildcats on both offense and defense. Two promising Arlington drives, including one late in the game, were stopped by timely OH interceptions. The first Wildcat score was on a 61-yard run at the 8:45 mark in the first quarter making it 8-0. The 'Cats scored again on a nice drive, leaving just 3:43 on the clock until halftime, now leading 16-0. The final OH score was with just 3:21 left in the game. The kick was also good, making the final score 24-0.

Click HERE for Wildcat video clips

Wildcat photos are posted HERE.

At 1pm the midget Panthers faced the Stanwood Spartans. Like the early Cougars game, Oak Harbor was never out of it, but just couldn't find a way to move the ball and get into the end zone. Stanwood scored first with 8:46 left in the half and again with 5:49 left in the game. The final score was 14-0 in favor of Stanwood

HERE are some Panther highlights

Click HERE for 21 Panther photos.

The final game of the day was the peewee Bobcats vs Stanwood. This game was all Oak Harbor from the start. Stanwood scored on the first play from scrimmage, using only 17 seconds to run 55 yards to the end zone. Later in the first, a 10-yard run made the score 13-0 and a third score left the score 20-0 in favor of OH at halftime. The Bobcats extended their lead to 26-0 early in the 3rd quarter. Stanwood got on the board with 5:28 left in the 3rd quarter, then OH answered right back with their own score with 3:44 remaining to make it 33-6. In the 4th quarter, the Oak Harbor and Stanwood subs each scored. Oak Harbor with 9:32 left in the game and Stanwood with 1:46 left. Final score: Oak Harbor Bobcats 39, Stanwood 12.

Bobcats video clips are here.

HERE are 18 photos from the Bobcats' game.

VB 2011-09-08 vs Stanwood

If you were a paying fan at Thursday's volleyball match at OHHS vs Stanwood, you sure got your money's worth.

Starting over in the dome, the Freshman team won the first two games 25-22, 25-18, but fell in the third with a mixed lineup, 14-25.

In the main gym, the JV team took a commanding 19-11 lead in game one, scoring on two service aces by Stephanie Milliron and one by Deanna Ruben, and kills by Olivia Hunt and Hannah Christensen. They won the first game 25-18. Oak Harbor stumbled early in the second, spotting the Spartans a 7-13 lead, but tied things up at 19 on a Tiffany Kepner service ace. The score was back and forth until a pair of kills by Peyton Craven and a service ace by Ashley Johnston gave the Wildcats match point, 24-22. Unfortunately, Stanwood wasn't ready to give up and scored 4 straight to take game two 26-24. With the match tied at 1 game each, the 3rd game started sluggishly, with neither team playing spirited ball. Oak Harbor finally pulled away, leading 10-7 and increasing the lead to 24-12 and needing only one point to put the match away. Again, Stanwood wasn't ready to go away and scored 12 straight points to tie the match at 24. In the extra points, the game was either tied or OH had the advantage, but couldn't get it put away. Finally, with the score at 27-26, Christensen was able to hit through the Spartan block for match point. Game 3 to the Wildcats 28-26.

The varsity match was just as exciting. In the first game Stanwood took an early 10-5 lead and never let up, dominating the Wildcats 25-11. Oak Harbor took an 8-3 lead in game 2 after a solo block by Kelsey Rankin then a Roshel Muzzall kill made it 9-4. The Wildcats never looked back and were at game point, 24-16 when Muzzall hit a hard serve that to everyone in the gym looked in, including the corner line judge, but the official overruled the judge and awarded the point to Stanwood. Game 2 ended 25-17 in favor of OH with another Rankin block. Oak Harbor led through most of game 3, but Stanwood stayed with us and tied the game at 19, then went on a 6-2 run to win the game 25-21.

Game 4. Wow. Neither team led by more than 3 points throughout the game, which was tied no less that 3 times early, and again late, 24-24. This is when it got really exciting. Stanwood held match point 3 times until the Wildcats scored, then held game point 27-26 after a double block by Rankin and Hannah Salmons. Stanwood hung on and had match point another 3 times before OH was able to grab it back 31-30. OH had another game point 32-31 after Janine DeGuzman hit a cross shot, but Stanwood still stayed in it. Finally, a kills by Kayleigh Harper and Muzzall put it away, Oak Harbor winning 34-32 and tying the match at 2 games each.

In the fifth and deciding game, both teams were showing their fatigue but Stanwood was able to capitalize on the Wildcat errors, taking an early lead and holding it throughout, winning 15-11 and taking the match 3-2.

A total of 162 photos of all 3 teams, plus several pre-season team photos, are posted HERE.

JV video highlights are HERE.

Varsity video highlights are posted HERE.

Boys Tennis 2011-09-08 vs MLT

The boys tennis team was back in action, hosting their first home match of the year against the Mountlake Terrace Hawks.

Four of the seven scoring matches went to 3 sets, but Oak Harbor was only able to win one of them.

OH winners were #3 singles Harrison Miller (5-7, 6-3, 6-3) and #4 singles Will Southard (6-0, 6-2).

Second doubles Benjamin Harrison and Samuel Glavick had one of the longest matches of the day before falling to the MLT team. The score in their match was 3-6, 7-6(7), 5-7. 3rd doubles Jacob Nelson and Tom Dale also played tough, falling 6-4, 2-6, 6-7(1).

In exhibition action, Sean Kelley and Antonio Unpingco teamed up to win 8-4 in doubles play.

73 photos from singles action are posted HERE, along with preseason team photos.

VB 2011-09-06 vs Mariner

The OHHS volleyball teams, Freshman, JV and Varsity all won on the opening night of the 2011 season in a nonleague match against 4A Mariner.

The freshman team won their first game 25-17, lost the second 23-25, then came from behind to grab game 3 25-21 in an exciting finish.

After sprinting to an early 6-1 lead behind 3 service aces by Deanna Ruben, the Wildcats had a few errors and let the Marauders back in the game but never gave up the lead, holding on to win 25-20 on a service ace by Ashley Johnston. The girls regrouped and started game 2 on a 9-0 run then took a 15-3 lead after a service ace by Hannah Christensen. Peyton Craven scored game point, 25-15. In game 3, Coach Swankie experimented a bit with his lineup and Mariner was able to grab an early 4-1 lead, but three points in a row by Olivia Hunt put the Wildcats up 10-7. Mariner fought back, regaining the lead 14-13 then extended it to 20-14. Oak Harbor got to within 3 points, 21-18, but Mariner was able to hang on for a 24-20 win, but the JV girls won the match 2-1.

In varsity action, Christina Alexander served the team to an early 4-1 lead and that's as close as it would get as the Wildcats dominated the game 25-8. Game 2 was similar, with OH leading 5-1 early. Mariner kept it close, but 4 straight Wildcat points, two by Janine DeGuzman, ended game 2 with a 25-14 Wildcat win. Oak Harbor turned up the heat even more early in the 3rd game, leading 6-0 before Mariner could get a point, then extending the lead to 11-2. OH would again go on to win the game, this one by a score of 25-15.

The girls are in action again tonight, September 8th in another non-league match at OHHS vs Stanwood.


Video highlight clips are HERE

133 photos are posted HERE.

Boys Tennis 2011-09-06 vs Marysville-Getchell

The Oak Harbor Boys Tennis team swung into action Tuesday, playing the first-ever sports match against the new Marysville-Getchell High School.

The varsity team traveled to Marysville while the JV team was at home.

In JV action, first singles Sean Kelley won in a 3rd set tiebreaker (10-3) and first doubles Tabor Rupp and Ziwei Peng also won in a 3rd set tiebreaker (10-7). Unfortunately, those were the only JV victories at Getchell took the match 5-2.

The varsity score was reversed, with the Wildcats winning 5-2. In singles, #2 Eric Berner, a senior, won 6-2, 6-4, 3rd singles, sophomore Harrison Miller, won 6-3, 7-6(5), and 4th singles, junior Will Southard, won 6-1, 6-2. Freshman Carter Saar, first singles, played a tough match but fell 3-6, 6-3, 2-6.

In varsity doubles, David Kusnick and Cameron Bester, both juniors, won 6-2, 6-4, Seniors Ben Harrison and Samuel Glavick won a close 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-3 match. 3rd doubles, Sophomore Jacob Nelson and Freshman Tom Dale took their match to 3 sets but MG picked up the win 7-5, 2-6, 2-6.

Kusnick also won an exhibition singles match 8-1.

The varsity team is at home Thursday, Sept 8th against Mountlake Terrace.

Twitter feed

Don't forget - You can get live score updates for all varsity football games, all home volleyball, basketball and wrestling contests, both JV and varsity, plus select other contests.

Go to www.twitter.com/ohsportsreport to register and get scores straight to your cell phone.

Varsity Football 2011-09-02 vs Mountlake Terrace

The varsity football season kicked off last Friday with the Wildcats hosting Mountlake Terrace at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

The Hawks received the opening kickoff and on their very first play of the year were called for a false start. Things went downhill from there. After running just 3 offensive plays, Nick Farrell forced a fumble that was recovered by Cody Hernkind, giving the Wildcats the ball on the Terrace 30 yard line. Four plays later Josiah Miller ran it in from 13 yards out to put the Wildcats ahead 7-0 with 9:11 left in the first quarter.

Terrace's second series also ended in a fumble, again with Hernkind recovering, but the Wildcats were unable to score, coming up just inches short on a 4th and 1 play.

The first quarter ended with the Wildcats leading 7-0.

Early in the 2nd, Oak Harbor drove down to the MLT 27, but a pass intended for Mike Washington was just a bit long and was intercepted at the 3 yard line. Not to worry, as the Hawks lost 2 yards in their 3 plays, punting from their own 1 yard line. Again the 'Cats turned the ball over, this on a fumble on the Terrace 30 yard line. And again, Terrace punted after 3 plays.

The Wildcats scored their second TD of the night on a 23-yard pass play from Ian Kolste to Josiah Miller with 4:06 to go in the first half.

Miller scored again just over 3 minutes later on a really nice 84-yard scamper down the near sideline. Franssen's kick made it 21-0 which was the score at halftime.

On their first possession of the 2nd half, the Hawks went 3-and-out, punting to Miller. The ball slipped through his fingers, but Isaiah Trower was there, picked up the ball at the OH 46 and ran it all the way to the end zone to put OH up 28-0.

Terrace's next possession lasted all of 5 plays, the last two ending in tackles for loss, including a nice teaming of Hernkind and Tucker Lundstrom to force the punt which went to the OH 8 yard line.

There, the Wildcats marched all the way to their 5th TD of the night, behind a 52 run by Brent Ryan starting at the OH 12 and ending with a 23-yard Franssen run.

With the game well in hand, the Wildcats started dipping into their reserves, and those players made some noise as well. Troy Sturdevant had a nice sack, Julian Faralan had a nice run to bring the ball inside the 10 yard line and Jack Richter ran it in for the final TD of the game.

Final score - Oak Harbor 42, Mountlake Terrace 0.

Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Snohomish's Veteran's Stadium to face the Glacier Peak Grizzlies. Game time is 7pm.

A video highlight clip is posted HERE.

47 photos are posted HERE.

Oak Harbor's Josiah Miller is an Everett Herald "Player to Watch"

Read the complete article HERE

High School Football starts this Friday

The Wildcat varsity football team opens the 2011 season with a game against the Mountlake Terrace Hawks at Wildcat Memorial Stadium at 7pm.

Help fill the stadium for opening night!