Varsity football at Stanwood 10-10-08

Stanwood started out of the gate with a bang, and continued to hammer at the Wildcat run defense, and the Spartans finished on top, 22-10 on homecoming night for Stanwood.

Stanwood received the opening kick, and after a flag on their first play, got started with a 1st& 15 from the Stanwood 27. A long run coupled with a personal foul facemask against the 'Cats moved the ball to the OH 47. 7 plays later, facing a 4th and 6 on the OH 11, Stanwood lined up in a field goal formation, but went for the fake, but the pass fell to the ground, giving the ball to OH with 7:10 to go in the first on the OH 11.

Instead of the normal Wing-T formation Wildcat fans are used to seeing, Oak Harbor came out in a spread formation, with James Jordan taking almost every snap from the shotgun, and no more than 1 running back. The first play was a pass to #24 Josh Higbee for 11 yards. That first series ended with a punt from the Stanwood 48, but instead of run, run, run, the drive, lasting 8 plays before the punt, had 3 passes (2 completed - 1 to Higbee, the other to Rashaad Smith), and 5 runs, 3 by Jordan.

Stanwood took the punt at the 20 and brought it out to the 27, and using the remaining 4:02 of the first quarter, marched 73 yards to the Oak Harbor end zone, scoring on a 37-yard pass reception as time ran out. The kick failed, so the 1st quarter score was 6-0 for Stanwood.

Starting the 2nd quarter, the Wildcats went 3-and-out, punting on a 4th & 10 from the OH 33, Stephen Lewis got off a good kick and got a good bounce, and the Wildcats downed it at the Stanwood 15. Stanwood could only get it out to the 39 before the Wildcat defense forced a punt, but so did the Stanwood "D" after only 6 yards were gained by OH. Derrick Clarit got downfield quickly and tackled the Spartan returner after only 2 yards were gained. Stanwood punted back to Oak Harbor.

Taking over on the OH 37 with 4:16 left in the half, Jordan ran the ball twice, but only got the ball to the OH 39. With a 3rd & 8, Jordan threw the ball to Rashaad Smith who caught it around the Stanwood 42 and ran it down to the 27. A reception by Hunt brought the ball to the Stanwood 12. Jordan was sacked for a 10-yard loss on the next play, and OH could only move back to the Stanwood 17. Facing a 4th & 15 on the 17, Kevin Flavin kicked a 34-yard field goal, putting OH on the board with 45 seconds left in the half. After the kickoff, Stanwood only ran 2 plays before halftime, leaving the score at 6-3 in favor of the Spartans.

Receiving the kick to start the 2nd half, Oak Harbor moved the ball downfield quickly, using exactly one minute to score. The drive only lasted 4 plays. The first was a 12-yard pass reception by Stephen Lewis, followed by a Jordan run after a poor snap. This play was marred by a holding call downfield against the 'Cats, but the play still resulted in a first down in Stanwood territory. Jordan then threw an incompletion to Smith, but then connected with Josh Higbee right at the goal line for the score. Flavin's kick was good, putting OH in the lead 10-6.

Stanwood's next possession ended in a wild play. The Spartan runner, from the Oak Harbor 47, ran down to around the 10. He was slowed by, it looked like, Derrick Clarit, then a so-far unidentified player came up from behind and knocked the ball loose. It popped about 10 feet up in the air, was caught by a Wildcat who retreated near the goal line, and got out to the 5 before HE was hit hard, and the ball popped high in the air again, but was finally recovered by Oak Harbor at their own 5 yard line.

Stanwood's defense turned up the pressure on Jordan, and on a 3rd down play with less than a yard to go, the Spartan defense forced Jordan back, and were able to sack him in the end zone for a safety. Now, with 6:36 in the 3rd, Stanwood had closed the gap to 2, 10-8.

Oak Harbor kicked the ball from the 20 after the safety, and in a time-consuming drive, used 11 consecutive run plays to score from the OH 1 yard line. The kick was good, putting Stanwood in the lead for good, 15-10 with less than a minute left in the 3rd.

Oak Harbor ended the quarter with a nice Higbee reception for a first down, but a series of 3 flags on three plays in a row found Oak Harbor with a 4th down on their own 45, and punted back to Stanwood.

The first Spartan play went backwards 4 yards. Greg Goebel got in a hit on the runner, enough to slow him down and let Chris Neumiller come in to complete the tackle for loss. It was the only high point for OH during the drive, as 6 plays later Stanwood ran the ball in from the OH 40, converted the kick, and led 22-10 with 7:10 left.

Oak Harbor punted after a 3-and-out effort, and Stanwood used 7 running plays to knock 5 minutes off the clock before turning the ball over to OH on downs at the OH 7 with 1:53 remaining. OH got the ball out to the 27, but a long Jordan pass was intercepted at the 45 with 9 seconds left, then Stanwood took a knee as the clock ran out.

Images from the pre-game warmup have been posted HERE.

Tennis at OHHS Friday afternoon

This is beginning to sound like a broken record - the OH tennis team loses another one by a 4-3 score.

Winning for the 'Cats were Ryan Evans (6-2, 6-3), Jordan Kingma (6-4, 6-3), and Josh Evans (6-3, 6-2). #1 Derek Thomas went 3 sets, losing the 1st 4-6, winning the second 6-2, and losing the 3rd 3-6.

That, coupled with 3 Oak Harbor losses in doubles handed the Wildcat tennis men their 10th loss of the year against only 4 wins.

Thursday results - so far

The only home matchup was girls soccer vs Lake Stevens.

The Lake Stevens JV won 6-1, but the Oak Harbor girls scored another goal, their 3rd of the season. Morgan Dutton scored on a free kick, for the second game in a row, in the 2nd half. After the game Haylee Little said the team was in a good mood. "We scored", she said.

The varsity team dug themselves into an early hole, letting Lake Stevens score two early goals, then allowed a third just seconds before the end of the half. Coming out of halftime, the Wildcat girls got aggressive, and with less than 2 minutes gone, Roni Tomlin, with an assist by Carson McKole, slipped the ball past the Viking goalkeeper for the score. The rest of the 2nd half was played to a standsill except for a single Lake Stevens goal halfway through the 2nd half.

57 images from the varsity soccer game have been posted HERE.

Down in Lynnwood, the boys and girls Cross Country team faced off against Cascade, Arlington and host Meadowdale. Matt Reith won the boys JV race, with Jake Daniel and Connor Zimmerman finishing 3rd and 4th respectively.

The girls team posted their first team victory of the season, finishing with 35 points against Arlington's 41. The first OH runner was Allison Duvenez who was 2nd overall. She was the leader of a 3-girl pack who all finished within a second of each other. The 3rd girl in the pack and 4th overall was Adrianna Royal. Other OH runners who finished high enough to earn points were Kathryn Fisken (7th), Kimberley Kyle (10th), and Heather Dale (12th).

The boys XC team came in 2nd to Cascade, but beat league opponent Arlington by 2 points. Tops for the 'Cats was Tyler King (2nd overall), followed by Josh Durhkopf (9th), Cody Klauer (12th), Michael Reith (14th) and Matt Bolte (16th).
At Arlington HS, the varsity volleyball squad got their first league win, beating the Eagles 3-1. OH lost the first game 17-25, but using senior Jessica Muzzall's 13 kills and Jen Jansen's 14 kills won the next 3 game 26-24, 25-23, and 25-22 for the win. Senior Kim Mowbray added 3kills along with her 4 blocks for the Wildcats. The JV and Freshman teams did not fare well, and we'll just leave it at that.

Timout with....Aimee Kelly - JV Soccer

Aimee Jean Kelly was born October 5th in Oak Harbor to Jerald and Annette Kelly. Dad is active duty Navy and mom is a supervisor at McDonalds. She has a sister, Ashley, who is a junior at OHHS. While born in Oak Harbor, Aimee has not lived here her entire life, but has also lived in Atsugi, Japan and Kaneohe, Hawaii.

The 5’1” freshman is a forward on the OHHS JV soccer team, wearing #4, and also plans to run track in the spring. Her first sport is soccer, mainly due to her love of the game. She’s been playing for some time and feels her strength is her running – she has good endurance and can move around the field quickly. Her goals for this year are to get one or two goals and to improve her passing game.

Aimee doesn’t watch sports much, but will watch a soccer game if she finds one on TV. She does, however make a point of watching “House” and “Cold Case”. She’ll listen to almost any kind of music, but prefers Oldies and Christian rock. In movies, one of her favorites is “The Notebook”, followed closely by “The Parent Trap”.

In school, Aimee would like to be a straight-A student, and is on her way to that goal so far this year. Her favorite class just happens to be taught by her favorite teacher, and both are leading her to her career plans. Her favorite class is CAD and Architectural Design taught by Mr. Bender, and for a career, she really wants to become an Architect.

When asked about her most memorable moments, both sports-related and non-sports related, she was hard-pressed to think of anything. She never did come up with a truly memorable life moment, but for sports, she related an episode from a rec soccer game she was playing. Aimee and a friend were both playing defense in a game, got the ball, and the two of them started moving the ball upfield towards the other goal. Before they realized it, they had turned themselves into forwards, while the forwards had moved to defense. At the time, it was quite amusing, as it was totally unplanned that almost the entire team swapped positions during that play.

Aimee said that if she could live anywhere in the world, she would probably pick either London or Australia. She thought either place would be a great place to live.

In closing, Aimee wanted to say that she enjoys sports as it forces her to stay fit and keep her body clean, something she would like to encourage in others.

Varsity football clips posted

3 clips from last Friday's varsity football game vs Snohomish have been posted HERE.

Boys Tennis results from Wednesday - JV @ Varsity

In what seems to becoming the typical Oak Harbor tennis match results, the Varsity Wildcats dropped a 4-3 match to Everett at Everett on Wednesday.

3 of 4 singles players won their matches, with only junior Derek Thomas losing. Although Jordan Kingma's sets were close, he was able to win both with identical 7-5 scores.

In doubles, the #1 team went 3 sets before losing 1-6, 6-3, 2-6, and the #2 and #3 team both went down in straight sets.

The JV team was at home against Everett, and did not fare as well. #1 doubles Ben Pralle and Ben Harrison played well, as did #1 singles Geoff Worley and #4 David DeGuzman, but it was not enough to overcome a strong Everett team, and lost 7-0.

Freshman football - OH vs Snohomish

The Oak Harbor freshman football team faced off against Snohomish at Wildcat Memorial Stadium Wednesday afternoon, and it was an exciting game.

Snohomish got the ball first after the OH kickoff, but ran only 2 plays before Corey Houck intercepted a Snohomish pass at the OH 20, returning it out to the 38. Oak Harbor moved the ball to the Snohomish 41, but could not convert on a 4th & 9. Snohomish took over with 6:20 left in the first and was able to move the ball down to the OH 1. The Panthers fumbled the ball during the 1st & Goal to go play, but were able to recover the ball, and the Snoho QB ran it across the goal line on the next play, putting Snohomish 7-0 with 1:28 remaining in the first.

Michael Mack returned the Snoho kickoff 11 yards, giving the OH offense a first down on the OH 19. The 'Cats got off 2 plays before time expired in the first quarter.

Starting the 2nd, the Wildcats couldn't move the ball and punted from their own 36. Snohomish tried to return the kick, but the returner was tackled at the Snohomish 38 by Tucker Lundstrom. The OH defense let Snohomish get down to the OH 18, but stiffened. Hunter Vail got a sack on one play, a combo of Brent Ryan and Nick Farrell forced a 10-yard loss, and with Snohomish facing a 4th & 22 from the OH 30, Wildcat tacklers forced a fumble which OH recovered on the 18.

Again, though, the offense sputtered, punting after gaining only 9 yards on 3 plays. Snohomish got the ball down to the OH 30, then ran it for a score with 1:29 left in the half.

On the next possession, Oak Harbor went 3-and-out, giving the Panthers the ball on their own 39 and 1 minute left in the half. Snohomish moved away from the run and completed passes of 5 and 21 yards to get the ball to the OH 22 with 4 seconds to go. Snohomish completed the next pass at around the 10, but with 3 Wildcats riding him, the Snohomish receiver was able to fight his way into the endzone as time expired. The kick was good, giving Snohomish a 21-0 halftime lead.

The Wildcat defensive woes continued in the 2nd half, with Oak Harbor punting after 3 plays, then Snohomish overcoming 2 penalties and a 3rd & 25 to complete a pass for a TD with 6:19 left in the 3rd, increasing the Panther lead to 28-0.

After returning the kickoff 6 yards to the OH 35, the Wildcats used a series of runs by Connor Meyer, Peter Franssen and Justin Everett to get the ball moving until it was 1st & 10 on the Snohomish 17. Facing a 4th & 7 on the Snohomish 14, QB Matt Burgoyne handed the ball to Justin Everett who pounded it in for Oak Harbor's first score of the day, with 1:37 left in the 3rd. The 2-point conversion was good making the score 28-8

Snohomish received the OH kickoff at their own 21 and returned it to the 35, but 2 plays later, after a 5-yard facemask penalty on Oak Harbor made it 1st & 3 for Snohomish, the Panthers fumbled and Oak Harbor recovered at the Snoho 45. Justin Everett took the ball down to the 24 on the first play, and on the 2nd play, Burgoyne completed a pass to Janssen for another OH score. The PAT run failed, leaving the score at 28-14 with 0:25 left in the 3rd.

On their next possession, Snohomish used a 27-yard run and a 14- yard completion to get the ball to the OH 3 where they pushed it in for their 5th score of the day and increasing their lead to 35-14.

With only 7:44 left in the game, the Wildcats again found themselves unable to move the ball. After an illegal block penalty, the 'Cats found themselves with a 4th & 18 from the OH 7 and were forced to punt. Snohomish then ran 4 plays before fumbling a snap which OH recovered on the OH 41. Justin Everett ran the ball on the first play to the Snoho 43, then Franssen ran it down to the 35 where he was hit and fumbled, but Cody Hernkind was there to cover the ball, setting up Everett's 35-yard TD run on 3rd & 2. Franssen ran the 2-point conversion in, closing the score to 35-22 in favor of Snohomish.

Oak Harbor kicked off deep, but Snohomish was able to return the ball to the OH 45, but with a 3rd & 2 on the OH 37, Snohomish fumbled again due to pressure by Hunter Vail.

The 'Cats first play was a Burgoyne completion to Cody Sanders, and then runs by Everett and Franssen moved the ball to the Snoho 25. Burgoyne was then sacked on 2 consecutive plays due to a breakdown of the offensive line, but on the 2nd sack, Snohomish was called for a personal foul, putting the ball on the Snohomish 30, 3rd & 15, with 1:18 left in the game. Everett ran the ball down to the 11, then a pass to Cory Houck appeared to be caught and run in for a TD, but the officials ruled the ball bounced off the turf before Houck caught it. Now with 45 seconds left in the game, Everett ran the ball in for another TD with 41 seconds left. The run PAT failed, leaving the score at 35-28.

OH lined stacked the right side of the field for the onside kick attempt, but kicked it to the left, hoping to catch Snohomish off guard. It worked, but the kicker put just a little too much on it and the ball rolled out of bounds at the Snohomish 40. From there, Snohomish took a couple of knees to end the game with a 35-28 win.

77 images, most from the pre-game warmup, have been posted HERE. Two of the players, #31 and #22 are not listed on the roster, so those players are identified by jersey number rather than by name.

JV results from Tuesday

Sorry for the delay, but here are JV and Freshman results from volleyball, soccer and tennis from last Tuesday.

In soccer, the girls scored their 2nd goal of the year, this one a direct free kick by Morgan Dutton that went straight into the net. However, Monroe was able to score 2 goals to win the game.

The boys JV tennis team played well - better than the 6-1 loss indicated. The #1 doubles team of Ben Harrison and Ben Pralle won their match. In the others, 3 matches went to tiebreakers, with Arlington able to win all three of the tiebreakers.

The Freshman and JV volleyball teams were at Lake Stevens, with the Freshman team playing at the new Cavalero Mid-High and the JV at Lake Stevens HS. The freshman team continues to show improvement, and improved during Tuesday's match, starting on the losing end of a 25-8 score. Game two was 13-25 and game 3 19-25. Coach Bjork said that the Freshman team is vastly improved from the beginning of the year - so much so that at times it seems like a totally different team on the court.

The JV games (except for the 1st game) were close. After falling 12-25 in the first, the girls rebounded and took game 2 into extra points during a back-and-forth fight, but LS was able to pull out the 26-24 win. Game 3 was also close, but LS again got the win, 25-23.

New Poll Posted

How many points will the OH Varsity Football Team score against Stanwood on Friday?

Vote!

Tuesday Tennis, Volleyball and Soccer

The Boys Tennis team traveled to Arlington for a makeup match against the Eagles.

#1 singles Derek Thomas was back in the win column, posting a 6-2, 6-4 win, matched by #2 Ryan Evans, and #3 Jordan Kingma beat his man 6-1, 6-2. #4 Josh Evans won his first set 6-0, but dropped the next two 4-6, 4-6. That proved the difference in the team scores, as all 3 doubles teams lost in straight sets, dropping OH to 4-8 this season. The JV team was at Oak Harbor, but we don't have any results.

In the WESCO North league opener at Lake Stevens, the Wildcat Volleyball team took game 1 from the Vikings 25-15, but dropped the next three to wind up on the short end of a 3-1 score. While the 'Cats lost 3, 2 of the games were very close. Games 2 and 3 both went to extra points, with LS winning both by identical 27-25 scores. Game 4 was 25-19 for Lake Stevens. On the positive side, junior setter Melany Cone has 33 assists, 16 of which resulted in Jessica Muzzall kills. JV and Freshman results will be posted soon.

In soccer, the girls traveled to Monroe to start the 2nd half of the season, but unlike the first matchup, the Wildcats didn't get the ball into the Bearcat net, and Monroe got a 3-0 win. Again, we don't have JV results yet, but will get them soon.

Coming up for tennis is the Varsity at Everett and JV @ OH Wednesday, Soccer at home against Lake Stevens on Thursday, and Volleyball at Arlington, also on Thursday.

Don't forget - no school for students on Thursday, Friday OR Monday. Parent-Teacher Conferences are Thursday and Friday, while Monday, Columbus Day, is a teacher improvement day.

Girl's Swimming vs Snohomish and Glacier Peak

The Oak Harbor Wildcat girls swim team hosted Snohomish and Glacier Peak in a tri-meet at Vanderzicht Pool Tuesday afternoon, beating GP, but falling to Snohomish.

The first event was the 200 Meter Medley Relay. In this relay, each of 4 girls each swims a different stroke, in the order of: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Freestyle. Snohomish won the overall event, with the OHHS varsity team of Amanda Streubel, Rachel Weinstein, Ciara Hu and Karina Concepcion nabbing 2nd place, just .38 seconds behind. Two other OH teams were in the race, with the "B" team formed of Lily Doyle, Madi Shipley, McKenna Yockey and Erica Gregory (5th overall) and a "C" team of Kristen Ross, Abby Rankin, Lindsey Johnson and Lindsey Hall finishing 6th.

Second was the 200 meter freestyle, 8 lengths of the pool (4 laps), and was also won by Snohomish, but OH placed Abby Leete (3), McKenna Yockey (7) and Lindsey Hall (8) for points. Katherine Jones, Michelle Maxwell and Jessica Cathey also swam in the event for OHHS.

The 200 meter individual medley (IM) is similar to the relay, but one swimmer does all four strokes, and in a different order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle. Ciara Hu was the top Wildcat, just .28 seconds behind the winner. Others earning points for the 'Cats were Amanda Streubel (3rd) and Lily Doyle (5)

The fastest event of the meet was next: the 50 meter freestyle. Carolyn Vasquez was the top OH swimmer, posting a time of 30.33 seconds, and earning 3rd place. Kerianne Wright was just .35 seconds behind Vasquez, and Karina Concepcion finished 6th to round out the OH scoring in that event. Also competing for OH were Kira Homola, Laurie Cummings, Samantha Lewellen and Beverly Gianino.

Oak Harbor put 3 girls into the diving event with 2 earning points for the team. Abby Rankin was tops for Oak Harbor and 3rd overall, with 97.65 points, followed by Erica Gregory scoring 63.45 points in her first dive outing at Vanderzicht Pool. Kira Homola was the 3rd OH diver.

In the 100 meter Butterfly, probably the hardest event, Ciara Hu finished 3rd, Kerianne Wright 5th and Madi Shipley in 7th.

OHHS also placed 3 swimmers for points in the 100 meter freestyle: Concepcion, Tori Nickerson, and Vasquez. It was a large field with tough competition for points, and although only 3 earned points, Lindsey Johnson, Alexa Ennis, Amanda Ridge and Laurie Cummings also swam the event for OH.

In the distance race, the 400 meter freestyle, Rachel Weinstein finished first for the 'Cats and 2nd overall, posting a time of 4:51.23, almost 20 seconds in front of the 3rd place finisher. Also earning points for OH were Abby Leete (6) and Madi Shipley (7)

In the 2nd of three relays on the day, the 200 meter freestyle relay, Snohomish nabbed the top two spots, but the OH "B" team of Tori Nickerson, Abby Rankin, Amanda Streubel and Abby Leete was 3rd, beating the OH "A" relay of Vasquez, Concepcion, Wright and Weinstein by over 15 seconds. OH also had a "C" relay team, made up of Ennis, Maxwell, Cummings and Johnson that finished out of the money.

Oak Harbor picked up their first win in the 100 meter backstroke, with Amanda Streubel posting a time of 1:11.62, almost 4 seconds faster than her nearest opponent. Other OH finishers were Doyle, Rankin, Ennis and Kristen Ross.

The 100 back was followed by the 100 Breast, which may be the most technically difficult stroke to master, as well being a relatively slow stroke. Rachel Weinstein of OH placed 3rd overall, and Nickerson and Yockey also earned points. Finishing the race, but not earning points were Johnson, Jones, and Leanne Empinado.

The final event of the day was the 400 meter freestyle relay. Although the top OH team finished 3rd, all four of the Oak Harbor teams that entered the race finished in the money, earning team points for OHHS. The "A" relay consisted of Hu, Vasquez, Wright and Leete, the "B" relay was Shipley, Nickerson, Doyle and Rankin, the "C" relay was Ross, Gregory, Yockey and Empinado, and finishing up in the "D" spot was Katherine Jones, Jessica Cathey, Lindsey Johnson and Amanda Ridge.

83 photos of the first half of the meet, including some nice sequence photos of the diving competition, are posted HERE.

JV Football @ Snohomish last Monday

The following was received by head JV coach Craig Nurvic about Monday's game.

We lost a tough 6-0 battle with Snohomish.

Justin Counts, Marcus Jordan, Josiah Miller and Lucas Felkner all ran the ball well.

There were lots of turnovers: We had three fumbles and they threw one pick - a tipped ball that Alec Castillo caught.

First drive we march to the Snoho 12 and fumbled.

The game was played between the 20's for both teams for almost the entire game.

In the third we ran a 25 yard brown belly to the Panther 1yd line, only to have a late late penalty for holding, bummer.

The entire game was played in a downpour of biblical proportions I think that it stopped raining for two minutes in the second, right before a 5 min halftime. The wet ball is to blame for the fumbles.

The Wildcats played with an all out effort - there was no quit from any of our guys.

Driving the ball late in the 4th Justin Counts ripped off a 25 yard trap play that put us deep into Snoho territory about their 27, and on next play, with a 4th and 4, no time outs, and only 18 seconds on the clock, we called a brown blast pass. The ball was snapped, Felkner faked the blast, and set up to throw. Wait! There's pressure, he steps up, receivers moving into position. Snohomish gets our QB is in the grasp, but he breaks free, rolls to his right, and has nowhere to go. He reverses his field and picks up a big block, now rolling to his left he sees room to run but defenders force him to cut back to his right, clock winding down he sees a receiver in the end zone he throws! The receiver makes a great move to the ball but can't hang on.

After the game I told the guys that was the most fun I have ever had in a 6-0 loss. I told them "You guys played hard and gave Snoho one heck of a fight."

Boys Tennis results from Monday

Stanwood came to Oak Harbor on a windy afternoon for some tennis, and it was close, but Stanwood pulled out the win.

In singles action, #1 Derek Thomas seems still affected by an injury, and went down in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. The other three singles players, Ryan Evans, Jordan Kingma and Josh Evans all won, although it took Evans 3 sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-4) to win.

On the doubles courts, #1 team Paul Jewell and Joel Valles lost a close first set, 7-6(4), then rebounded to dominate 6-0 in the 2nd set before dropping the 3rd 6-2. The #2 and #3 doubles teams both lost in straight sets.

Sorry, no photos this time.

Next for tennis is a trip to Everett, weather permitting, on Wednesday, then a home match Friday against Marysville.

Also in Oak Harbor this week: Swimming Tuesday at Vanderzicht Pool vs Snohomish, Freshman football vs Snohomish on Wednesday, and Girls Soccer vs Lake Stevens Thursday.

Varsity profile - Josh Duhrkopf

Roving Reporter Michelle Sandstrom sat down this week with one of the Cross Country captains, Josh Duhrkopf, and got to know him a little better. This is her report.

Josh is a senior at Oak Harbor High School and is not only a part of Track and Field in the spring, but is at the top for his Cross Country career. As most people know, runners, especially Cross Country guys, tend to be a little off and have more fun than the average athlete, so I knew this was going to be a good interview.
I asked Josh “What about running do you enjoy so much?” “Well pretty much I’m fast and anything I’m good at I’m going to like, and getting to hangout and spend quality time with Peterson is a plus. But there are the downers too, like tough workouts. Those suck”. As a Cross Country runner myself, I know exactly what he is talking about. It’s all about the friendships and relationships you make that help you get through the day.
When asked what course he liked the most so far in this season, Josh said “Definitely Wirth Farm”. That response is an example of being on the off side, as many Cross Country runners don’t enjoy Wirth Farm because you are being watched through the entire race it has a huge hill. Josh said that is exactly why he likes it.
I asked him about his goals, and Josh said, “go to state as an individual and as a team”. That is a goal common to all the varsity runners, and hopefully they all get to State.
Josh had some crazy stories about the Cross Country boys, one of which included the use of Icy Hot. While traveling this summer, the guys put icy hot in random places and they were all crying in a small white van. Josh said “memories like that can’t be replaced”. I thought with fun like that, what kind of guy would choose football over Cross Country. I asked him about Hootenanny: “Oh yeah! We’re carrying on the tradition…you just wait!”
Now that I got him excited, I wanted to hear more about race days and find out what foods he likes and doesn’t, and what helps him along the way. When I asked about food all he would talk about was Subway. “Italian bread is music in my mouth.”
It didn’t seem to matter what topic we were on, he always found a way to laugh. Even when we began to talk about bad moods, he would joke about certain team members who don’t make him happy and bad workouts. To get out of his bad moods he replied “I just get out of it”.
The interview lasted quite a while and it seemed more like a friend to friend conversation then anything. Even after the interview he kept talking about what an amazing summer he had, which had little to do with running.
No other sport seems to have as much character as Cross Country, and not only Josh, but all the other team mates are amazing athletes and we wish them the best this season.

Looking for Future Wildcats - Boys Basketball

Oak Harbor Select Boys Basketball - Grades 5 through 8.

2008-2009 Season Tryouts in the OHHS gym, October 19th & 26th. See below for grade level times.

Wildcat Select Basketball is the feeder program for Oak Harbor High School. Our coaches work closely with the Oak High School coaches to ensure that correct basketball fundamentals are taught to all of our players. We compete in the WESCO travel league against other feeder programs for high schools in the
WESCO conference. Additionally, we play in 2-3 tournaments. Typically we play about 25 games in a season. Practices begin in November and the season ends
in early-March.

Schedule:
Sunday, October 19th and Sunday, October 26th
5th & 6th grade - 1:30-3:00pm
7th & 8th grade - 3:30-5:00pm

All tryouts held in the Oak Harbor High School Gym, #1 Wildcat Way (just off NW 2nd Ave) in Oak Harbor.

All players must complete a registration form before trying out.
There will be registration forms at the tryouts or you can pick one up at either 7-11 store, Big 5 Sporting Goods, or request one by emailing ohyaabasketball@yahoo.com

You can contact the coordinator via email at ohyaabasketball@yahoo.com.

Saturday youth sports

This past Saturday, instead of both football and soccer at Ft. Nugent Field, the sports were split, with all the OHYFL football games at Wildcat Memorial Stadium. Weather was a factor in the games, as it was quite windy all day, with gusts strong enough to move players around, and it rained during parts of at least 2 games, hard at times. During the last game, the sun came out, low on the horizon, and was causing problems for the team facing west.

We'd like to say thanks to OHHS announcer Jay Long for giving up his Saturday and spending his day in the booth announcing all 5 games in his usual professional manner. OHHS PE teacher Brian Farmer was also at the games all day, operating the scoreboard and putting team names up instead of just 'home' and 'guest'. It was a nice added touch for the players. One more 'good job', and that's for the people running the concession stand. They had to deal with a strong wind, rain, and a power outage, but kept the dogs and burgers coming. Thanks for your efforts as well.

Football first this week.

The first football game of the day was the Pumas vs Burlington. The Pumas did, however, come away with a 19-14 win, their first for the season. While there are no photos of the game (our photographer was at Ft. Nugent field for soccer), two Puma players were ball boys for the Wildcat team, and the photos of those two boys are posted HERE.

The next game was the senior Wildcats vs Orcas. This game did not count, as to field a complete team, Orcas was allowed to use several high school freshmen. Even then, Orcas only brought 11 players to the game, which the Wildcats won, 22-0. Towards the end of the game, an Orcas player was injured, so both teams finished the game with only 10 men on the field. 50 Wildcat photos are HERE.

The midget Cougars were next, and posted a 20-0 win over Arlington. The score was not particularly lopsided, but it could have been even higher if the coaches wanted it that way. This game was all Cougars all the way. 32 images can be found HERE.

Dropping to the pee-wee division, the Lynx hosted the Concrete Lions. The final score was 34-2. Concrete got the ball first and using a 'fumblerooski' type offense (4 players lined up behind the linemen, and the center usually rolls the ball to one of the backfield players, who picks it up and runs), but after gaining only 8 yards, fumbled on the Lynx 41. On their first play, the Lynx runner ran for a 59-yard TD. The PAT run was good, making the score 7--0 with 6:22 in the first. Concrete was forced to punt after only 3 plays on their next possession, but instead of using only one play to get to the end zone, this time it took the Lynx 2 plays. The first was an incomplete pass, the second a 45-yard run to pay dirt. The score now is Lynx 14, Concrete 0, still in the first quarter. Concrete was able to move the ball from their own 45 down to the Lynx 3 (thanks to 3 different offside penalties against the Lynx) where they fumbled on a 3rd down play. Oak Harbor started on the 5 yard line, but was backed down to the 1. There, the Lynx runner didn't run the play the coach sent in, and wound up being tackled in the end zone for a Concrete safety. OH then kicked to Concrete, and the Lynx defense forced another 3-and out. Oak Harbor ran the first play 59 yards to the end zone, but the PAT failed, making the score 27-2 with 2:51 left in the half. With the lopsided score, the Lynx were now kicking off from the 20 instead of the 40. The kick went out to the 38, then effective pursuit by the Lynx defense forced a 10-yard loss before time expired in the half. Starting the second half, Concrete got the ball first but punted after 3 plays. Oak Harbor drove the ball from the OH 28 down to the Concrete 1 yard line, but fumbled on a 4th and Goal play, giving the ball back to Concrete. Concrete was able to move the ball from their own 2 to the OH 42, taking the final 2 minutes of the 3rd quarter and almost 8 minutes of the 4th quarter (again, aided by 2 OH offside penalties, one on a 4th down attempt). The Concrete drive failed on the OH 42, the Lions unable to convert a 4th & 16. With 2:25 left in the game, the Lynx took the first play all the way to the house - 58 yards - to push the score to 34-2 for the Lynx. Concrete was only able to run 4 plays after the kickoff before time ran out in the 4th. There are no photos of the Lynx game, but look for some video clips by Monday afternoon. 8 video clips, including all 5 touchdowns are HERE.

The nightcap football game featured the OH junior Jaguars, coming in at 4-0 against the Bellingham Regulators. The Jags gave this game away, fumbling away their first two possessions deep inside their own territory, spotting B'ham a 12-0 lead. A punt return touchdown, and later a run from midfield to the end zone (with one made PAT), put the Jags ahead 13-12 late in the 3rd quarter. The Regulators pulled ahead again, 18-13, but Oak Harbor returned the kickoff 95 yards to re-take the lead 20-18. Then, the Jags recovered a kickoff that only went 7 yards, but was touched by a Bellingham player, and then the Bellingham coach gave OH another 15 yards due to unsportsmanlike conduct after the kickoff. The OH drive stalled, and Bellingham was able to score again with only 2:44 left in the game. The Jaguars were moving the ball, but an untimely interception by B-ham was returned for a TD with just under 2 minutes remaining, and the Regulators sealed their victory with another interception, this one at the Jaguar 1 with just 43 seconds left. Bellingham ran a couple of plays to move away from the goal line, then took 2 knees to end the game, winning 38-20. 64 photos are HERE.

Next Saturday, some OHYFL games here in Oak Harbor have been moved. The 3pm game with the Bobcats vs Arlington will be at Ft. Nugent Field, but the 5pm Cougars vs Sedro and 7pm Wildcats vs Burlington games have been moved to Wildcat Memorial Stadium. The Cougars game was not moved due to a HS girls soccer game at the stadium that afternoon.

Now for soccer.

The first game we looked at was a U-14 coed game between the Oak Harbor Dominators, sponsored by the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce and coached by Nathan Boss and the Oak Harbor Silver Bullets, sponsored by Eurosports and coached by James Whistler and Anthony Arboylea. The game was won by the Dominators, 3-1, but all the kids looked like they were having fun. Both coaches remarked that they enjoyed the co-ed teams, as it made the girls into more aggressive players, and taught the boys that even though boys may be stronger and faster, many of the girls have superior skills and finesse. 32 images from the game are HERE.

On a side note, for those who haven’t seen U-6 and U-8 soccer, it's nothing like regular soccer. The game is played on a short, narrow field with only 3 players per team, with the U-8 teams adding a goalie. This results in a lot of action close to the spectators, and LOTS of scoring. It's quite fun to watch.

The first U-8 game was the girls' Green Pixies, sponsored by Midway Florist, against Best Friends Vet Clinic. The Pixies are coached by Doug Waschak and Mark Rudesill, and you could see by watching the game that the coaches pushed the 'fun factor' of soccer first, but also, according to coach "we want them to try their best and at the same time be nice." 59 images are HERE.

Switching to boys, the Bu-8 Silver Bullets, sponsored by P&L General Contractors and coached by Andrea Knoll and Lisa Anderson, faced off against the "Kung Fu Pandas", sponsored by Martin Auto Electric and coached by Gerry Foppe. Coach Knoll said she had a "great bunch of boys" and that they were having fun and "learning a lot". Coach Foppe said his boys were showing his coaching philosophy of "Play Hard, Play Fair, and Have Fun" on the field in each and every game. 51 photos can be found HERE.

Back to the girls, the GU-6 Orange Cheetahs, coached by Bridget Middleton, a first-year coach faced off against the Bluebirds. It was an exciting game, with lots of goal scored by both teams. Both teams left the field winners, and Coach Middleton said "all by two of the girls are new to soccer, but they're all doing their best." When asked what she liked best about the girls, she said "We're having fun!" 34 images from this game are HERE.

Finally, the BU-11 "Galaxy" academy team vs Stanwood. This game wasn't even close. We don't have an exact final score, but it was on the order of 17-3, or something similar. Coach Mike Thornton is working magic with the boys, and it's showing on the field. 29 images are posted HERE.

Next Saturday at Ft. Nugent is another full slate of soccer, with games beginning every hour, starting 9am until noon. At least 14 games are scheduled, from U-6 through U-14. Come on down and watch a bit. It's free, and the Latte Lade will be there with hot drinks.

Varsity Football - Snohomish @ OH

In what must have been the fastest game played Friday night, the Snohomish Panthers brought their ground game into Wildcat Memorial Stadium.

Oak Harbor got the opening kickoff, but after a net loss of 2 yards in 3 plays, punted on 4th down. Lewis was punting and was one of the high points of the game. His first punt, from the OH 21 was downed on the Snohomish 39 with 10:28 in the first.

Snohomish's first play from scrimmage was a run all the way to the OH 15, with Rashaad Smith providing the TD-saving tackle. Two plays later, however, the Snohomish QB took it in for 6 points. The kick was good with 9:18 left in the first quarter.

Oak Harbor then took the kickoff at the OH 24, but was unable to move the ball into Snohomish territory before punting down to the Snohomish 22.

For the rest of the 1st quarter, the two teams traded punts and there was no further scoring.

Opening the 2nd, Snohomish had the ball, 3rd & 2 at the OH 36 and used 5 plays to get down to the OH 16. There, Snohomish completed one of only two passes, but it was to a wide open receiver in the OH end zone, and the Panthers were now up 14-0 with over 9 minutes to play until halftime.

The 'Cats got the kickoff with decent field position, at their own 34 and was able to chip away at the Snohomish defense with runs by Hunt, Lewis, Farnum, Clarit and Jordan. With a 4th & 4 at the Snohomish 37, the Wildcats were unable to convert and turned the ball over to Snohomish.

Snohomish was only able to run 3 plays before facing a 4th & 1 at their own 47. The Panthers lined up as if they were going for it, but were unable to draw the Wildcats offside, and called timeout. Coming out of the TO, the Panthers punted to the OH 28. Again, the OH offense showed some spark, and had a first down on the Snohomish 39 with only 19 seconds left in the half. 2 passes fell incomplete, and on 3rd & 10 with only 10 seconds, Jordan was forced to scramble, getting to the 31. Snohomish thought it was halftime and started running off to the locker room, but Jordan used some quick thinking and was able to get a timeout signaled to the officials before time expired. That left OH with a 4th & 4 on the Snohomish 31 with 1 second on the clock. On that final play, Jordan had some time to throw, but went OOB out the end of the end zone to send the teams to the locker room with the 14-0 Snohomish lead.

Coming out of the half, the two teams combined for 5 3-and outs, using most of the 3rd quarter. The only series that did not result in a punt was the Wildcats' first possession. The 'Cats had earned a 1st down on a facemask call, but two plays later fumbled the snap and Snohomish recovered.

With 2:42 to go in the 3rd, Oak Harbor got the ball on their own 48 after a very favorable bounce on the Snohomish punt. Runs by Lewis and Hunt got the ball down to the Snohomish 13. On the 1st down play, Jordan was forced to scramble and fumbled the ball, but he was ruled down at the 16 before the ball was knocked away. On the final play of the 3rd quarter, Derrick Clarit ran the ball down to the 7. Starting the 4th, Jordan scrambled a bit down to the 5, and on the next play ran it into the end zone. I would love to put that TD play up on YouTube, but unfortunately, there was a stadium roof post in the way, and Jordan just happened to run straight away from the camera. Kevin Flavin's kick was good, cutting the Snohomish lead to 7 with 11:07 left in the game.

The Panthers got ball on their own 33, and what looked like a repeat of their first quarter offense, moved down to the Oak Harbor 11 with just over 3 minutes left in the game. It looked like it was over for the Wildcats, but a Snohomish fumble was recovered by Rashaad Smith on the OH 15 with 3:21 remaining. Out at the OH 27, facing a 4th & 8 with the Wildcats in a shotgun formation, the snap was sent well over Jordan's head. He was able to cover it on the 9, but with just one minute left, Snohomish took a couple of knees to end the game, going home with a 14-7 victory.

In other Whidbey Island games, Coupeville lost to Archbishop Murphy 34-0 and South Whidbey beat Sultan 17-7.

In other WESCO North games, Marysville, celebrating 100 years of Tomahawk football, beat Arlington 37-15. In what many would consider a surprise win, Stanwood came out of the winless ranks by beating Monroe 35-14.

In non-league games featuring WESCO north teams, previously undefeated Lake Stevens lost to Jackson, 50-49 in OT. Jackson went for 2 after their TD and was able to convert for the win.

Next for the Wildcats is a road trip to Stanwood next Friday.

44 images from Friday night, most from pregame activity, have been posted HERE.

Look for some YouTube highlight clips on Tuesday.

A visit with......Justin Everett

Justin Allen Everett, a freshman, already has set plans for his future.

Entering OHHS from North Whidbey Middle School, he is already a key member of the freshman football team (#30), playing both sides of the ball as a fullback and linebacker. In addition to football, he will be wrestling and will be a sprinter on the track team. When we asked Justin why he plays football instead of running cross country, he said it was because “I can hit people”. It’s the aggressiveness of the sport that attracts him and lets him work his frustrations out in a productive way.

Justin was born in the Los Angeles area to Albert “Tre” and Martha Everett, and after living in Hawaii for a year, moved to Oak Harbor for 3rd grade. Justin has a half sister (Trinity) in California who is in Kindergarten, and a sister (Ashley) in 8th grade here in Oak Harbor.

So far he has decent grades, but one of his personal goals is to complete the year with nothing lower than a “B”. His favorite class so far is his writing class with Mrs. Sinibaldi, as the writing “allows me to vent” His favorite teacher is Edoga for science, because “the teacher makes learning fun”.

When not busy with practice or homework, Justing likes to play soccer and also likes to watch UFC fighting on TV. He’s also into downhill mountain biking, and in those rare moments when he’s not doing anything else, he enjoys watching action movies, and usually will make time to watch “Lost” and “Heroes” on TV.

This summer he was part of the National Night Out at City Beach Park in the car crash scenario. He was positioned in a wrecked car and extracted by firefighters using their specialized tools. In addition, Justin was the impaired driver and cause of the wreck. He was given a field sobriety test (which he conveniently failed), was placed in handcuffs and put in the back of an OHPD car. Other OHHS athletes that were part of the scenario were Greg Ennis, Haylee Little and Devin Tanner. Photos of the event can be found HERE

His most memorable sports moment so far occurred just a few weeks ago. In the freshman football game against Everett HS, he had the ball down near the opponent’s goal line, was determined to get in for a score. He did, dragging 2 defenders along with him.

His most memorable life moment is much more serious, and he wishes it wasn’t a memory at all. He remembers it was the Friday of spring break last year when he got the news his mother had succumbed to the effects of cancer. While he wishes he could go back and change things, he realizes he can’t, and is moving on with his own life.

Part of that moving on includes is plans for the future. As of now, his plans are to obtain an Ace degree in mechanics and run his own auto repair shop. If he had his choice, that shop would be in Australia, where he would like to live due to their large variety of extreme sports.

Justin's family has a culture of fitness, and participate as a family in many outdoor activities. Justin, his sister and father can been seen together working out in local gyms.

When asked if he had any final thoughts, Justin's only response was “Go Wildcats!”

Thursday sports - XC, Swim, Soccer & Volleyball

It wasn't the best of days for women's sports at OHHS.

At Marysville, the girls cross country team ran well, but in team scores finished 3rd out of 4 teams. First for the OH girls was Allison Duvenez, whose name got totally mangled by the Everett Herald (sorry, Alison). She finished 6th overall, and was followed by Adrianna Royal in 8th, Kathryn Fisken in 12th, Kim Kyle in 19th and Heather Dale in 22nd. The totaled 62 team points against winner Monroe's 35 (low score wins in XC).

The boys did better, finishing in 2nd place, just 7 points behind team winner Marysville. Tyler King of Coupeville but running for OH finished 2nd overall. Josh Duhrkopf finished 5th while Klauer, Reith and Bolte were bunched together in 9th, 11, and 12th respectively.

In Swimming, the girls team dropped their first league meet 106-80 against Marysville. The Wildcats did pick up wins in 5 events, the 100 backstroke, which Amanda Streubel won with a state-qualifying time of 1:02.01. Other winners for Oak Harbor were Ciara Hu in the 200IM and 100 butterfly, Rachel Weinstein in the 500 free, and the team of Karina Concepcion, KeriAnne Wright, Tori Nickerson and Carolyn Vasquez in the 200 meter free relay.

On the Snohomish soccer field, one player for the Panthers scored 3 goals as the Wildcats fell by a 4-0 score. The JV also got shut out by the Panthers 5-0.

Finally to the volleyball court at Meadowdale HS in Lynnwood. I don't have results yet for the Freshman and JV teams. The varsity match started out looking good for the Wildcats, as they won the first two games 27-25 and 25-22. The varsity girls stumbled in the 3rd, losing 17-25. Game 4 was close, but Meadowdale pulled off a 25-23 win to force the 5th game. The final game went strongly in the Mustang's favor, as they won 15-7, and finished the match with a 3-2 victory. Both Jessica Muzzall and Jen Jansen were in double-digits for kill, with 16 and 16 respectively, and Muzzall added 2 service aces for the Wildcats.

Next up for swimming is a home meet at Vanderzicht Pool against Snohomish next Tuesday at 3:00. The soccer and volleyball teams are both away on Tuesday, with the Soccer girls at Monroe and Volleyball at Lake Stevens. Cross Country runs next on Thursday, traveling to Meadowdale.

Home sports events this coming week, in addition to swimming on Tuesday are:
Boys Varsity Tennis at 4pm Monday (weather permitting) against Stanwood
Boys JV tennis at 4pm Wednesday against Everett (weather permitting)
Freshman football Wednesday at 5:30
Girls Soccer Thursday vs Lake Stevens, JV at 6, varsity at 7:30
Boys Tennis on Friday vs M-P at 4pm.

Freshman football video clips

4 clips of the game are posted. There just wasn't a lot of highlights to choose from.

On the apparent TD clip, look for a great block by #58 Cody Hernkind as Franssen turns the corner, and see if you can find the penalty that was called against OH. I can't.

http://www.youtube.com/user/OakHarborSportsReport

Oak Harbor Youth Football to play in Wildcat Memorial Stadium this weekend.

This Saturday, October 4th, the OHYFL is moving all 5 football games from Ft. Nugent Park to Wildcat Memorial Stadium at OHHS.

This move is due mainly to the need for lighting in the later games.

So, come on down, brave the rain, and enjoy some great youth football while sitting in a covered stadium!

Varsity Tennis

In their first meeting this year, at Oak Harbor, the Wildcats beat Lake Stevens 4-3. In a match at Lake Stevens yesterday afternoon, the score was reversed.

In single action, Derek Thomas lost by a 6-1, 6-4 score, while Ryan Evans, Jordan Kingma and Josh Evans all won in straight sets.

In Doubles, while the team of Paul Jewell and Joel Valles pushed their match to 3 sets before falling 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, the other two doubles pairs both went down in straight sets.

Next for tennis is a match Friday at Arlington, with the JV at OH against Arlington.

JV tennis and Freshman football - October 1st

The Oak Harbor High School boys JV tennis team was in action for the first time this year, finally fielding a complete team of 10 players. Until now, a combination of injuries and eligibility issues kept the team off the court. No results were given to the Sports Report, but 50 images have been uploaded.

Over at Wildcat Memorial Stadium, the Freshman football team faced off against the freshman team from Archbishop Murphy, who are also the Wildcats, where former OHHS head coach Dave Ward looks like he may be headed to another state title.

Oak Harbor got the ball first at their own 34, but after 7 plays, including a 22-yard run by Justin Everett, the Wildcats turned the ball over on the ABM 29. ABM then took 8 plays to move the ball into the OH endzone. OH was able to block the kick, leaving the score at 6-0 with 3:29 left in the 1st quarter.

OH took the kickoff and started a new series on the OH 25, and ran 8 plays, moving the ball to the ABM 33 when time expired in the first. With a 1st & 10 on the ABM 21, Peter Franssen ran in for an apparent OH touchdown, but a holding penalty on Oak Harbor negated the score and pushed the ball out to the 29. During the next 3 plays, OH was forced back another 10 yards and punted from the ABM 39.

On their next possession, Archbishop Murphy was able to score again, putting another 6 on the board in 12 plays with 1:42 in the half. The PAT pass attempt failed making the score 12-0.

Oak Harbor returned the kickoff to the 35 and moved it to the ABM 38, but a sack on a 4th down play ended the drive, and the half ended before ABM could move the ball far, so the halftime score was 12-0.

Starting the 2nd half, ABM took the opening kickoff and used 13 plays and almost 6 minutes of clock time to score again, and again failing to convert, pushing their lead to 18-0.

On their next possession, Oak Harbor went 4-and-out, failing to convert a 4th & 1 attempt, but the defense stiffened and let ABM run only 4 plays, with a 4th down pass attempt falling incomplete at the OH 22 yard line.

Oak Harbor got a drive going, moving the ball to the ABM 35, including a 4th & 5 pass from Gabe Dye to Peter Franssen for a 1st down. With a 3rd & 13 from the 27, a reverse attempt was fumbled and recovered by OH, but back at the 35, and the 4th down pass was incomplete.

With 6:16 left in the game, ABM gained possession and on the first play ran the ball from their own 35 down to the OH 12. They moved the ball down to the 5 yard line, but a fumbled snap on 4th down prevented antoher score. Oak Harbor wasn't able to move the ball and was forced to punt from their own 15 yard line with 39 seconds remaining. ABM ran a few more plays and let the clock run out and drive away with a 18-0 win.

The ABM offense and defense exposed some flaws in the freshman team, which Coach Esvelt took note of and plans to work on in the coming week. Tackling was not good Wednesday, and the offensive line had some problems giving quarterback Gabe Dye enough time to set up and look downfield for a receiver.

Next up for the Freshman will be Snohomish at Wildcat Memorial Stadium next Wednesday, Oct 8th.

64 images from before and during the game are posted HERE, and look for some video clips on YouTube in the next day or so.

Tuesday's results - Swimming, Soccer & Tennis

The OHHS girls swim team moved to 2-0 in league meets with a convincing 132-53 team win over visiting Stanwood.

Unlike the previous two meets, the 'Cats didn't win all 11 swimming events, letting Stanwood take the 200 freestyle and 200 Individual Medley races. From there, however, it was all Oak Harbor as the girls won every other event. New in the win column this week for the Wildcats was diving. We had 4 girls participate, up from 2 in the last meet, and winning the diving competition was Michelle Maxwell, earning just shy of 105 points.

44 images from the swim meet are posted HERE.

Also in action was the boys tennis team, who traveled to Cascade HS to make up a rained out match. #1 singles Derek Thomas is out again, so Paul Jewell moved into the #4 singles spot, and was the only Wildcat to win his match, beating his opponent 6-3, 6-1. Josh Evans in the #3 spot went to 3 sets, 6-2, 3-6, 2-6 as did #1 Ryan Evans, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6. Another tough match was #2 Jordan Kingma, who went down in straight sets, but pushed the first set to a 7-6 (4) score!

In Doubles, #2 partner Rick Baleros was not able to play, which moved Geoff Worley into the #4 doubles spot. Unfortunately, all 3 doubles team went down in straight sets, giving Cascade a 6-1 team victory.

At Wildcat Memorial Stadium, a goal by Ashley Strassburg with 34:00 left in the second was all the team would need as the JV team posted their first victory of the year. Goalkeeper Maggie Gorman played well, stopping numerous shots to secure the 1-0 victory.

Things weren't so rosy on the varsity side, as two goals in the 1st half by Cascade and one more in the 2nd dropped the team to 1-6 on the season.

128 soccer photos, fairly evenly distributed between JV and varsity, are posted HERE.

Football video clips are up!

There are 5 varsity and 3 JV clips from games against Mt. Vernon.

One clip shows Ian Sinchak running 80 yards for a touchdown. That play was called back due to a flag on the Wildcats, but it was a sweet run so I put it up.

The clips are posted HERE

JV Football - Dillon Peterson scores twice vs Mt. Vernon

At Mt. Vernon HS, Dillon Peterson scored twice, with Jason Curles adding another, but it wasn't enough, as the turnover bug bit hard, with the Wildcats giving the ball away 6 times, twice inside the 20 during a 37-20 loss to the Bulldogs.

OH got on the board first, with a nice pass reception by Peterson. The ball was spotted on the Mt. Vernon 47, and the pass over the middle went just over the defender's hand and into Peterson's hands at the MV 32. From there he ran into the end zone untouched, but the PAT kick failed.

Things were looking up as the 'Cats put pressure on the MV quarterback, causing a less-than-perfect throw that Ian Sinchak intercepted at his own 32 and returned it 10 yards.

On the first play after the turnover, the handoff was fumbled, with Mt. Vernon recovering on the Oak Harbor 31. From there the Bulldogs needed only one play to tie the score at 6, the MV kick also failing.

After punting on their next possession, the 'Cats defense held, forcing a MV punt from the MV 37. The punt was partially blocked and rolled dead after only 7 yards.

On the next play, the OH QB was under pressure and on the verge of being sacked when he threw the ball up for grabs. Unfortunately, it was a Bulldog that did the grabbing. 7 plays later it was MV 12, OH 0, after another missed PAT attempt.

Ian Sinchak had a great run around the right side from his own 20, reached the sideline, and sprinted along it for the apparent TD. A flag on OH, however, brought the ball back to the 40, wiping the points off the board. After a couple of plays, including a penalty and a tackle for loss, Oak Harbor fumbled the ball again, giving MV a first down on the OH 45. The Wildcats were able to hold and force a turnover on downs, but just 4 plays later, another fumble put MV back at the OH 45. The team was able to stop this drive just inside the OH 10 yard line, pushing the MV receiver out of bounds a yard shy of the first down marker.

On the 2nd play of the drive, an overthrown pass was intercepted by MV. Looking at the tape, it was probably trapped, but the ball was given to the Bulldogs inside the OH 30. The 'Cats were able to stop MV, forcing 4 straight incompletions.

OH started another drive deep inside their own territory, but were not able to move it much before time expired in the first half. At the half, the score was MV 12, OH 6.

The 2nd half was all Mt. Vernon. Two interceptions in the 3rd were both turned into touchdowns, but the Wildcats were able to get their second score on a 40 yard pass play to Curles. Again the PAT failed.

At the end of 3, the score was not MV 24, OH 12.

Mt. Vernon scored again with 8:59 left in the game to increase their lead to 30-12. OH came back in just over a minute, scoring their own pass touchdown to Peterson. The 2 point conversion was good, closing the gap to 30-20.

Oak Harbor then attempted an onside kick. It started off good, with a nice bounce and the Bulldogs bobbling the ball, but they were able to down the ball and work it downfield for another score with 4:47 left in the game. Oak Harbor was able to return the kickoff out to midfield, but could not do anything with the ball.

Coach Nurvic did have several good things to say about the game. First and foremost was that even though the team lost, the players enjoy playing the game, and as a result, many are showing marked improvement from the beginning of the season. Coach Nurvic takes the "player development" role as JV coach very seriously, and works hard to prepare his players for the next level.

68 images from the game are posted HERE.

Boys Tennis results vs Monroe

It was a beautiful day for tennis, and at Oak Harbor High School, the OHHS tennis team played beautifully, evening their season record at 4-4 with a convincing win over league rival Monroe, 6-1.

The Wildcats won all 3 doubles matches for the first time this year, and 3 of 4 singles matches. All matches were in straight sets, with senior Ryan Evans blanking his opponent 6-0, 6-0.

In other singles action, Jordan Kingma won 6-2, 6-0 and sophomore Josh Evans won 6-1, 6-0, with Derek Thomas still not 100%, falling 6-1, 6-2.

On the doubles courts, the pair of Jewell and Valles wont 6-2, 6-3, Baleros and Marshall 6-2, 6-2, and O'Dell and Holbrook 6-3, 6-2.

In an additional, non-scoring match, sophomore Matthew Rice won by shutting out his opponent 6-0, 6-0.

Whidbey Wildcats Wrestling - Registrations begins soon

The Whidbey Wildcats Wrestling club is about to kick off another year of youth wrestling in Oak Harbor.

The club welcomes wrestlers of all abilities, from age 5-18. Registration begins on October 13th at 6pm in the OHHS mat room.

Cost is $85.00, which includes a singlet, T-shirt and team shorts. 3 tournaments will be held in Oak Harbor this year.

Visit the club website at http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=whidbey

Middle School sports get started

The Middle Schools offer 4 sports seasons, with the first and last season single-sports seasons. They start with Cross Country and end with Track. This year, due to budget cuts, the two middle schools have combined for a single Oak Harbor cross country team.

Last Wednesday was the first meet, held at Pt. Susan Middle School in Stanwood. The Oak Harbor Sports Report couldn't be there, but we now have results! I would love to include all the athletes' first names, but the results I received only include first initials. Sorry.

Starting with the 7th grade boys, Oak Harbor had one runner in the top 10 - C. Johnson who finished in 4th place with a time of 9:03, just 13 seconds after the winner. Other 7th grade runners for the boys were T. Peterschmidt, N. Wagner, T. Horton, A. James, T. Sanders, C. Edwards, R. Harrison and H. Miller.

The 8th grade boys had two top-10 finishers in W. Homola (2nd) and H. Kaltenbach (3rd). Homola finished the course in 8:48 and Kaltenbach was only a second behind at 8:49. Other finishers were J. Knoll, M. Cross, M. Frank, Z. Hasting, J. Kurfis, T. Taylor, Q. Guillermo, K. Turner, D. Kusnick, B. Benz, S. Gianguzzo and S. Jappert. Due to the combined efforts of the runners, Oak Harbor, as a team, finished in 1st place with 61 points, 10 point ahead of 2nd place Conway.

The 7th grade girls team also did well, with O. Meyer nabbing 1st place, followed by A. Laiblin in 3rd and A. Leete in 8th. H. Kagey, and J. Maier also competed, and even with a small team, the good running pushed the girls into a 1st place team finish, just 3 points ahead of Langley.

Finally, the 8th grade girls. The Oak Harbor team was unable to place anyone in the top 10, but finished enough runners to earn points, putting them ahead of 4 other teams. First for the Oak Harbor team was C. Wicker, then T. Nienhuis, A. McLoud, H. Hamamoto, C. Kenny, E. Adkins and K. Rankin. Wicker, Nienhuis and McLoud finished as a group, only 3 second separating their times.

While our runners may not have always been the fastest, there were 34 kids out there doing their best and having fun. In our view, they're all winners for just going out and trying, especially when it's so easy to just go home and watch TV or play computer games.

Next for the middle school runners is a meet this Thursday at Sedro-Woolley. On October 15th, Oak Harbor will be hosting their only home meet of the season at Wirth Farm off Boon Road. Come on out, brave the cool fall air, and cheer for our kids. It's FREE!!!

Fall league girls basketball

Both the varsity and JV teams were in action Sunday. The JV team played at 1:30 under coach Keely Smollack, but I don't have any results.

The varsity played at 5:45 at Skagit Valley College against Stanwood, and it was a hard game on the Wildcats as they were missing many regular players. Jessica Denmon is injured, Molly Deleon had a family commitment, and Cheyenne Tubo and Cori Henricksen were also missing. Most of the players that did show up were almost late due to the traffic in Anacortes due to the Oyster Run. Stanwood won the game, but it was a good challenge for the girls that were there, and many of the girls, who will be JV this winter, got some good playing time against a good Stanwood team. Janelle Yoshimoto and Sheena Corey traded point guard duties. Coach Gary Brundidge said there was a new girl, from Belgium, who played a bit and did well, and at one point in the game, Becca Moeai, who is not what you would call a petite girl, tripped and fell right on top of the Stanwood post player. Neither girls was injured, and both were able to continue.

Next for the fall league girls are games at 11:15 and 12:20 next Sunday at Skagit Valley College. Admission is FREE!!!

Roving reporter Michelle Sandstrom visits with Kirsten Roof

Michelle has been busy this week with three athlete profiles. Look for regular Monday varsity profiles in the future.


Kirsten Roof is a varsity soccer player for Oak Harbor high school. Not only does this smart, bubbly blonde have soccer everyday after school and weekend games for select soccer, she also has a life that consists of a boyfriend, family, and friends.
I recently sat down with her for lunch and got the chance to ask her some questions many of us non athletes wonder about, such as how the athletes manage their time.
She was sitting next to me in a soft red, ankle low dress looking kind of nervous and really wanting to eat lunch so I began with the question “why are all the soccer girls wearing there homecoming dresses today”? And with a smile and half laugh she answered “it was creating team bonding and hoping gets more people out there in the stands to watch us and of course just for fun”. We giggled for awhile and then with ten minutes left of lunch we got back into a discussion about soccer.
“What is your position, number, and why” I asked in a rushed tone trying to finish this interview before lunch was over. “My number is fifteen because each year when you’re a senior you have to choose a senior number and that’s what was open when I got there and I am center and an outside mid fielder”. “And how long have you been playing” I asked and when I looked up she had her thinking face on; “ok well eighteen minus that equals thirteen, so yeah thirteen years”!
“As you know football players have girls wear their jerseys, do you girls do that”? “I personally do and so do some others, Derrick wears mine”.
“What about goals for this season, how do you expect yourself and the team to do”? “Well were improving and we almost beat Everett the other night and that’s crazy because there freakishly good and we lost in a second overtime. And as for me, I would really like to score and just over all win”! “Speaking of wins, how do you take a loss”? “I have learned to take a loss very well because we have lost a lot but we are improving and I stress improving”!
“Being on a sports team is an amazing experience, I only know from XC and track, how is it on a soccer team”? “Really fun because were all good friends and we play dress up and have a lot of sleepovers and carbo loads”. “It sounds like you girls have a lot of fun together, what do you do in your spare time or is that your spare time”? “Hahaha what spare time? I really don’t know how I balance anything, school is for friends and homework is in between classes and on bus rides”.
We finished up our interview within two minutes before the bell and as I thanked her she got up and hurried off to get some food.

Another busy sports Saturday at Ft. Nugent Park - Soccer and Football

At Ft. Nugent Park Saturday, the Oak Harbor Sports Report was able to get to 3 soccer games and 5 football games. It was a stretch, but we were able to get photos from all 8 events we covered.



First up is soccer, featuring the GU-8 Pink Dynamite, sponsored by the Latte Lady. You can see the Latte Lady all over town in her maroon VW bus, bringing your coffee to you! After the game, coach Morgan Dutton, an OHHS soccer player, said of her girls "they are showing good development and are communicating well on the field". The girls are playing good soccer, and coach wants to improve on that my working on better passing. 95 photos of the game are posted HERE.



Next in soccer was the BU-6 Jets, sponsored by Patty Folkestad of Re/Max Properties and the Blue Sharks, sponsored by Der Kinderhuis Montessori school. Coach Curt Montano of the Jets said the best part of coaching kids this the fun. "It's fun to watch them play - there's lots of action in a very small area". Also, games at this level are normally high scoring affairs, with double-digit scores by both teams not uncommon. We were able to get 81 decent photos and have posted them HERE.



Finally in soccer, the Girl's U-11 Academy team "Courage", sponsored by NWSA. Headed by 3rd-year head coach Ryan Baker, the team is a traveling squad made up of girls who show the potential to play on the select teams in the future. The girls played a team from Stanwood-Camano, and were relentless, scoring 3 goals in the first half and adding another 4 in the second, while holding Stanwood scoreless. Coach Baker said "the girls moved the ball really well", and by spreading the field, were able to wear the other team down. Overall, he said "They played a wonderful game". 81 images from the game are posted HERE.



Moving to football, the Oak Harbor Youth Football League played 5 games, starting at 9am. While there were some delays, and it was close, league officials were able to get the last game completed before it became too dark to play.



In the first game of the day, the Midget Cougars played Lakewood, and showed those other Cougars just who's house they were in! The game was all Oak Harbor, who finished with the 35-0 win. Coach Marcus Bell was proud of the way his boys played. Due to covering a soccer game at the same time, only 17 photos from the game are posted HERE.



The second football game featured the PeeWee Lynx vs Lakewood, and this was a much closer game. Each team lost a fumble in the 1st quarter, and in the 2nd, Lakewood executed a near-perfect reverse for a TD. Unusually for Peewee football, Lakewood opted to kick the PAT (worth 2 points at this level), and we found out why. The kick had plenty of distance, but hit the right upright about 10 feet above the crossbar. If this kid has that good of a leg at age 8, watch out NFL! The Lynx grabbed the Lakewood kickoff and returned it for a TD, building a 14-6 lead that they would keep. The Lynx scored twice in the 3rd, and the final score was 27-6 Lynx. 60 images of the game and Lynx Cheerleaders are HERE.


3rd on the schedule was the Midget Panthers vs Arlington. This game started out badly for the Panthers, with Arlington holding a 13-0 halftime lead, but the Oak Harbor boys were able to chip away at the lead, and late in the 4th quarter, the score stood at 19-16 in favor of Arlington after an OH touchdown. The onside kick attempt failed, and Arlington was able to run the clock out. 43 images of the players and cheer squad can be found HERE.

Following the Panthers were the Junior Pumas, and this game did not go well for Oak Harbor at all. The Pumas just couldn't get going, and wound up on the short end of a 44-20 score. We were only able to get 18 good images, which are posted HERE.

The nightcap game, which almost became a literal, rather than figurative term, was between the Senior Wildcat team, made up of middle school-age boys, and the Anacortes team. Although the Wildcats came up short, 26-6, the game was closer than the score indicated. If the Wildcats had not lost a couple of fumbles or completed a couple of key passes, the score could easily have gone the other way. 55 images of players and the cheer squad are posted HERE.

Next weekend is another full day at Ft. Nugent, with another 5 football games and 13 soccer games.

In football, the Senior Wildcats play Orcas at 9am, followed at 11 by the Junior Pumas vs Burlington, then the Midget Cougars vs Arlington at 1pm, Peewee Lynx vs Concrete at 3pm, and Junior Jaguars vs Bellingham. All football games are on the new upper field next to the upper parking lot.

Soccer has both boys and girls U-6 games at 9 and 10 am, boys and girls U-8 games at 9 and 10, with an additional boys game at 11am. There will be a co-ed 10-11 game at 9am, and at the U-10 level, there are two boys games at 9am and a 3rd game at noon. All soccer games are on the lower fields near the main parking lot.

The concession stand, operated by the OHYFL, will be open all day, the Latte Lady parks near the soccer fields during soccer games, and Sno-Cone Joe can be found in the drop-off circle near the football field.

Boys Tennis

The OH tennis men ran into a buzzsaw called Snohomish High School last Friday. The Panthers were able to capture all 7 varsity matches in strights sets.

On the positive side, all the varsity singles players were back from their injuries, and Jordan Kingma and Josh Evans played some good tennis against a superior and undefeated Snohomish team.

Some photos of two doubles matches are posted HERE.

Wildcats win football shootout over Mt. Vernon 42-32

In a night marked by the Mt. Vernon Bulldog no-huddle offense, some rather poor Oak Harbor tackling at times, and some really (and I mean REALLY) bad and missed calls on the part of the officials, the Wildcats were able to pound it out for over 400 yards on the ground and get the win.

OH got the opening kickoff at their own 30. Using the shotgun for the first time this year, the first play was a handoff to Donovan Hunt for 9 yards. Next to get the ball was Brad Farnum for a gain of 7, followed by Stephen Lewis. With a 2nd & 10 on the Wildcat 46, quarterback James Jordan kept it himself and ran down to the Mt. Vernon 48. The next play was a handoff to Hunt who broke free and ran to the end zone for the early OH lead, just 2:23 into the game.

The Bulldogs took kicker Kevin Flavin's kick at their own 2, and after the reverse, were able to get it out to the 10 yard line. On their first play from scrimmage, the MV quarterback had his pass intercepted by Rashaad Smith at the MV 46. The 'Cats weren't able to get the ball moving, and after 7 plays had only moved the ball to the MV 27, there, a Jordan pass was intercepted and returned to the OH 33, with the saving tackle made by Jordan.

MV went through 6 plays and was facing a 4th & 2 at the OH 15, but was only able to gain 1 yard, giving OH the ball on the Wildcat 14 and 2:31 to go in the 1st quarter. OH ran 5 plays, one a direct snap to Lewis, standing at the QB position, but was unable to convert on 4th down from the Bulldog 22.

The Bulldogs continued with their shotgun/no-huddle offense, but after 7 plays, faced a 4th & 17 after a gang sack by the OH defense, and punted to the Wildcat 45.

On their next possession, the 'Cats went 3-and-out, gaining zero yards. Lewis punted away, and it was downed at the MV 22. After 3 plays, MV also punted, from their own 15. Lewis took the first handoff and ran in untouched from 23 yards out, boosting the score to OH 14, MV 0 with 6:53 left in the half.

Receiving the Wildcat kickoff on the 15, Mt. Vernon again tried the reverse, this time returning the ball to the 40. On the first play, the MV QB was not able to escape the clutches of Bennett Richter, and was sacked for an 11-yard loss. However, on the very next play from the Bulldog 29, the QB connected with his receiver who ran it down to the OH 47. With a 3rd & 1 on the 38, the Bulldogs completed a pass into the end zone to close the score to 14-7 with 5:05 in the half.

After taking the MV kickoff at his own 1, Hunt ran the ball out to the 16 where he was hit really hard, causing a fumble that MV recovered. 4 plays later, it was another pass TD for the Mt. Vernon score, and a tie game with 3:52 left.

After just 5 plays on the next possession, OH was forced to punt, but after moving the ball to the OH 48, Mt. Vernon's QB fumbled the ball during a scramble, and Greg Goebel was in the right place at the right time, picked the ball up off the turf, and ran it 38 yards for the OH score with 48 seconds in the half.

After getting the kickoff at their own 39, the Bulldogs got a big assist from the officials, who tacked on a 15-yard personal foul to a MV completion, moving the ball to the OH 39 with just 35 seconds left. Some tough 'Cat defense forced 4 incompletion out of 5 attempts, and time ran out in the half with MV only moving down to the OH 21.

The opening kickoff in the 2nd half was a disaster from the OH point of view. MV caught the ball at the 5 and was able to return it to the OH 1, with kicker Kevin Flavin running him down from behind. Two plays later, Mt. Vernon tied it up again at 21. Oak Harbor was only able to run 3 plays on their next possession before the fumble bug bit again, and MV had the ball with great field position on the OH 37. The Oak Harbor defense bent, allowing the 'Dogs to move to the OH 16, but forced a field goal attempt with 8:31 to go in the 3rd. The field goal was good for the Mt. Vernon lead, 24-21.

Oak Harbor got the ball moving, using 8 plays to move from the OH 27 to the MV 35, including a fake punt that was snapped to Hunt who ran for the 1st down, and got another 15 yards added due to a Mt. Vernon personal foul penalty. But, the drive stalled when a 4th down pass attempt fell incomplete due to pressure on Jordan.

Mt. Vernon went 3-and-out, punting from their own 35. Sam Wolfe took the punt at his own 30 and returned it 9 yards, where the Wildcat offense took over, and used running by Hunt, Farnum and a 20-yard run by Lewis to score with 2:18 in the 3rd, and putting Oak Harbor back in the lead 28-24.

On Mt. Vernon's possession, they were only able to move the ball from their own 41 to the OH 43, partly due to a deflected pass by Lewis, forcing a 4th & 10. The MV punter took the snap, started running as if it were a fake punt, then kicked the ball while on the run.

With the ball on the OH 7, Brad Farnum got the ball on the handoff, ran straight up the middle, and with the crowd cheering madly, rumbled 88 yards down to the Bulldog 5. From there, Lewis was able to run it in with 2:18 in the 3rd, making it OH 28, MV 24.

Oak Harbor attempted a surprise onside kick that almost worked, but the Wildcat that was running at the ball was blocked, and it rolled OOB at the MV 43. MV was facing a 3rd and 14 on the OH 32 when their pass fell incomplete, but the official said the OH defenders hit the receiver too hard, and after the 15-yard penalty, MV had a new set of down at the Wildcat 17. The Bulldog QB ran the ball for just two yards on the next play before being tackled hard by a combo of Chris Neumiller and Greg Goebel. At that point the Wildcat crowd went crazy and the stadium was rocking with the cheering and pounding. It must have helped unsettle the MV offense, as their next two passes fell incomplete, and the field goal attempt from the OH 15 went wide left.

With 10:18 to go in the game, the 'Cats went into ball control/clock wasting mode, using runs by Lewis, Hunt, Farnum and Derrick Clarit to move the ball from the OH 20 to the MV 26, where, again, it was fumbled away.

Mt. Vernon used a series of screen passes to move the ball from their own 20 down to the OH 14 in just over a minute and a half. A conveniently called defensive pass interference call on OH moved the ball to the OH 7, and 3 plays later Mt. Vernon was able to push it in. After converting on the 2-point attempt, which was itself controversial, as many felt the receiver did not have possession of the ball, the Bulldogs had narrowed the score to 35-32 with 3:36 left.

Surprisingly, Mt. Vernon did not attempt an onside kick, but they did leave early, and after the offside penalty enforcement, kicked from the 35. Donovan Hunt took the kick at his own 9, returning it 19 yards to the 29. The MV defense was able to hold the OH offense to only 2 yards, and the OH punt was fair caught at the MV 45.

The Bulldogs were not able to make a single yard, throwing incomplete on all 4 pass attempts. Actually, that's not entirely true, as the third down pass was caught by Coach Mueller on the sideline. It was a very nice one-handed catch!

Oak Harbor took over on the MV 45 with 2:37 to go, and moved it down to the MV 29, running the clock down to 35 seconds. Looking at a 4th & 13, Oak Harbor called a timeout, and the handoff was given to Hunt, who broke free from at least 2 tacklers and sprinted to the end zone to put the final nail in the Bulldogs coffin.

Mt. Vernon was only able to get the ball to the OH 30 before the clock ran out, giving the Wildcats the 42-32 win, boosting their record to 2-2 overall, 1-0 in the WESCO North.

Each of the 3 main Wildcat runners each tallied over 100 yards on the ground: Lewis 17-129, Hunt 11-171, and Farnum 11-121.

A final word on the officials - it may have been that due to Mt. Vernon's no-huddle, pass oriented offense that had people spread all over the field, but numerous holds and illegal blocks by Mt. Vernon were missed, while 'mystery' pass interference and questionable pass interference calls went against Oak Harbor. I'm speaking of one hold in particular, which I'll post with the highlights. You can clearly see the OH defender being dragged to the ground by the offensive lineman with the referee looking on, but no flag.

We'd like to thank partner KWDB 1110 radio in Oak Harbor for the plug. Wildcat football is broadcast live on KWDB radio, and is streamed online, so our family members in uniform that are overseas can listen in on the action. In the near future, KWDB hopes to have the the games available as a podcast, so you can listen to the game at your convenience. You can find them at http://www.kwdb.com/

You can also see the game on delay on Wildcat TV, Comcast channel 21 in the Oak Harbor area. This student-run TV station is overseen by Chris Douthitt, assisted by Jim Riney of Riney Production Services.

In other games of interest to Wildcat fans:

Everett 28, Cascade 8
Lake Stevens 45, Arlington 23
Marysville-Pilchuck 42, Stanwood 14
Snohomish 35, Monroe 28
South Whidbey 22, Cedarcrest 14
Granite Falls 35, Coupeville 7
Archbishop Murphy 49, Sultan 19

Highlight video will be posted to YouTube Tuesday morning.

Next up for the Wildcats: Snohomish at home next Friday.

Bonus athlete profile - Jessica Denmon

Roving reporter Michelle Sandstrom has been busy - here is her latest report - Junior Cross Country runner Jessica Denmon.

M; Hey Jess, its Michelle and I’m calling like I said I would to ask you some questions.
J; ok girl.

M; What sport do you play?
J; I play running…(she laughs)

M; So where are you right now?
J; We are just pulling into the beach in Seaside Oregon!

M; Why are you there?
J; The varsity boys and girls are here for a huge three event race on Saturday.

M; Tell me about this three course challenge.
J; Well there are over one hundred teams here and we all come to compete and there is an easy, medium, and hard course and you draw it out of a hat. Last year I got the easy course.

M; Are you hoping for a different course this year?
J; Well I like the easy course but the medium and hard seem really fun so I’m leaning toward the easy course because it’s not too hard and it’s still fun.

M; Well I hope you get it! By the answer you gave me before it sounds like you were there the year before, how did that go?
J; Last year was amazing, like I said I got the easy course and we went to the beach last time like were doing now and we went to a dance but that’s not till later tonight.

M; Would you say were more nervous last year because it was your first time there?
J; Right now I’m not nervous at all because I don’t know what race I am in and it’s not until tomorrow, I’m just going to chill tonight and have some fun.

M; When readers read this interview they know were talking about running and cross country and wouldn’t expect to see the word fun in the same category as running, what makes me want to do this sport?
J; Cross country is like one big family and yes running is hard but it’s either you have a passion for it or you don’t, it’s also a love hate relationship.

M; That is defiantly true, do you have any goals for this season and what are the coaches expecting from you?]
J; I’m trying to beat twenty minutes and the coaches just want me to stay on top, were both working on times right now.


M; Under twenty minutes is a tough time, but I’m sure you can do it with practice!
J; Yeah im hoping!

M; Speaking of practice, what does a normal practice consist of?
J; It depends on the day, Mondays and Wednesdays are usually really hard like track work outs and speed work. Wednesdays and Fridays are usually easy and slow because Thursday is a meet so they don’t want us to pull any muscles the day before.

M; Well that’s enough of running for now, tell me what do you do for fun?
J; I usually just hangout with friends or my boyfriend.

M; Do you play any other sports?
J; I play basketball and I do track.

M; Which sport is your favorite?
J; I like basketball the most because there is a point to running and its just fun and track is ok I didn’t finish the season last year and I don’t know about this year. The reason I Love cross country is because were all so close and longer runs are way more fun then just running around a track.

M; With sports year around, how do you feel with pressure and nerves?
J; I rarely ever get nervous and I think that’s why sports aren’t extremely difficult for me, I just have fun and the talent comes with it. And with the nerves I always have people talking to me and it takes my mind off of a game and/or a meet.

M; You seem really busy with sports and on top of that you have school, homework, friends, and you need family time, how do you fit in a boyfriend?
J; I don’t really know how I’m doing it, he doesn’t play sports so usually its whenever I’m free it works with him, but it still is kind of difficult at times.

M; Ok well I know your busy and want to get back to enjoying Seaside before competition time so enjoy your trip.
J; Ok I’ll call you when its over!

Thursday was a good day for Wildcat sports - Volleyball, Swimming, XC, and Soccer

Oak Harbor went 3-1 in varsity team scores Thursday afternoon, with only cross country not grabbing a team win.

Starting with Cross Country, the boys and girls team were down in Mukilteo for a meet against Jackson Kamiak and Edmonds-Woodway. On the boys side, Tyler King was first for Oak Harbor and 4th overall, followed by Duhrkopf, Klauer, Bolte, Zimmerman and Miller. As a team the boys received 79 points, tied with Edmonds.

The girls team did a little better, and according to the results in the Everett Herald, ran with out leading runner Jessica Denmon. First for the ‘Cats was Allison Duvenez, who finished 7th overall, then Royal, Fisken, Kyle and Dale. The girls had 68 team points for a 3rd place finish overall.

In the pool, the Wildcat girls swimmers ran the table for the 2nd straight meet, winning all 11 swim races against league opponent Lake Stevens. The only event the girls didn’t get first place in was diving. Amanda Streubel and Rachel Weinstein both notched 4 wins as individuals or as part of relays, while Ciara Hu, Carolyn Vasquez and Karina Concepcion had 3 wins each. The win puts the Wildcats at 1-0 in league dual meets. Photos from the swim meet can be found by clicking here.

On the volleyball court the Wildcats hosted Jackson High School with mixed results. The freshmen won the first two games to win the match, but lost the 3rd. In the first game, it was tied at 4-4 when the Wildcat freshmen went on a serving tear and push to an 11-4 lead, which resulted in a 25-11 final. The second game was much closer, but the girls pulled out a 27-25 win. The third game went to Jackson 21-25. The JV, unfortunately, had an off day. The serving was good, bordering on great, but the girls kept shooting themselves in the foot with numerous hitting errors. The JV team took the first game 25-10, but Jackson came back to win game 2 9-25, then game 3 16-25. The varsity match was all Oak Harbor. In the first game, the ‘Cats beat Jackson 25-19, but it got harder from there. The second game started out with OH moving out to a 10-5 lead, but a Jackson timeout proved effective, and they fought back to a 10-9 Wildcat lead. Oak Harbor dug in, and after a pair of kills by Jen Jansen and a service ace by Devin Tanner pushed the OH lead to 16-10. Jackson again closed to within 3, but an ace by Jessica Muzzall and a couple of Jackson error gave OH a 23-17 lead. Jackson called their 2nd timeout, and again used it effectively, scoring 5 straight to bring the score to 24-22. Jen Jansen scored the final point by tapping the ball just right and watching it fall to the floor untouched. The 3rd game was even harder. Jackson ran to an early 8-3 lead, but Oak Harbor crawled back into it with kills by Jansen and Marisa Sutherland, with a service ace by Muzzall grabbing the lead for OH 9-8. From there, it was a back and forth game, with both teams holding 1-2 point leads at times. With the score tied at 23, a sweet tap by Kim Mowbray gave the ‘Cats match point, and a service ace by Jansen sealed the win. Volleyball pictures are HERE. A few video clips of the varsity match have been posted to YouTube.

Finally, to the soccer field. In a moderate drizzle, the JV squad played hard, but fell to visiting Marysville Tomahawks by a 2-1 score. The OH goal was scored by Hannah Bressler. The varsity team, fueled by two goals by senior Carson McKole, led at halftime 2-0. Marysville fought back, scoring two goal of their own to tie the game last. A couple of last-minute attempts on the OH goal failed, so the game went into overtime. In HS soccer, overtime is sudden death, and consists of two 5-minute periods. If neither team scores, the game ends in a tie. In this game, the first overtime period ended, the teams switched ends, and in the second period, off an assist by Carson McKole, Hope Thompson (who had been playing goalie earlier in the game) kicked it past the Tommie goalkeeper for the score and the win. 49 varsity soccer photos are posted HERE.

Freshman football results

In Everett, the Wildcat Freshman beat the Everett Seagulls 28-18 after being down 18-6 in the 3rd quarter. Of the 4 touchdowns scored, one was by Nick Ferrell, two were by Justin Everett, and quarterback Matt Burgoyne scored on a keeper from 15 yards out. The team recovered two consecutive kickoff fumbles by Everett, and Owen Irwin intercepted a pass to shut down the final Everett drive.

Coach Esvelt liked the defensive play he saw. He commented on the "Strong D by Edward Denmon, Hunter Vail, Kewawn Brooks and Brandon Stratton."

Next up for the Freshman team is a home game on Wednesday against Archbishop Murphy's freshman team.

A visit with... Lauren Lewis

Lauren Lewis, wearing number 13, is a sophomore member of the Oak Harbor JV volleyball team and has been tearing up the court so far this year. The 5’9½” Middle Blocker is the daughter of Navy Officer Donald and Andrea Lewis. Lauren’s birthday is on May 3rd, and she has two older brothers, 21 year old Justin and 17 year old Stephen. She is a true “Navy Brat”, as she was born in Italy, and has lived in such varied places as Florida, Virginia, and Ohio as well as Oak Harbor.

She loves volleyball, playing for school team since 7th grade, and playing on local club teams in the off-season. Her most memorable volleyball moment came during a club game, when she got off a good, flat serve that hit a girl on the receiving team right in the face. Lauren takes pride in her serving ability, and considers it the best part of her game, although she admits there’s always room for improvement. When asked “why volleyball?”, Lewis replied that it is the sport that is the most fun for her.

When she’s not playing volleyball, she also likes to play football, and as an elementary school student played some tackle football! She likes to watch football and volleyball on TV, and her whole family is rabid Ohio State Buckeye fans. After high school, Lauren’s current plans are to play volleyball at OSU, and continue on to earn her Doctorate in Veterinary Science.

In school, her favorite class is choir, as she enjoys singing and performing. Her favorite teacher so far was Mr. Gilmore, her SSI Science teacher. Lauren said he made the class fun, and was an entertaining teacher. Lauren also likes having older brother Stephen in high school with her, especially for her Freshman year. She confessed that although they can fight like, well, brother and sister, she’s glad he was there for her to lean on when needed.

Her likes cross over to her leisure time, as she enjoys watching movies (especially Mulan) and listening to her favorite music, R&B on 93.3FM. When asked if there was anywhere she would like to live, she chose Ohio, as she has a lot of family there.

Lauren’s goals on the court this year include improving her passing, and stepping up her game enough to perhaps become a ‘floater’ on the varsity team. A floater is a JV player that plays in JV games, but suits up for varsity, ready to play if called upon.

In closing, I asked her what makes her Lauren, and not anyone else, and she replied that she is not a follower. She is confident, and tries to choose the right path, not necessarily the path that everyone else is taking. Lewis also wanted to ensure that it was mentioned that she loves her family dearly, especially her brothers.

Next week: Freshman football

Another source for Wildcat photos

James Woolbright, the Whidbey News-Times sports photographer now has his own website where he's posting some of the hundreds of photos he captures at OHHS Varsity sporting events, particularly varsity football.

You can find his photos at http://gallery.me.com/jameswoolbright

Tuesday results - Girls Swim and Soccer

At the Lynnwood Pool, Freshman Ciara Hu won 4 races, placing first in the 100 butterfly, 500 freestyle and as a member of the winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay teams, and Seniors Carolyn Vasquez and KeriAnne Wright were both double winners as the team swept 1st place in all 11 events and crushed Lynnwood 133-32. Winning 3 races was Sophomore Amanda Streubel in the 200 medley and freestyle relays and 100 breaststroke, and also winning 2 races was Freshman Karina Concepcion, who finished first in the 200 medley relay and in the 200 Individual Medley.

Good going swimmers!

On the soccer field, Senior Carson McKole scored the first goal of the game and added a second goal in the 60th minute to tie the game at 2 each, but Everett was able to sneak a shot past Wildcat goalkeeper Jordan Boucher in the 89th minute for the win.

It was a heartbreaking loss for the Wildcats, as 4 of their 5 games played so far have been decided by a single goal. All it would have taken is for the ball to take a couple of bounces in our direction and they could easily be 4-1 rather than 0-5. However, the season is young, and Coach Barker is working is players to ensure they meet with success during the remainder of the season.

Up tomorrow is a Middle School Cross Country meet at Pt. Susan Middle School in Stanwood, Boys Tennis at Cascade, and Freshman football at Everett.

Thursday will be a busy sports day, with home contests featuring Girls Swim (Lake Stevens), Girls Soccer (Marysville) and Volleyball (Jackson), while Cross Country is at Kamiak.