Youth soccer 2012-10-27

The 2012 fall youth rec soccer season came to a close last Saturday with a full slate of games in the pouring rain at the Fort Nugent fields.

With the exception of some select teams, soccer now takes a break until the start of the spring season in late April.

Our photographer was able to get to 9 game on Saturday, so now there is complete photo coverage of all the U-6, U-8 and U-10 teams.  Unfortunately, due to other commitments, there was no photo coverage of U-12 and above teams this season.

Below are links to photos from Saturday.

BU-10 Gold Blazing Eagles vs Blue/Red

BU-10 Silver Squirrels vs White/Black Orcas

BU-10 Blue Bacon vs Green Power Players

BU-8 Blue Dragons vs Blue Tigers

BU-8 Gold King Cobras vs Orange Shredders

BU-8 Grey Missiles vs Green Hornets

BU-8 Lime Sounders vs Red Wolf Pack

GU-10 Pink Pop Rocks vs Green Goal Getters

GU-10 Teal Strikers vs Pink Pop Rocks


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Youth football 2012-10-27

The playoffs in the North Cascade Youth Football League, and the Oak Harbor league started the day with 4 teams in the hunt.

Two games were played at home and two on the road.

At LaConner, the senior Wildcat team whipped their opponent 39-8 and will play Burlington next weekend.

At Lakewood, the midget Panthers fell 40-12 and were eliminated.

At the Fort Nugent Field, the midget Cougars played a solid game against Mt. Vernon Green, winning 36-18 and play Lakewood next weekend.

Finally, the junior Pumas defeated Burlington Gold 18-12, and will also play Lakewood next weekend.

Photos from the Puma game are posted HERE.

Click HERE for Cougar photos.


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FB 2012-10-06 vs Meadowdale

It wasn't advertised as a playoff game as neither team would be eliminated from the post season, but Friday night's WESCO crossover football game between Oak Harbor and Meadowdale had all the flavor and excitement of a playoff game.

Both teams were 2nd in their respective divisions - OH in the north and Meadowdale in the south.  Both teams had 3-1 league and 6-2 overall records.

The first quarter had all the markings of a Wildcat blowout.  Oak Harbor started by taking the opening kickoff at their own 41-yard line and marched down the field, using just over 4 minutes to run 11 plays, ending with a wide open Dakota Sinchak catching a 19-yard Ian Kolste pass in the end zone.

After holding Meadowdale to a 3-and-out, it was Kolste to Sinchak again, this time from 31 yards out and Sinchak had to blow through two Maverick defenders to reach the goal line.  Frank Grecco's kick was good again, giving OH a 14-0 lead with 2:43 to go in the first quarter.

Meadowdale got their offense uncorked in the second quarter, completing a 45-yard TD pass.  The PAT kick was mishandled, picked up, and the Maverick player attempted to throw for a score.  The ball bounced off a receiver's hands at the 2-yard line and fell into the hands of another Maverick was was in the end zone.  With 8:44 left in the 2nd quarter, it was now OH 14, Meadowdale 8.

Now it was Meadowdale's turn to hold the Wildcats to a 3-and-out, and after the OH punt, marched 60 yards in 10 plays, ending with a 3-yard plunge to take a 15-14 lead.  That score would stand until halftime.

Neither team punted on their first possession of the second half - both teams electing to go for it on 4th down in their opponent's territory, and using a lot of time in the process.  The 3rd quarter ended with the score still 15-14 for Meadowdale, and the Mavericks with a 1st and goal at the OH 10 yard line.

Meadowdale then scored on the first play of the final quarter, boosting their lead to 22-14.  Oak Harbor got the ball at their own 22 and drove deep into Maverick territory before a Wildcat pass was intercepted at the Meadowdale 12 yard line and returned to midfield.

After the interception, the Wildcat defense held, forcing a Maverick punt.  The kick went down to the OH 7 yard line where Jojo Webster caught the punt and returned it 41 yards to the OH 48 yard line, but with time becoming a factor.  Again the Wildcats drove into Meadowdale territory, but a 4th down pass attempt fell incomplete in the end zone.

Taking over at their own 22 and less than a minute to go, Meadowdale took a knee, but OH had all their timeouts and forced Meadowdale to punt.  The punt went out of bounds at the Meadowdale 41 with just 19 seconds on the clock.  Oak Harbor's first play was a 25-yard Kolste completion to Jojo Webster down to the Meadowdale 16, then an incompletion in the end zone stopped the clock with 0:00.1 seconds showing on the scoreboard.  The final Wildcat play resulted in a sack, ending the game with Meadowdale winning 22-14.

While it's never good to lose a game, the Wildcats might be in a better position in playoff bracketing.  Because of their win, Meadowdale finishes in 4th place in WESCO and travels to Bellevue to take on #2 ranked Eastside Catholic.  The Wildcats finish in 5th place and travel to Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor, the SPSL league champion for a Friday night matchup.  In the most recent AP poll, the Wildcats were ranked 10th and the Seahawks were unranked.  In the Seattle Times rankings, Peninsula is #8 and OH is unranked.  WHEN the Wildcats beat Peninsula, they will play the winner of the Nathan Hale/Shelton game.

Peninsula finished the regular season with a 5-0 league record and 6-2 overall, losing to Bellarmine Prep and Union early in the season.

Photos from the OH/Meadowdale game are posted HERE.

Video highlights are HERE.


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XC 2012-10-27 District Meet at Lakewood HS

They did it again.  For the second year in a row, Oak Harbor will be sending both its boys and girls cross country team to the State Meet.  And they did it with only 5 seniors combined between the boys and girls' teams.

On the girls side, as expected, Glacier Peak won with a point total of 21 and with GP individuals capturing both first and second place.  The first Wildcat to cross the line was senior Christina Wicker, finishing in 6th place overall in a time of 19:17.  Next was sophomore Jonalynn Horn in 10th, then junior Alex Laiblin in 12th, sophomore Marisa Sligh, senior Ashley Everett, junior Rachel Crowther and senior Carlie Kenny.  As a team, the girls finished in second place with 83 points.  Stanwood was 3rd with 97.

For the boys, the won the team title, finishing with 67 points to GP's 77 and Shorewood's 98.  Sophomore John Rodeheffer finished 5th overall in 16:30.  Junior Clayton Richard was 12th in 16:59.  Next was senior Jason Salas, then junior Gavin Stewart, junior Nathan Wagner, senior Patrick Mayer and junior Alex Krantz.

The state meet takes place on Saturday, November 3rd at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco, WA.


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VB 2012-10-24 vs Pilchuck

At the final match of the regular season, the OHHS volleyball teams nearly pulled off a 3-match sweep of the visiting Marysville Pilchuck Tomahawks.

Over in the dome, the freshman team lost the first game 14-25, roared back to take game 2 25-22, but stumbled in the 3rd game 19-25.  The Freshman Wildcats finish the season with a 3-11 overall record, 2-6 in league, and finished in 4th place in WESCO 3A south.

In the main gym, the JV team cruised to a 3-0 match victory, winning the games 25-16-, 25-21, 25-17.  They finish the season in first place with a 7-1 league record, falling only to Pilchuck in their first meeting, at MPHS.  The JV team's overall record for the season is 11-3.

With a playoff spot guaranteed, the Wildcat varsity team was playing for seeding.  The team came out big, with the hitting pair of Kayleigh Harper and Roshel Muzzall taking the Taylor Nienhuis sets and slamming them to the floor.  The Hannahs - Salmons and Christensen - got in their licks as well, as did Kelsey Rankin.  At the service line, Ally McGuire did a great job, as did libero Stephanie Milliron in the back row.

The 'Cats won the first two games 26-16, 25-14, then let MP sneak in and take game 3, 19-25, then roared back and delivered a 25-8 pounding on the helpless Tommies in game 4 to win the match 3-1.

Next for the 'Cats is a trip to either Glacier Peak HS or Pilchuck for the WESCO 3A tournament starting Oct 30th.

Photos from the 3 matches are posted HERE.


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Youth soccer 2012-10-20

After cancellation of the 9am games due to a local thunder and lightning show, some of Saturday's games got started around 10am.

With just a week left in the fall season, it's easy to see the improvement made over the last 7 weeks, at all levels, due to the commitment of the volunteers that make the North Whidbey Soccer Club work.  From the board, to the coaches, the players and the parents - you all made a difference in the lives of Oak Harbor's children.

Of course, you can't have a soccer game without a referee.  Please thank the officials after your next game.  Most of them are high school students to give up their Saturday mornings mostly out of a love for the game of futbol.

Photos from 3 U-8 games from this past Saturday are posted below.  All of the U-6 teams have been photographed, along with all of the GU-8 teams.  Next Saturday we'll concentrate of completing the remaining BU-8 teams.

BU-8 Blue Tigers vs Red Wolf Pack

GU-8 Green Shamrocks vs Pink Pixies

 GU-8 Red Thunders vs Purple Fireballs

Youth Football 2012-10-20

The regular season ended last weekend for the Oak Harbor Youth Football League with 3 teams at home and two on the road.

At the Burlington cornfield, the Jaguars put and end to their losing skid by beating Burlington Gold 12-6 and finished the season at 3-5.

At Stanwood Black, the Pumas boosted their record to 6-1 with a 12-0 victory.

The Panthers started the day at Ft. Nugent with a nice 33-6 win over Mt. Vernon Black.  The Panthers struggled this season but achieved a 2-5 mark.

The Cougars started the season strong, but fell in their last 3 games to post a 4-3 season record.  The lost a close 46-42 game against Burlington Gold on Saturday.

Finally, the Senior Wildcats beat Bellingham Red 36-20 to finish the season 4-3.

Playoff spots and schedules will be announced at a later date.

Click HERE for some pictures from the Panthers' game.

HERE are Jaguars photos.


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FB 2012-10-19 vs Pilchuck

It was a big game and lived up to it's billing.  Friday night, with the WESCO 3A North championship on the line, Marysville Pilchuck traveled to Oak Harbor for the final regular season game of the year.

Early on, it looked like it might be an OH blowout.

After trading punts, Pilchuck fumbled at the OH 43 yard line and Jojo Webster was on top of it, picking the ball up off the turf and running 57 yards the other way for the OH score.  Later in the first quarter, after OH recovered another MP fumble, Webster caught a 3-yard pass from Ian Kolste to boost the OH lead to 14-0.

MP came back in the final four minutes of the first quarter, scoring on a 4-yard pass to cut the OH lead to 14-7.

As the first quarter belonged mostly to Oak Harbor, the second belonged mostly to Pilchuck.  After intercepting a Kolste pass at their own 5 yard line, the Tomahawks drove 96 yards in just 6 plays to tie the game on a 23-yard pass touchdown.  After an OH punt, MP used over 4 minutes to run a 9-play, 52-yard drive capped by a 1-yard plunge to take a 21-14 lead with 3:06 left in the half.  Working steadily, the Wildcats moved down to the MP 8 yard line.  The drive stalled and with 8 seconds left in the game, Frank Grecco kicked a 26-yard field goal to make it MP 21, OH 17 at halftime.

Oak Harbor owned the 3rd quarter, and nothing seemed to go right for Pilchuck.  First, driving down inside the MP 20, Fred Webster carried the ball up the middle and it was ripped free by a MP defender, but brother Jojo was there to again pick the ball up off the turf and ran the 8 yards into the end zone as OH regained the lead 24-21.  Then, the Tommies fumbled the kickoff, leading to a 1-yard Fred Webster TD to make it 30-21 for OH with 8:59 left in the 3rd.  Not quite 4 minutes later, Marysville was lined up to punt at their own 18 yard line and the snap went sailing over the punter's head and out of the end zone, making it 32-21 with 5:20 left.  The final OH score of the quarter came at the end of a 10-play drive when Sheyenne Sams carried the ball in from 3 yards out to make it 39-21 to start the 4th quarter.

The 4th quarter was another reversal of fortune.  MP scored on a 1-yard run with 11:39 left in the game to close the gap to 39-28, then they recovered the onside kick and scored again with 10:04 left to make it 39-34 for OH.  OH was forced to punt on their next possession, and MP needed only 5 plays to cover 62 yards and take a 40-39 lead.  OH then fumbled the snap, leading to yet another Pilchuck 4th period score, making it MP 47, OH 39 with just 1:48 to go.

With the ball at their own 36, the Wildcats made their move, driving down to the Pilchuck 7 yard line with just seconds left, Kolste faked to Sams, then fired the ball to Fred Webster, who was standing on the 1 yard line, but a Tomahawk defender stepped in front of Fred and snagged the ball.

MP took a knee to run out the clock and left Wildcat Memorial Stadium with a 47-39 victory and a date next weekend to play Glacier Peak for the WESCO 3A championship.  GP had beaten the Wildcat's foe for next weekend, Meadowdale, 25-7.

Meadowdale will come to Oak Harbor next Friday at 7pm to determine 3rd place in WESCO.  Be there early, be loud, and be proud!


Video clips are HERE.

Photos are HERE.



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MSXC 2012-10-18 at City Beach

The Wildcat United middle school cross country team held their first and only home meet last Thursday at Oak Harbor's City Beach Park.

Hosted by the combined Oak Harbor and North Whidbey Middle School team were Burlington Edison, Mt. Baker and LaVenture Middle Schools from Skagit County.

The Wildcat team had an outstanding day, winning 3 of the 4 races (7th grade boys and girls, 8th grade boys and girls).

Starting with the 7th grade girls, Jenna Cooley finished first in 10:42, followed by a BE runner in 10:51.  The next Wildcat to cross was Taliah Black in 4th and Maggie Fink in 7th.  Also in the race for OH were Stephanie Finch, Brianna Chamberlain, Grace Westcott, Brooke Taylor, Christian Miesle, Trina Plunkett, Inez Jiminez, Kaylie LaCoste, Tamara Plunkett, Morgan Barber and Antoinette Aird.

In the 7th grade boys' race, the true race was for 2nd, as Ryan Vasileff destroyed his competition by finishing in 9:43.  Second place was Oak Harbor's Michael Lym who finished in 10:48.  James Besaw was 3rd in 10:58 and Will Danielson 4th in 10:59.  Ethan Cosper was 7th for the Wildcats.  Also finishing the race for Oak Harbor were Clifford Hartley, Charlie Pabona, Nicolas Hufman, Kurt Husler, Thane Seith, Josh Byers, Dean Martin and Eric Baxter.

Moving to the 8th grade races, Wildcat Carolyn Wicker won a close girl's race in 10:55, just a second in front of the 2nd place finisher from BE, who spoiled the OH sweep, as Wildcat runners filled the next 7 spots.  In 3rd place was Kendall Sloan, then Shea Davis, Tamia Rios, Emma Lerch, Mia Gehrmann, Erica Sugatan and Lauyrn Boekle.  Finishing for OH but not in the top 10 were Kyra McConaghy, Maddy Harstad, Sarah Gartley, Gabrielle Chavez, Paxton Chadwick, Cristina Ferris and Rayne Burbank.

The 8th grade boys race was nearly a photo finish, with the top 2 runners finishing in the same second and 3rd place just a second behind.  Burlington's Trey Meyer clipped the Wildcat's Miguel Guzman just a dozen yards from the finish line to capture the race.  Kenneth Morrow was 3rd for OH, Kegan Snell 6th, Kelly Holt 7th and Joshua Margraf 9th.  Others in the race were Jaycob Callies, Michael Husmann, Alex Hartley, Austin Hauter, Lucas Nickelson and William Nickelson.

Photos from all the races are posted HERE.


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Girls Soccer 2012-10-16 vs Pilchuck

Tuesday night the Oak Harbor girls soccer team hosted the Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks.  It was a varsity-only matchup as with an ever-dwindling JV roster, the decision was made to cancel the JV game.

While the varsity team gave up 3 goals in the first half of the game, they allowed only one in the second half.  Also, the 3 goals came with a strong wind at the back of the Tommies.  When the field was reversed at halftime, the wind died down and was not much assistance to the Wildcats.

The girls are on the road tonight, Thursday, at Getchell and again next Monday at Everett.  They finish the season next Wednesday, October 24th against Stanwood.  The team will recognize their graduating seniors in a short ceremony before the game.

Photos from the varsity game are posted HERE.


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Youth Football 2012-10-13

Although the season is complete for Oak Harbor's two Peewee teams, the other five teams still have games to play, and four of those teams were in action this past Saturday.

At home, the Wildcats beat LaConner 34-20 to even their record at 3-3 and the Pumas whipped Mt. Vernon Green 34-0 to go to 5-1.

On the road, the Jaguars fell at Sedro Blue 35-6 and the Cougars fell 20-0 to Sedro White.  The Jags are now 2-4 on the season and the Cougs fell to 4-2.

Next weekend is the final set of regular season games and teams are jockeying for playoff spots.

On the 20th, three of the OH teams are playing at Ft. Nugent and two are on the road.

The Jaguars travel to 4-2 Burlington Gold and Pumas traved to 2-4 Stanwood Black.

Starting the home games at 9am, the Panthers host 0-6 Mt. Vernon Black, then at 11am it's the Cougars vs 5-1 Burlington Gold.  The final game, at 1pm, is the Wildcats taking on 4-2 Bellingham Red.

Photos from last week's Cougars game are posted HERE.

Jaguars photos are HERE.


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Boys Tennis - League Tournament

Oak Harbor is sending two players, David Kusnick and Will Southard, to next week's District Tournament at Stanwood High School.

In an interesting twist, the match for 3rd and 4th place was played between Kusnick and Southard with Kusnick winning a close match 7-5, 7-6.

The District tournament starts October 23rd at Stanwood High School and lasts 4 days.

FB 2012-10-15 JV vs Getchell

In their second-to-last game of the year, the JV squad hosted the Marysville Getchell Chargers, and while it wasn't pretty, defeated the visitors 22-0.

Things didn't look good early as Getchell's first play went for 18 yards and the second for 10 more.  Getchell drove down to the OH 9, where a pass was intercepted by the Wildcats, but 3 plays later a Wildcat halfback pass was caught by the Chargers at the OH 35.  Fortunately for the 'Cats, Getchell fumbled the ball back to OH back at the 9 yard line.  After 9 plays the Wildcats had moved out to the 33 yard line and the first quarter expired with no scored.

Starting the second quarter at their own 33 yard line, the Wildcats marched 67 yard to the end zone, ending with an 8-yard run by Gage Eccleston to make it 7-0 for Oak Harbor.

Getchell's next possession ended in 4 plays, turning the ball over on downs at their own 27, and 7 plays later it was Eccleston again, this time from 14 yards out to make it 14-0 with 1:35 left in the half.

With just 7 seconds left, Getchell lined up for a 32-yard field goal attempt.  The kick was blocked and the ball picked up by a Wildcat who looked to be going to the end zone untouched, but an inadvertent whistle stopped the play.  OH ran one play before the clock expired on the half.

In the second half, while the defense held, the offense had problems, losing the ball on their first 3 possessions to either fumbles or interceptions.

With 1:52 left in the 3rd quarter, Getchell was in punt formation at their own 4 when the snap went sailing high over the punter's head and out of the end zone, giving Oak Harbor another two points for the safety.

After receiving the kick at their own 32 yard line, it looked like the Wildcats got their offense on track, as they completed an long pass play for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back due to holding.  OH wound up attempting a 40-yard field goal which fell just short.

The third quarter ended with OH still leading 16-0.

After a Getchell fake punt failed to make first down yardage, Mark Johnston ran the ball in from 6 yards out for a score.  The 2-point PAT attempt was intercepted, leaving the score 22-0 for OH.

Getchell was forced to punt on their last two possessions, securing the OH victory.

Photos from the game are posted HERE.

Video is posted HERE.


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FB 2012-10-12 at Getchell

The Wildcat varsity football team guaranteed themselves a playoff spot and set up a big showdown for next Friday night be beating the Marysville Getchell Chargers last Friday at Quil Ceda stadium 28-14.

Early on, the game looked like it would be a blowout, repeating last year's game, as Dakota Sinchak opened the scoring on a 13 yard run then Sheyenne Sams caught an Ian Kolste pass and went 75 yards to make it 14-0 in the first quarter.

Later in the second it was Sams again, this time on a 50-yard run to boost the Wildcats to 21-0.

Getchell got on the board late in the first half, scoring on a 21-yard pass to make it 21-7 with less than a minute to go. 

Oak Harbor responded by driving down to the Getchell 36.  What appeared to be a touchdown catch by Jojo Webster was waved off by the officials and Oak Harbor went into the locker room leading 21-7.

OH got a break on the Chargers' first possession, when the punter mishandled the snap and the Wildcats got the ball on the Getchell 28.  Five plays later it was Sams again, this time from one yard out.  With 8:33 left in the 3rd it was now 28-7 for OH.

The two teams traded fumbles in what was left of the 3rd quarter, and OH maintained a 28-7 lead starting the 4th.

In the 4th, the normally potent Wildcat offense sputtered a bit, punting on two consecutive possessions.  Getchell took the second punt and drive 50 yards in 7 plays to cut the OH lead to 28-14 with 4:42 left.

The 'Cats recovered the onside kick, and after making a pair of first downs, Kolste was able to take a couple of knees to end the game with OH winning 28-14.

A few photos from the game are posted HERE.

Video highlights are posted HERE.


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VB 2012-10-11 vs Stanwood

Thursday afternoon the Wildcat volleyball team took on the Stanwood Spartans in a big match to determine  first place in WESCO 3A North.  A win would put the 'Cats in a tie with Stanwood for the lead.

In the dome, the Freshman team, which has struggled this year, fell to the visitors 13-25, 20-25, 19-25.

The JV team boosted their record to 8-3, defeating the Spartans 2-1 with game scored of 25-23, 23-25, 25-19.  In game 2 the JV team was down 18-10 at one point but worked hard to get back in the game, cutting the Stanwood lead to just one point, 24-23 before Stanwood was able to score to win the game.


On a night when the varsity volleyball team really needed to bring their "A" game, hoping to avenge a 3-0 sweep by Stanwood earlier in the season, they didn't.

In game one, the Wildcats led 6-4 early, but the next time OH got a point it was 18-6 in favor of Stanwood.  Oak Harbor never recovered from the 14-0 run and lost game one 25-10.

Game two was much closer, but Stanwood was able to take a 2-0 lead by winning the game 25-22, and won game three 25-21 to win the match 3-0.

The volleyball girls have just three matches left on their regular season schedule, all against league opponents, and two of them are away matches.  The team travels to Everett on Tuesday (OH won the first meeting 3-2), then go to Getchell on Thursday (hoping to repeat a 3-0 win), the finish the season at home next Wednesday, October 24th against Pilchuck (OH won 3-1).


Video highlights are HERE

Photos of Freshmen, JV and Varsity teams are HERE.


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Boys Tennis, Oct 8th and 10th

The week of October 8th was like night and day for the varsity and JV boys tennis squads.

On Monday the two teams faced off against Shorecrest, one of the top teams in WESCO, with the varsity team at home and JV on the road.

Both teams were swept by their opponents, losing 7-0 in straight sets.

Wednesday the teams switched places, with the JV team at home and varsity at Marysville Pilchuck and the scores were nearly reversed as well.

At Pilchuck, all four singles players won in straight sets.  Southard won 6-1, 6-0, Kusnick 6-3, 6-0, Saar 6-1, 6-0 and Miller 6-1, 6-1.  In doubles, the #1 team of Dale and Nelson won 7-5, 6-1, #2 Kelley and Mendoza fell 6-0, 6-2, and #3 Atienza and Unpingco won a flip-flopping 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 match.  The final was 6-1 in favor of OHHS

In exhibition action, Ziwei Peng and Jose Dimaculangan won 6-0, 7-5.

At OHHS the team score was also 6-1, with the only MP win a 3-set match at 1st singles.

OH singles winners were Martin 6-2, 6-3, Byers 6-0, 6-1 and Hunt 6-0, 6-0.

All 3 doubles team won, Smith/Rupp 6-1, 6-1, Curtis/Van Dam 6-2, 7-5, and Hallahan/Paraiso 4-6, 6-1, 10-7.

This ends the JV season, while varsity players continue to the league meet.

Varsity photos vs Shorecrest are posted HERE

JV photos vs Pilchuck are posted HERE.


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Girls Soccer 2012-10-09 vs Mountlake Terrace

On the positive side, both the JV and varsity squads scored goals on the visiting Mountlake Terrace Hawks Tuesday night at OHHS.

On the other hand, so did MLT.

The JV game was interesting, as due to a number of factors, particularly injuries, the OH JV squad was able to field only 8 players, so the two teams played 8-on-8 soccer, with each team scoring a single goal in the game.

In varsity action, Terrace scored 3 in the first half, but in the second the Wildcats played to a 1-1 tie, but the Hawks won the game 4-1.

Photos from both games are posted HERE.


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FB 2012-10-08 vs Mt. Vernon

Last Monday the JV football team hosted the Stanwood Spartans, and went into overtime.

Oak Harbor got the ball first and on the first play from scrimmage ran 51 yards down to the MV 20, but there the drive stalled and Mark Johnston kicked a 20-yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.

Later in the first, the Wildcats forced a Bulldog punt from the MV 31 and it appeared that the kick was returned for an OH touchdown, but the 'Cats were flagged for running into the kicker.  The penalty did not result in a first down for Mt. Vernon, but they did get to re-kick, and this time the ball was downed at the OH 47.  3 plays later the ball was stripped from the OH runner and returned 54 yards for a MV TD.  After converting the 2-point PAT with 1:26 left in the 1st quarter, MV was now in the lead 8-3.

The Wildcats regained the lead at the 10:21 mark in the second when a 6-yard run by Gage Eccleston capped a 6-play 81-yard drive.  The PAT pass fell incomplete, leaving the score 9-8.

Mt. Vernon came back just over two minutes later, scoring on a 7-yard pass with 8:16 to go.  Another 2-point PAT made it 16-9 in favor of MV.

Seventeen seconds is how long it takes fullback Mark Johnston to cover 55 yards in full football gear, as he scored on the first play of the next OH possession.  With 7:59 until halftime, OH 15, MV 16.

The OH defense held the rest of the half, forcing punts on all three MV possessions, but the Wildcats also punted once, and were intercepted twice.

Mt. Vernon opened the second half with a quick score of their own, needed just 26 seconds to score, needing two plays and ending with a 4-yard run.  This time the PAT failed, so it was 22-15 now for the Bulldogs.

On one of the longest drives in the game tied the game.  While it didn't use a lot of time off the clock, the Wildcats used 12 plays to drive 63 yards to the MV 6-yard line where QB Clayton Doughty kept the ball.  Johnston's kick was good with 7:48 left in the 3rd.

The Bulldogs looked like they were going to score to retake the lead, but Eccleston intercepted MV at the 1 yard line.  The Wildcats got the ball out to the 6 but fumbled the ball back.

At this point the defense shined.  With their backs against the wall, they dug in and forced Mt. Vernon back.  Four times the Bulldogs tried to find the end zone and four times they were denied.  In those four plays the Bulldogs lost 15 yards and OH took over.

The third quarter ended tied at 22, and both teams spent most of the 4th quarter around midfield, neither team moving the ball much, and the quarter expired with the game still tied at 22.

In overtime, OH won the toss so MV had to go first.  Their first two plays were marred by bad snaps, so on 3rd down the ball was at the 40 instead of the 25.  The third down pass fell incomplete, bringing up 4th and 25 from the 40.  This time the snap was good and the throw was accurate, but the ball was intercepted by Oak Harbor.  It appeared to be #26, who does not appear on the roster, snagging the ball around the 5 yard line.

Oak Harbor's first play went seven yards, but the second play, a handoff to Eccleston, went 18 yards and the winning score.  Final: Oak Harbor 28, Mt. Vernon 22.

Video highlights are HERE.

Photos are HERE.


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Youth Football 2012-10-06

It was not a good day for Oak Harbor Youth Football last Saturday, as six of the seven teams all lost their games. 

There were four games played at the Ft. Nugent Field, the Cougars, Wildcats, Jaguars and Bobcats.

The closest game was the senior Wildcat game against Ferndale.  Down 16-0 at halftime, the Wildcats came back to tie the game, forcing overtime.  Ferndale went first and scored a TD, but failed to convert their PAT.  Oak Harbor went next and got the ball down to the 1-yard line, and looked like it was going to go in, but a fumble ended the play giving Ferndale a 22-16 victory.

The only victory for the day were the junior Pumas, who defeated host Bellingham 25-16.

The season is now complete for the PeeWee teams, but all other teams have two more games to go in the regular season.

Next Saturday, October 13th, the Pumas and Wildcats are the only teams playing at home.  The Wildcats host LaConner at 11am and the Pumas take on Mt. Vernon Green at 9am.

On the road are the Cougars at Sedro White at 9am and Jaguars at Sedro Blue at 11am.  The Panthers have a bye.

Cougars photos are posted HERE.

Photos from the Wildcat game are HERE

Click HERE for Jaguar photos

Finally, HERE are the Bobcat pictures.


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Middle School Cross Country 2012-10-03 at Anacortes

Halfway through the middle school cross country season, the Wildcat United runners showed their strength by winning 3 of the 4 divisions at a race at Anacortes High School last week.  All names are from the official results provided by Anacortes.  If any names are misspelled, send a note and it will be corrected ASAP.

In the 7th grade boys division, it was all Ryan Vasileff, as he covered the 1.8 mile course in 11:14, nearly one minute ahead of his nearest competitor.  The next OH runner was James Besaw in 10th place with a time of 13:15, then came Charlie Pabona, Clifford Hartley, Ethan Cosper, Nicholas Huffman, Thane Scith, Travis Wagner, Josh Byers, Dean Martin, Eric Baxter and Kurt Husler.

For the 7th grade girls, who ran in a combined race with the 8th grade girls, it was Jenna Cooley winning for Oak Harbor in a time of 11:59.  Next for OH was Taliah Black in 3rd place and a time of 12:57.  Also in the top 10 were Christian Miesle (8) and Maggie Fink (9).  Also running for Wildcat United was Stephanie Finch, Brooke Taylor, Breanna Chamberlain, Grace Westcott, Inez Jiminez, Kaylie Lacoste and Antoinette Aird,

The 8th grade girls winner was Carolyn Wicker in 11:59, followed by Oak Harbor's Kendall Sloan in 2nd place and a time of 12:23.  Also in the top 10 were Emma Lerch (5), Mia Gehrmann (6), Lauryn Boelke (7), Erica Sugatan (8) and Shea Davis (10).  Other finishers were Tamia Rios, Kyra McConaghy, Maddy Harstad, Sarah Gartley, Christina Ferris, Paxton Chadwick, Katharyn Gordon and Rayne Burbank.

Finally, the 8th grade boys race was neck and neck throughout. Oak Harbor's Miguel Guzman went with a LaVenture runner stride-for-stride the entire race, but Miguel couldn't keep up with the LaVenture last speed burst and came in second by less than a half-second after running 1.8 miles.  Guzman's time was 10:27.45, the winning time 10:27.13.

Other top 10 OH finishers were Kenneth Morrew (3), and Kegan Snell (8).  Also finishing for Wildcat United were Kelly Holt, Joshua Margraf, Jaycob Callies, Austin Hauter, Michael Hasmann, Alex Hartley, Lucas Nickelson and William Nickelson.

Photos from the combined girls race are posted HERE.

7th grade boys race photos are HERE.

8th grade boys race photos are HERE.

Youth Soccer 2012-10-06

If you were not at Ft. Nugent Park on Saturday, you should have been!  It was a beautiful day, sunny, but not too hot.

As usual, there were hundreds of kids in their bright soccer jerseys, serious looks on their faces, kicking the soccer ball all over the fields.

We were able to get photos of 7 games, including the final two U-6 games.

There are also photos of 3 U-8 games and a pair of U-10 games.

No photographer will be at soccer next weekend, the 13th, but will be there on the 20th and 27th.  The concentration will be to complete the U-8 teams and get as many of the U-10 teams as possible.

Here are the photos from last weekend:

GU-6 Purple Princesses vs Lt. Blue team sponsored by Whidbey Bank

BU-6 Orange Wolves vs Red Ninjas

BU-8 Red Wolf Pack vs Orange Shredders.  The Wolf Pack has All Island Pest Control as a sponsor.

GU-8 Lt. Blue Dolphins vs Pink Pixies

GU-8 Lime Alligators vs Purple Fireballs

BU-10 Gold Blazing Eagles vs Blue Angels

GU-10 Purple People Eaters vs Blue Dragons.  The Blue Dragons are sponsored by the Whidbey Party Store


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FB 2012-10-05 at Mt. Vernon

It was touch-and-go for a while, but in the end the Wildcats pulled of a 35-27 victory last Friday night at Mt. Vernon.

Oak Harbor got the ball first at their own 26 and drove down to the MV 3 yard line, but the drive stalled and the 4th down play did not get the score.

Taking over deep in their own territory, the Bulldogs needed only two plays, one of them a 94-yard pass to take the early lead. With 7:52 left in the first, MV led 6-0 after failing to convert their PAT

The Wildcats answered with a long, clock-consuming, drive.  The 17 play, 71 yard drive ran over 7 minutes off the clock and ended with Ian Kolste tossing a 3 yard pass to Troy Sturdevant.  With just 12 seconds left in the first quarter, OH now led 7-6.

Starting the second quarter, it was another big play for the Bulldogs, as they ran the ball 47 yards to the end zone to retake the lead just over two minutes into the quarter.  The 2-point PAT was successful, putting MV back in the lead 14-7.

This time the Wildcats needed just 8 plays to cover 59 yards, ending with a 17-yard pass from Kolste to Logan Faught to tie the game at 14.

On Mt. Vernon's next series, they went 3-and-out, thanks to big Tyler Adamson getting into the backfield and batting away a Bulldog pass.  However, the Wildcats fumbled the ball back to Mt. Vernon just 6 plays later.

This MV drive covered only 17 yards, aided by a questionable pass interference call against Oak Harbor, but stalled by a nice tackle for loss by Dayne Herron, then a combination sack by Jeremy Foster, Jon Lanningham and Adamson.

Oak Harbor now had the ball on their own 20 yard line with 1:13 on the clock and the score tied at 14.  A nice 33-yard pass from Kolste to Isaiah Trower down the sideline set up another 33-yard pass to Jojo Webster in the end zone with just 5 second on the clock to give OH a 21-14 halftime lead.

In the second half, MV punted after 4 plays and the Wildcats lined up to punt after 5 plays.  Instead of punting, the 'Cats went for the fake, and after a measurement, with the official's taking a long, hard look, the attempt came up less than a half and inch short and Mt. Vernon took over at the 50.  Their first play was a 38 yard pass down to the 12 yard line, but the Wildcat defense held and forced a turnover on downs.

OH had to punt on their next series.  Andre Cumberbatch was back to get the snap, but it sailed high over his head and into the end zone.  Andre was able to get back, pick up the ball and get a kick off, but was downed at the 30 yard line. 

Even starting a drive at the 30, it took Mt. Vernon 11 plays before punching into the end zone from a yard out to make it 21-21 with 14 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

With 9:27 left in the 4th, Kolste completed another pass for a touchdown to Jojo Webster, this one from 7 yards out.  OH was now back in the lead 28-21.

The Bulldogs responded with their own score, a 14-yard run.  Instead of going with a PAT kick to tie the score, the Bulldog coaching staff decided to go for two.  They lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone but the ball fell incomplete, leaving OH with a 28-27 lead with 6:53 left in the game.

Oak Harbor's final score of the night came on a Fred Webster 1-yard run up the middle to cap a 14 play drive that took the clock down to 1:07.  The score was now 35-27 in favor of the Wildcats.

After the TD, Oak Harbor kicked off to Mt. Vernon, and the return man fumbled the ball with the Wildcats recovering, and after Kolste took two knees, the game ended with OH winning 35-27.

Photos from the game are posted HERE.

Video highlights are HERE.


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Boys Tennis 2012-10-04 vs Getchell

Thursday afternoon the OH boys tennis team took on the Getchell Chargers in the next-to-last home match of the year.

This was one of their toughest matches of the year and was very close right to the end.

The three OH doubles team got swept in straight sets, and the #1 and #4 singles players won their matches, leaving the result of the match to the #2 and #3 players, David Kusnick and Carter Saar, and both men went into tiebreakers in their second set.

Kusnick won his first set 6-4, and won the second 7-6 in a marathon 12-10 tiebreaker.

Now it was up to Saar.  Carter fell in the first set 6-4, then dug in to win the second 7-6 in after 5 tiebreakers.  In the final and match-deciding set, Saar settled down and quickly dispatched his opponent 6-1, giving the Wildcats a well-deserved 4-3 victory.

At the same time, the JV team was in Marysville, and could pull out only a single win.  Jared Hunt won 6-2, 4-6, 13-11 at 4th singles.

2nd and 3rd doubles lost in straight sets, but went deep into tiebreakers before falling.

The varsity team winds up the season next week with a home match Monday against Shorecrest, then visiting Pilchuck on Wednesday.

The JV team will be at Shorecrest on Monday then at home Wednesday to end their season.

Varsity tennis photos are posted HERE.


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FB 2012-10-01 JV vs Stanwood

It took what seemed forever, but finally it was over.  In a nearly 3-hour JV football game, the Oak Harbor Wildcats defeated the visiting Stanwood Spartans 24-16.

Stanwood got the ball first, but fumbled two plays into the game, then the Spartans picked off a Wildcat pass and returned it 45 yards to take a 8-0 lead early.

On Stanwood's second possession, one of the oddest plays of the game happened.  Stanwood was looking at a 4th-and-16 at their own 26 and were set to punt with the kicker on his own 12 yard line.  He got the kick off, but the winds was blowing hard and the ball bounced at the 35, then rolled back to the original line of scrimmage where it was downed by the Spartans.  The very next play, Oak Harbor completed a 26-yard pass to the end zone.  The 2-point PAT attempt failed, so Stanwood led 8-6.

Just before the half, OH scored again on a 37-yard run to take a 12-8 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, the 'Cats punched it in from 4 yards out to boost the lead to 18-8.

Late in the game, with OH leading 24-16, Stanwood was driving, but the Wildcats were able to hold for the win.

The JV team is at home again this coming Monday, October 8th, hosting the Mt. Vernon Bulldogs, then again on the 15th against Getchell.

Video highlights from the first half are posted HERE

Photos are HERE.

VB 2012-10-03 vs Getchell

It was a 3-team sweep for the Wildcats Tuesday evening at OHHS as they hosted the Marysville Getchell Chargers.

The Freshman team played some of their best volleyball winning 2 games of the 3-set match and the JV team swept their series 3-0.

In the varsity match, Getchell scored the first point, but before you could blink it was 5-2 Wildcats after a Kayleigh Harper kill.  Later, Kelsey Rankin got the serve with the Wildcats leading 11-4, and she continued to serve until the score was 24-4.  Getchell only got one more point in the game, off a Wildcat error.  OH won the first game 25-5.

Things got a little better in the 2nd and 3rd games for Getchell, but the Wildcats still completely dominated both games, winning them by identical scores of 25-12 and sweeping the match 3-0.

The girls travel to Pilchuck on Tuesday then host Stanwood on Thursday the 11th, hoping to get revenge after losing in the Spartans' gym 3-0.

In addition, on Thursday the team will be wearing pink jerseys as part of breast cancer awareness month.


Photos of all 3 teams are posted HERE.

Video clips are HERE.


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Girls Soccer 2012-10-02 vs Meadowdale

Tuesday night the OH girls soccer team ran into a buzzsaw named Meadowdale.

The Maverick JV squad came into the game with a 7-1 record and averaging 4 goals per game.  Tuesday they added another win and 6 more goals by blanking the Wildcats 6-0.  While the OH girls played hard and never gave up, Meadowdale was just too strong.

In the varsity game, Meadowdale showed why they are the #1 ranked team in the state. The Wildcats were missing nearly half their starting lineup and had only one substitute available for the game.  Again our girls played hard and didn't quit, but Meadowdale seemed to score at will, hitting 7 goals to improve their record to 9-0.

The girls take on the 3-3-3 Shorewood Thunderbirds Thursday night, then take on 1-6-1 Mountlake Terrace Hawks next week on Tuesday in non-league matchups.

JV and Varsity photos are posted HERE.


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GBB 2012-09-30 Fall League

Members of the OHHS girls basketball team that are participating in the Skagit Parks and Rec fall league played a doubleheader last Sunday at Sedro Woolley HS against a pair of teams from Canada.  In the first game they played the U17 open AthElite team and in the second another U17 AthElite team.

The first game was a blowout, with the Wildcats falling 48-26.

In the second game, the 'Cats, even with only 7 girls available and playing their second game in a row, held their own against the Canadian visitors.  At halftime OH was down 18-16, and with less than a minute to go the girls were down by only one point, 34-33, but could not get a shot off before the horn sounded.

The girls have games every Sunday until November 4th, will all but one remaining games at Skagit Valley College in Mt. Vernon.

A few video clips from the game are posted HERE.

Click HERE for photos.


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Youth football 9/22 and 9/29

Saturday, September 22nd, 6 of the 7 Oak Harbor youth football teams were in action with 3 teams playing at home.

On the road, the Jaguars struggled against Burlington at the corn field, falling 22-6. 

Right after that game, the Bobcats took to the field and hung tough with the Tigers before losing 12-6.

The other peewee team, the Lynx, was at Arlington Gold and lost 27-6.

At Ft. Nugent, the Cougars continued their winning ways, beating Burlington blue 24-13, but it was the only Oak Harbor victory of the day as the Pumas lost to Burlington Gold 42-6 and the Panthers fell to the midget Burlington Gold team 45-18.

Photos from the Jaguar game are posted HERE

Bobcat pics are HERE.

Things got a little better on September 29th, but only on the road.

At home, the Jaguars played the first game of the day and had the closest score, losing 18-8.  Following them, the senior Wildcat team lost 44-6 to Burlington, the Lynx lost 31-0 to Lakewood and the Bobcats fell 30-6 to Burlington Blue.

At Mt. Vernon Green, the midget Cougars remained undefeated, winning 36-28. 

At Sedro Woolley, the Pumas won 24-12 and Panthers won 30-13.

Jaguars video highlights are HERE

Wildcat highlights are HERE.

Click HERE for Lynx video highlights

Video clips from the Bobcats game are HERE.

There are four games next weekend at Ft. Nugent, starting at 9am.  The Cougars, Wildcats, Jaguars and Bobcats all play at home.  It will be the last regular season game for the Bobcats.
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FB 2012-09-28 varsity at Stanwood

The Wildcats exploded on both offense, defense and special teams at Stanwood High School last Friday night, lighting up the scoreboard with 48 points.

Stanwood got on the board first, taking the opening kickoff and scoring on a 37-yard field goal with 7:30 left in the 1st quarter.  That was the last time the Spartans would score that night.

Oak Harbor scored on a 27 yard pass from Ian Kolste to a bobbing and weaving Jojo Webster.  The pass was set up by a 55-yard run by Isaiah Trower.

Trower scored his on touchdown less than 3 minutes later, scampering in from 11 yard out.  With 1:56 left in the first quarter, it was 13-3 in favor of Oak Harbor.

Oak Harbor got the ball right back when the Spartans fumbled the kickoff, and Fred Webster ran up the middle for a 17-yard score with 11:48 left in the 2nd, making it 30-3 for the Wildcats.

Stanwood started their next drive at their own 35, and 11 plays later were at the OH 8 yard line.  On the next play the Stanwood runner was grabbed by big Dayne Herron and fumbled the ball at the 1 yard line where it was grabbed by Sheyenne Sams who returned it an untouched 99 yards to boost the Wildcat lead to 27-3.

On Oak Harbor's next possession, they were looking at a 4th-and-20 at the Stanwood 46 and the Wildcats were lined up to punt.  Andre Cumberbatch got the punt away, but the kick was mishandled by Stanwood at the 9 yard line, picked up by Jojo Webster who was stripped of the ball at the 1 yard line, and finally the ball was recovered by Sam Shultz.  Since in high school football a muffed punt can't be advanced, the ball was spotted at the Stanwood 9 yard line, and two plays later it was Julian Faralan for the TD.  34-3 for OH with less than a minute in the half.

The half ended with Nathanial Stanford intercepting a Spartan pass a the OH 27.

In the second half, Kolste completed his 2nd scoring throw of the game, this one to Troy Sturdevant from 12 yards out.

After forcing a Stanwood punt, it was another Kolste passing touchdown, this one a bomb from the 41 yard line to Jojo Webster with 5:51 left in the game, making it 48-3 for the Wildcats.

The game ended with Michael LaBelle forcing a fumble at the OH 23 where it was recovered by OH at time expired.

Video highlights are posted HERE.

Photos are posted HERE.



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VB 2012-09-27 vs Everett

Oak Harbor opened home league play Thursday with an up and down night against the visiting Everett Seagulls.

Over in the dome, the Freshman team came close, but could not get it done, falling 16-25, 20-25, 24-26.

At the same time, the JV team was over in the main gym.  After a slow start, the JV girls took a 5-4 lead and slowly pulled away for the rest of game 1, winning 25-13.  They spotted Everett a 11-8 lead in the second game, but tied the game at 14 and squeaked out a 25-21 win.  With the match already won, coach Swankie did some experimenting with his lineups, and although the girls played well, lost the final game 22-25.

Game 1 of the varsity match was tied at 9 when the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run and built a 9-point lead to win the first game 25-17.

Everett dominated early in game two, leading 21-12 at one point, but some nice serving by senior Kelsey Rankin closed the gap somewhat, but Everett captured the second game 25-18.

It was back to OH in game 3, as the Wildcats led throughout to win 25-20.

The Wildcats struggled again in game 4, spotting Everett a 5-1 lead before tying the game at 5, but Everett pulled ahead, leading by 8 points at one time, and tied the match 2-2 with a 25-20 win.

Determined not to lose their first league match at home, the OH girls dug in for game 5.  Everett earned the first point, but from there it was all Wildcats as our ladies went on a 9-0 run.  The game ended with a Roshel Muzzall service ace, making the score 15-4 and making Oak Harbor the winner of the match 3 games to 2.

The girls play WESCO 3A south Meadowdale at home on Tuesday for their only match this week.

Video highlights are posted HERE.

Photos from all 3 matches are posted HERE.

Boys tennis vs Glacier Peak and Mountlake Terrace

On September 26th, the varsity team was at Glacier Peak and the JV was at home and both teams were swept by the powerful Grizzlies in straight sets.

Photos from the JV match are posted HERE.

Two days later, both teams played at home against Mountlake Terrace and both teams were at full strength.

In JV action the Wildcats got their first team win of the year, nipping the Hawks 4-3.  Due to time constraints, there was only one long set played at each level.

Winners were Isaac Deleon at 2nd singles, 8-1; Caleb Byers at 3rd singles 8-2; Alex Smith at 4th singles 8-5; and Max VanDam and Matt Hallahan at 2nd doubles 8-1.

For the varsity matches, it was the doubles teams that made the difference in the Wildcats' 5-2 victory.  Oak Harbor split the singles matches, with #2 David Kusnick (6-1, 6-0) and #4 Harrison Miller (6-1, 6-0)  winning in straight sets, then swept the doubles, also in straight sets.  Tom Dale and Jacob Nelson moved to 1st doubles and won 6-3, 6-2, Sean Kelly and Jozef Mendoza at 2nd won 7-6(4), 6-3) and 3rd doubles Casiano Atienza and Antonio Unpingco won 6-3, 6-4.

Even though OH lost at #1 and #3 singles, both those matches had to go to 3 sets to determine the winner.

Photos from the varsity squad vs Terrace are posted HERE.


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